Athletes Of The Week: Alex Pisack and Brian Valerio

Brian Valerio

In a lacrosse game, it’s obvious that a strong goalkeeper is important to a team in preventing the opponent from scoring.

Luckily, the New Providence boys’ varsity lacrosse team has sophomore goalkeeper Brian Valerio, who had 18 saves against Westfield on Monday in the team’s 13-1 victory.

“We knew they were a good team so we put forth our best effort and at halftime, it with 4-0 and we thought it was pretty good to hold them to 4-0,” Valerio told Patch Thursday afternoon. “I was making great saves. They were a better team, we gave them a lot of second chance shots and a better team will do that to you – make you pay for your mistakes and they did that to us. They thought we were going to be a walk in the park against them and we showed that we weren’t.”

On Wednesday, the starting goalkeeper had 16 saves against Verona, even though the team lost 8-5.

“We came in, pumped up, fired to go and we had a fighting chance. In the first quarter, they put in four [goals], we put in one [goal]. We could have put in more and they could’ve put in more, too,” Valerio said. “Then we pulled ourselves together for the second quarter and the second half. They were an older team, we’re a younger team so they’re going to be able to not make mistakes that we made that game.”

Valerio and the Pioneers will play at Vernon this Monday at 4:30 p.m.

“We didn’t play [Vernon] last year so we’re going to go in with an open mind and [try to] pull out a win,” Valerio said.

Last year in the county tournament, Valerio said the team lost in the first round to A.L. Johnson. In the state tournament, Rumson Fair Haven defeated the team in the first round. But this year, the goalkeeper has high hopes that the team will go further in both tournaments.

As for his own personal goals, Valerio is looking to do his best, one game at a time.

College is a few years off for the goalkeeper, who also plays football in the fall. But Valerio said he hopes to play on the varsity level or club level for lacrosse.

Alex Pisack

While some lacrosse players have one position where they dominate on the field, Alex Pisack is a versatile player on the New Providence girls’ varsity lacrosse team with the ability to dominate on both offense and defense.

The senior played on defense, low attack and midfield against Union Catholic last Monday, leading the team with seven ground balls. The Lady Pioneers won, 20-15.

“I thought that we did really well in the beginning, but then they started catching up and we let them come back. Then they tied it up and we had to go into overtime, and we came back and won,” Pisack told Patch on Thursday afternoon.

On Tuesday against Cranford, Pisack was able to score two goals with a few assists, playing attack for most of the game and midfield. But the team lost 17-7, which Pisack attributed to the team not playing together as a team.

“I think we gave up towards the middle. In the beginning, we started off really well,” she said. “I got the first two goals and we were on a roll. Then they started catching up and we gave up, I guess.”

When Patch spoke with Pisack Thursday afternoon, she said she didn't think the team had a chance of defeating Kent Place later that day. 

Pisack’s prediction was correct as the team lost 18-2. But head coach Jennifer Henry said both Pisack and the team put forth a strong effort against a stronger Kent Place.

“I’m really proud of the entire team and Alex overall with the effort that they put in and they really did what I asked them,” Henry said. “[Alex] did have five ground balls but honestly, we don’t have a ton of stats for this game because it was a heavily dominated game on Kent Place’s side. But the best thing with Alex, along with the other girls, is they really focus.”

Henry said efforts from Pisack and the entire team forced a turnover at one point, resulting in a goal for New Providence even though the team was down my many points.

The coach said she’s fortunate to have a player like Pisack on her team, who is able to play at multiple positions on the field and do what is asked of her.

“She’s really been strong from the start. She was the only person in the that was able to score at all,” Henry said. “She got the two goals and in some of the harder games, she’s like that light that you look for to keep going and for the other games that we’ve won, she’s that anchor that can help other people to succeed, too, so she’s been great.”

Pisack said it will be hard to beat Oak Knoll this Monday because the team is very talented. But, Pisack said she sees the more talented teams as a challenge and the Lady Pioneers tend to play better against stronger teams.

“I like playing teams like that because I think it makes me better. I don’t like playing against bad teams and winning. I like getting a challenge and seeing how I stand up against them,” Pisack said. “I think that for the harder teams, [players on my team] really push themselves that much harder. My coach even said yesterday [Wednesday], we played better against Summit than we did against Cranford and we lost 20-2 against Summit because they are the top in the state. She said we played way harder against them than we did against Cranford, [a team] we should have beaten, but we just gave up. These teams that are harder, we try way harder.”

The Lady Pioneers had a tough season last year, with both the players and former coach having difficulties communicating, leading to frustrations and misunderstandings. But under the new direction from Coach Henry, who came to New Providence this year after a stint as the assistant coach of the Summit girls' lacrosse team, Pisack said the team is doing much better.

“I really like it. We do a lot of physical running and stuff like that, but we do work on the basics and more advanced work,” she said. “[Coach Henry] takes the time to reach out to you and if she sees that there’s a problem, she doesn’t yell at you. She sees what’s wrong first. But she’s really strict about practices. You have to be there and you have to tell her if you’re not coming. You won’t play if you don’t come to practice.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Pisack said she thinks the team has a shot at going farther under the new direction from Coach Henry. But, she’s not sure if the team is ready to go far in the county or state tournaments.

“I feel like this year, we’re definitely want it, it’s just a matter of if we push ourselves that much farther,” she said. “I definitely see the want, it’s just how much you want it.”

As for her own personal goals this season, Pisack said she will work on controlling her temper on the field.

“I can get really into it and it’s a contact sport so it’s hard to not say anything. People say stuff to you [on the field] and you have to just not say anything,” she said. “It’s not just like boys’ lacrosse, where you just hit them.”

Looking ahead to this fall, Pisack said she will not be playing lacrosse in college. Instead, she will be focusing on academics at either Montclair State University or Rutgers University in Newark.

Congratulations, Alex and Brian!