Boys Lacrosse: Kenwood Continues Strong Start

boys lacrosse coach Anthony Ruocco expected his team to be improved this season after going 7-9 in 2011.

Still, he wasn’t sure just how much better until Kenwood entered the heart of its schedule, beginning with a game against Essex archrival April 2. The Bluebirds .

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Kenwood followed up that performance with a 15-7 victory Thursday over . The Bluebirds are now 7-1 and in first place in Baltimore County’s new Division II Conference, which also includes , Sparrows Point, Lansdowne, , Overlea, Woodlawn, Patapsco and Dundalk.

“We’re in a conference now that has many teams that have an equal level of talent,” Ruocco said. “We have a lot of players back from last season that are dedicated to improving, winning a conference title and hopefully make a deep run in the region playoffs.”

A big reason for Kenwood’s early success is its balanced roster and its ability to make key plays on offense and defense. Junior attack Nick Eliadis is among those players, as he has a team-high 28 goals to go along with his 11 assists.

Also, senior attack Jordan Boller has 25 goals and a team-high 20 assists for the Bluebirds, this includes seven goals and two assists in the win over Sparrows Point.

In addition, senior Kevin Dellasantos  has contributed eight goals and 12 assists for the Bluebirds, who last had a winning record in 2009 when they went 10-5.

Other key contributors for Kenwood includes goalie Ben Runk, who has 88 saves while midfielder Jesse Greifzu entered Thursday’s game having won 56 of 82 faceoffs.

“We’re really getting after ground balls and backing each other up more this year,” Boller said. “Even if we take a bad shot, there is some one there to help us out. Our win over Eastern Tech was big for our confidence since we hadn’t beat them in like a decade.”

Ruocco said the next few weeks of the season will provide Kenwood with a greater barometer of where his team is heading. This includes games Tuesday at Parkville and a home game on April 24 against Owings Mills.

“This is our year where I believe we can do something special,” said senior midfielder Eric Ulrich, who has eight goals and five assists this season. “Now we just have to get the job done.”