One team typically wins against another in a sporting event.
The scoreboard at Bridgewater-Raritan High School confirmed this obvious fact on Saturday evening, but truthfully, there is one exception on the Panthers’ storied lacrosse field.
Everybody wins on Community Night.
To cap off a successful doubleheader for the Panthers’ girls’ and boys’ squads, not only did a packed house witness a marquee boys’ matchup between fifth-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan High School and then-17th-ranked Glen Ridge High School, New Jersey’s reigning Group 1 state champion.
At halftime of this game under the Turf 2 lights, the future of Bridgewater-Raritan lacrosse was showcased via a wholesome matchup of the town’s youth boys’ lacrosse players.
“It’s really special seeing all of the young kids coming out and playing, and they were super excited,” said afterward by Bridgewater-Raritan Class of 2026 senior player Declan Kurdyla, whose dad and fellow Panther lacrosse alum, Aaron (Class of 1993), was amongst those who were facilitating the aforementioned halftime showcase. “They were all lined up against the fence the whole game, and not only can you hear them cheering, but you can hear everyone’s names who are playing called out on the field. It’s a really cool event, because it gets our whole community and everyone from our town together.”
“It’s a really good idea, because it shows how much Bridgewater spirit the town has.”
Like Declan and his fellow teammates of the present at Bridgewater-Raritan High School once had in this showcase when they were younger, those young kids took the field at halftime with similar dreams and aspirations of being the next stars of one of New Jersey’s most storied programs in all of its high school sports.
With a strong performance by the Panthers’ varsity squads on top of this, one further fact was confirmed on Saturday night.
The future will forever be bright for Bridgewater-Raritan lacrosse.
Glen Ridge (10-4) struck first halfway into the opening quarter, and while Bridgewater-Raritan (11-1) rattled off four consecutive goals to pull ahead for good, the Ridgers made it a two-goal game late in the second quarter courtesy of senior JP Labadia (two goals) and made the Panthers work all evening. However, Bridgewater-Raritan junior Nick Crovelli (one assist, nine-for-17 faceoffs one) won the ensuing duel at the center X, and the resulting breakaway goal by Declan Kurdyla (three goals, two assists) began a six-goal explosion for the Panthers that extended into the depths of the third quarter.
Whether in the stands or surrounding the varsity field’s fences, the Panthers’ players of tomorrow saw two juggernauts in Bridgewater-Raritan and Glen Ridge square off under the lights, but on Community Night, the outcome was never in doubt.
A whopping nine different Panthers players of the present ultimately finished with at least one goal in their team’s loaded offense, and with a championship-caliber defense behind it, Bridgewater-Raritan ultimately led by as many as 11 goals and cruised to a statement 14-5 victory over Glen Ridge Saturday, May 2, in Bridgewater.
“It’s very special and means everything, especially to my parents, because they were looking forward to this for the whole season,” reflected afterward on the importance of Community Day by one of the Panthers’ regular starting defensemen in sophomore Luca Catanzaro, whose older sister, Giada, is a Virginia Tech women’s lacrosse-bound senior and four-year varsity starter on the girls’ team.
While his sister’s lacrosse future is set, Luca Catanzaro may soon follow suit, given his contributions to a historically elite Panthers’ defense (4.33 goals allowed per game), which has surrendered the fewest goals per game amongst teams in its North, Group 4 public high school section.
Bridgewater-Raritan also owns the best scoring defense in the entire Skyland Conference, with 52 total goals allowed.
More paramount than the game’s final scoreboard on Community Night, however, was the day’s celebration of the town’s high school and youth programs in Bridgewater-Raritan: ones that are hard to match by others in terms of overall tradition and connection to the entire lacrosse landscape.
Whether through Bridgewater-Raritan’s boys’ and/or girls’ programs, numerous sibling groups like the Catanzaros have passed the torch to one another over five decades at Bridgewater-Raritan.
That was on full display on Community Night and the first Saturday of May.
Earlier in the afternoon, Bridgewater-Raritan’s girls’ squad rolled to a 15-4 victory over Shore Regional High School to set the stage for the boys’ subsequent rout of Glen Ridge. Sophomores Sam Tremarco and Jenna Millets, who were two of the Panthers’ five multi-goal scorers and contributed to winning three quarters of the game’s draws against Shore, both were amongst girls’ squad members who previously watched their older brothers, Tom (Class of 2023) and Brady (Class of 2025), respectively, enjoy successful lacrosse careers at Bridgewater-Raritan.
