University of Albany Recruit Resetarits Impresses at Under Armour All America Classic

A fast and furious first fifteen minutes slowed to a standstill quickly at the Boys Under Armour All America game Saturday evening. Seven different players scored as the South claimed an early 5-2 lead in the first quarter at Towson University.

Then suddenly, the Johnny Unitas Stadium turf may as well have been quicksand for the second quarter. But as quickly as the game slowed, it picked up following the break when the North took its first lead of the game, going on a 5-1 run through the period. The South rallied, but were unable to come back, falling, 13-12.

Only four goals were scored in the second quarter. The South’s Roy Lang (Mill Valley, Calif.), who is headed to Cornell, notched his second with a minute remaining in the period to give his side a 7-4 lead. The North called a timeout with 38 seconds left to draw up a final play, but the plan fell through as the South squelched the scoring opportunity to maintain the three-goal advantage.

“There was definitely a lull in the second quarter, but after that, it was a track meet,” South head coach Scott “Booker” Corrigan said. “There were a lot of athletes in this game and that was as important as anything.”

The North opened the scoring in the second half, tallying the first three goals and tying the game on Joe Resetarits’s second goal of the game off a pass from Michael Shakespeare (The Governor’s Academy, Mass.). Albany signee, Restetarits (Hamburg, N.Y.) came only 11 seconds after Michael Chanenchuk (St. Anthony’s, N.Y.) netted his second goal while taking a beating in an attempt to break down the middle of the defense.

Less than seven minutes later, Chanenchuk received a pass at midfield, holding off two South defenders on his heels and ripped a high-hard right-handed shot between goalie Andrew Wascavage’s left ear and stick to give the North their first lead of the game.

Hunter Rodgers (Brophy College Prep, Ariz.), a Hopkins signee, tied the game a minute later at eight on a left handed shot from eight yards out.

Resetarits drilled his third goal of the game from the left wing and a difficult angle to open the fourth quarter and pad the North’s lead.

A pair of unassisted goals from Georgetown commit Colby Wilson (Western Reserve Academy, Ohio) and Princeton commit Alex Capretta (St. Ignatius Prep, Calif.), the South tied up the score at 10 with less than 10 minutes to play.

Robert Rotanz (Fairfield Prep, Conn.), who is headed to Duke, buried his second goal of the game on a rifled right handed rip from 15 yards out to retake the lead, 11-10. Wilson responded with a score of his own, slicing to the left side of the net, his second of the game.

After picking up a groundball following a North turnover, Shakespeare fed Jeffrey Cohen (Syosset, N.Y.) on the doorstep who bounced in the go ahead score.
Down 13-12, the North had one last chance to tie the game, but PSU signee Steven Rastivo (Ward Melville, N.Y.) stoned the shot from close range to preserve the lead.

Player of the Game: Steven Rastivo – Inheriting a three-goal deficit when he entered the game to begin the second half, Rastivo held the South to just one goal in the third quarter and the North claimed a one-goal lead. On the game, he made nine saves including a denial of the South’s final chance from point blank range with less than 40 seconds remaining in the game.

Goal of the Game: Michael Chanenchuk – With 9:11 to play in the second quarter, the Princeton signee broke down the middle of the defense and was hit hard by several South defenseman. He flipped the ball toward the goal and as South goalie Andrew Wascavage came out for the ball that looked more like a dying bird falling to the Earth, it took a bounce and rolled slowly into the net. Chanenchuk assured us that he was indeed trying to shoot.
“It just tried to get it toward the net,” he said. “I got up and looked in time to see it roll in.”

Quote of the Game: South head coach Scott “Booker” Corrigan – “I had a chance to talk to the players Thursday when they got here and I told them from much is given, much is expected. There is so much talent on these teams and those players are going to be playing on a lot of Memorial Day weekends. After coaching them you can’t help but know that they are the next in line to be NCAA All Americans and NCAA Champions.”

by Geoff Shannon