Tom Tremarco was also a junior on the 2022 Bridgewater-Raritan boys’ squad that won its most recent of seven state championships, which is part of a packed trophy case also containing seven Somerset County Tournament championship and three boys’ Tournament of Champions trophies.
That cabinet also has strong representation on the girls’ side, notably courtesy of 12 Somerset County Tournament crowns, two state championships (2009, 2017), and its lone Tournament of Champions title in 2017.
The Panthers’ girls’ program debuted in 1997, and 20 years later in that T.O.C. season, Giada Catanzaro was on Bridgewater-Raritan’s sidelines as her team’s nine-year old water girl in 2017, when the high school team finished with a record of 22-1 and swept the girls’ division, county, sectional, state, and Tournament of Champions crowns.
While the Tournament of Champions disappeared after the 2022 season, the rich traditions at Bridgewater-Raritan and its everlasting connections throughout its boys’ and girls’ programs, both on and off the Panthers’ campus, will never fade away.
On a special night that saw both the Panthers’ boys’ and girls’ squads roll to big victories, the Panthers’ girls’ team also remained on campus to see their boys’ squad roll past Glen Ridge: one of Bridgewater-Raritan’s many performances that could foreshadow another pair of potential trophy seasons in the making.
“My brother is making a statement for his name, and he continues to be aggressive,” praised earlier of her younger brother’s successful campaign by Giada Catanzaro, who recently eclipsed the 500-point milestone for Bridgewater-Raritan on the girls’ side. “It’s not just because of me, but because of him and his own self, and he has been training for this. He has come in and put in just as much work as I do, and as his older sister, I have also given him a lot of advice about what I did when I was younger to try and help him get the same thing. It’s his big year and his recruiting year, and he definitely wants to play college lacrosse.”
“He’s really stepping it up on the varsity side this year.”
So is Luca’s entire boys’ squad, which graduated a whopping 19 seniors after falling in a heartbreaker to two-time reigning Group 4 state champion and 10th-ranked Westfield High School, 8-7, in last year’s North Group 4 state sectional finals.
That concluded a successful 14-7 campaign for Bridgewater-Raritan last season, but like clockwork in 2026, the Panthers have clearly reloaded yet again to the tune of another fantastic start.
With Iona University men’s lacrosse-bound senior goalie Reid Feinstein (10 saves) in the cage as the Panthers’ last line of defense, seniors Mikey Bratus, Max Lavender, Connor O’Hare (one assist), and Richie Gardner (one goal) were amongst those who contributed to another shutdown defensive performance against the Ridgers on Community Night.
While they are full-time defensemen representing the Class of 2026, Catanzaro is a regular starter on this side of the field despite only being a sophomore. He is also an integral part of the Panthers’ faceoff unit with players like Crovelli, junior Tyler Hamby (one goal), and sophomore Will Majokwa (five-for-five faceoffs won).
“I’d like to thank Coach Kurdyla, because he has bonded us together,” credited Luca Catanzaro of his team’s varsity assistant coach and Declan’s uncle: Allen Kurdyla (Class of 1991), who was the Bridgewater-Raritan’s second senior recipient of the program’s highest honor: wearing the No. 8 jersey worn in memory of the late Michael Bruce. “All of our captain’s practices leading up to this have helped us build our chemistry, as well as our senior leaders. I’m playing around all seniors who will be graduating, but every year, we’ll just keep reloading.”
“Next year, I have faith in our defense to rebuild the exact same way.”
Just looking at the final score, one would not even know that this was also a come-from-behind victory for Bridgewater-Raritan, which was on the wrong end of a forced fumble on the game’s initial possession.
Junior goalie Keiller Goodwin (11 saves) jumped on the ensuing ground ball in the first minute of regulation, and while Feinstein answered with a save of his own with 10:15 left in the first quarter, an early throw out of bounds by Bridgewater-Raritan gave the Ridgers another chance to strike first.
Labadia did just that from long range to give Glen Ridge a 1-0 lead with 6:37 left in the first quarter, but its lead lasted for just over a minute and a half.
Shortly before his dad: Nick, also helped facilitate the aforementioned youth halftime showcase, sophomore Will Childs (one goal, one assist) got Bridgewater-Raritan on the board with 4:04 to go in the first quarter.
After that, the Panthers never trailed again.
A high pass by the Ridgers that sailed out of bounds behind Feinstein with 2:30 left in the first quarter then resulted in another possession for Bridgewater-Raritan, which was looking to capitalize and take its first lead of the game.
While Goodwin stopped back-to-back transition shots by the Panthers, Bridgewater-Raritan intercepted each of the ensuing passes at midfield. The second pickoff was run back by Gardner, whose ensuing attempt was blocked by Goodwin.
Like he did as the Panthers’ leading boys’ basketball scorer in the winter, however, he secured the offensive rebound and scored on a putback for the go-ahead goal with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
This gave Bridgewater-Raritan a 2-1 lead after one period, and from there, the Panthers led for good.
In addition to Declan Kurdyla and Will Childs, seniors Jack Cifuentes (three goals, one assist) and Will Higgins (two goals) gave the Panthers four multi-point scorers against Glen Ridge, which also tallied points in defeat from senior Carson Ross (one goal, two assists), senior Stephen Grober (two assists), senior Jimmy Benson (one goal), junior Dixon Atkinson (one goal), and sophomore Aidan Kelly (one assist).
For Bridgewater-Raritan’s victorious squad, one goal each was also registered by senior Louis Giacomazza, junior Shane Higgins, and sophomore Jack Winne in what has proven to be yet another reloaded unit offensively for the Panthers in 2026.
“It’s obviously really hard to emulate the guys of the past, but I just feel like we work with who we have,” reflected of his team’s offense by Will Childs, whose older brother: Andrew (Class of 2025), wore Michael Bruce’s No. 8 for Bridgewater-Raritan last year and is now playing college lacrosse at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). “We have a very athletic and two-handed group this year that can always go to the goal, and we’re just a very hard offense to be able to match zone or man.”
“Whatever they throw at us, we can beat, and we showed that tonight.”
Most importantly, while the final score was not indicative of how much the visiting Ridgers made Bridgewater-Raritan work all evening, the Panthers’ annual tradition of serving up a powerhouse matchup Community Night to their players of the future did not disappoint.
Especially given the entertaining performance of Bridgewater-Raritan’s youth lacrosse players.
“I don’t think it’s anything to do with me or our coaches, but it’s just the program and what this program is all about,” explained at halftime by Will’s dad: Nick, who also played lacrosse at RPI (Class of 2001) where Andrew is now. “Moving into the area and coming to Bridgewater, I was lucky enough to fall into this program, and I saw what coaches Chuck and Matt Apel have done. It’s outstanding, and it’s one of the only programs that I’ve seen that really is connected all the way through from pee wee, kindergarten, and all the way up to seniors leaving. It’s great that our seniors in high school come back and help run our pee wee program.”
“It’s a big community, and that’s what you’re seeing tonight.”
Notably, that showcase also completed one key full-circle moment for the Panthers.
Declan’s uncle: Allen Kurdyla, was a three-year letterwinner at Rutgers University (1993-95) and was on Bridgewater-Raritan’s sideline during the game as his team’s regular varsity assistant coach. On Community Night, his dad: Aaron – a four-year letterwinner at Rutgers (1994-97), was amongst those also guiding Bridgewater-Raritan’s youth players at halftime. Like Declan and his three older brothers also were just over three decades later, both of them were guided by longtime Hall-Of-Fame head coach and four-year Rutgers University letterwinner Chuck Apel (1974-77), who is in his 47th season leading the Panthers and leads this squad with his son: Matt (Bridgewater-Raritan High School Class of 2000 and four-year letterwinner at Rutgers from 2001-04).
Allen Kurdyla and Matt Apel were also the team’s senior recipients of the No. 8 jersey in 1991 and 2000, respectively, in honor of the late Michael Bruce. Kevin Buchan (Class of 1997): Declan’s maternal uncle, also wore Bruce’s No. 8 jersey that two of Declan’s three older brothers: Brady (Class of 2022) and Colin (Class of 2023), also wore as Aaron Kurdyla’s first of four boys to enjoy memorable careers in Bridgewater-Raritan’s program.
“No. 8 means a lot for this whole program, and Michael Bruce is a symbol for all of our hard work,” explained after the game by Will Childs, whose older brother: Andrew, passed Michael Bruce’s No. 8 jersey to current senior Reid Feinstein – Bridgewater-Raritan’s 37th and current annual recipient of this jersey. “Going through our youth program, we just look up to this day and see all of these kids playing. I remember being in seventh grade watching us beat Pingry [8-7 in double overtime on Community Night in 2023] and thinking that was going to me in a couple of years.”
“It’s honestly the goal as you’re going into the youth program, so it’s a great thing to see all of the young kids where I was earlier.”
As a sophomore along with Winne (14 goals, two assists), Will Childs (11 goals, 10 assists) is amongst six Bridgewater-Raritan players and counting with a double-digit number of points (goals or assists). Declan Kurdyla (33 goals, 28 assists) leads the team with 61 total points, while Cifuentes (29 goals, 17 assists), Shane Higgins (12 goals, five assists), and Will Higgins (10 goals, one assist) also round out this category for the Panthers following Community Night.
“It just makes me proud that my kids have put in a lot of effort in order to get here,” praised Nick Childs about his two sons: Andrew and Will. “They love the sport and love Bridgewater lacrosse. Andrew took his No. 8 to college with him and hangs it up on his wall. This program means a lot to them, and it’s given a lot back to our family.”
“It’s great to see all of our crowd watch them play.”
After graduation this June, Declan will be following older brothers Brady and Colin to Rutgers University’s men’s lacrosse team to further add to the rich pipeline from Bridgewater-Raritan to the banks of the Old Raritan in Piscataway.
Not only did Declan and his cousin: Holmdel senior Finn Buchan (Kevin’s son), also square off against each other March 25 to launch their senior boys’ lacrosse seasons at Holmdel High School – particularly with Finn also wearing the No. 8 for the Hornets.
With Aaron’s third son in Cameron (Class of 2024) graduating two years ago and currently serving NJIT’s goalie, Declan officially became the last of his four sons to compete on the varsity field on Community Night while his dad directed the younger Panthers players at halftime.
“It’s about all of the parents that play in the program and Mr. Apel who started it,” credited Aaron Kurdyla of who has led to Bridgewater-Raritan’s constant success and partnerships between its youth and high school programs for nearly half of a century – connections that have also directly impacted the lacrosse landscape beyond high school and even college. “He’s been the lifeblood of the program. The parents are huge with helping out, and we have more volunteers than anybody else. That’s what the success of this program is all about, and it’s a proud tradition that I was lucky to be a part of with my brother.”
“I’m just happy to see Declan having any type of success with this team.”
According to NCAA recruiting regulations, “Division I coaches and recruits must wait until September 1 after an athlete’s junior year to communicate via verbal offers, emails, calls, texts, and recruiting letters. Though recruiting rules do vary from division to division.”
Regardless of the future of Bridgewater-Raritan’s current underclassmen beyond their time in Panthers uniforms, however, big things lie ahead for their squad to launch the final month of the regular season.
After moving up two spots to the No. 5 ranking amongst all boys’ lacrosse teams in New Jersey, Bridgewater-Raritan (11-1) will travel to 14th-ranked Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (8-6) next for another massive showdown at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, in Rumson. The Panthers have dropped their last two road trips to the Bulldogs’ field, going back to a loss in the semifinal round, 13-8, in the NJSIAA’s final Tournament of Champions in 2022.
Bridgewater-Raritan also fell in its most recent trip to Rumson-Fair Haven, 10-7, the following year, but the Panthers defeated the Bulldogs in Bridgewater, 10-5, last year.
The Panthers will also await the coming day’s seeding for this year’s edition of the Somerset County Boys’ Lacrosse Tournament, which the Panthers will try to win for the first time since winning four straight titles from 2015-18.
“Every team in the Skyland Conference is really good,” stated Declan Kurdyla of his team’s goals in May and the Panthers’ strong case over 13th-ranked Gill St. Bernard’s School (7-6) and 16th-ranked Pingry School (10-2) for the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament. “Pingry is a very good team that beat us [4-3 in double overtime, March 28 in Bridgewater], and so is [reigning county champion] Gill St. Bernard’s. We lost to a very good team in Pingry, but we are very young, and that was a lot of our sophomores’ second game of the season. Props to Pingry, because they got the best of us there, but I think this Bridgewater-Raritan team is gelling very well together. Glen Ridge is a very good team – even though the score was 14-5, and they are one of the better teams in the state. Going into the Somerset County Tournament, how can you not look at the Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers and see how good we are playing together? We had two players with a hat trick and so many different scorers, and Will Higgins is really starting to put his foot on the pedal.”
“No matter what team gets the No. 1 spot, we’re going to come in fighting.”