LINWOOD – The 2026 boys lacrosse season started with a matchup against Cape-Atlantic League rivals – the Mainland Mustangs and Lower Cape May Caper Tigers.
After an offseason of roster changes for both teams, Mainland Regional High School’s offense was in control from the start and rode an early lead into an 18-1 win over the Caper Tigers Friday, March 27. Junior Jack Gregory announced his return to the Mustangs in a big way with three goals in the first quarter after missing most of last season due to a broken ankle.
“Last year I started off with an injury and had a senior in front of me,” Gregory said, “but this year I can fill in my spot and it’s good to be back at it. I can’t wait for the rest of the season.”
Gregory finished the game with five goals and only trailed in points only to Ryan Scannell, who scored three times but dished out four assists. Scannell had 50 points last season as a freshman and is off to a great start to replicate and surpass his first season.
“The difference between this year and last year is the hard work we put in the offseason,” Gregory said. “I have great teammates that can get me the ball anywhere on the field and the coaches around me built a great community. It is easy to succeed when I have a team like this.”
Mainland head coach Luc Swedlund echoed a lot of Gregory’s thoughts about this year’s Mustang squad.
“I think our guys have put in a lot of time, energy and effort into preparing for this season,” Swedlund said. “A lot of credit to them. They were excited for this opportunity today and came out and played hard. They have bought in to this program and what we are teaching them, and they got the result they wanted today.”
Mainland blitzed Lower in the first quarter with a quick 6-0 lead before the first frame was over. The young Caper Tiger team took that first punch and stabilized before halftime.
Lower was stuck in their defensive end for most of the game but got its first goal of the season from an unlikely defensive player. One of only a few seniors on the team, Ty Bonner put the Caper Tigers on the board to start the second quarter. In his third season as Lower Cape May Regional High School’s full-time goalie, Bonner only had scored once before but against Mainland he managed to get on offense and safely get a shot off.
Bonner and the defense held Mainland to a one-goal quarter and stayed in the game despite the slow start.
Mustang Harrison Gurwicz has handled Mainland’s face-offs for the last two seasons and picked up where he left off last season against Lower. The senior took one of the first face-offs of the game all the way to the net and scored a solo goal. He then later passed off his duties to sophomore Conlan Fitzpatrick, who went 12 for 15 in his first game.
After it was shut down before halftime, Mainland got back into rhythm and put the game out of reach for the Caper Tigers in the second half. Returning players Joe Eyde and Liam Kennedy followed closely behind Gregory and Scannell on offense as they all try to fill in the huge hole Harrison LaMonaca left after he graduated. LaMonaca spent all four of his seasons near the top of the stat sheet and will require the entire offense to step up to make up for his production.
Four different Mustangs scored two or more goals, which is the ideal formula Swedlund has in mind for the team this season.
“We made it our goal this year to be a little more diverse in our scoring,” Swedlund said. “Harrison is a great player who is really tough to replace but we look at it as if we can get more guys contributing, we are going to end up matching what Harry had. This year I feel we have a lot more depth. I feel we have more guys who can put it in the back of the net and it makes a big difference for us because we are harder to defend.”
Swedlund’s Mustangs have a handful of home games next up on their schedule starting with a visit from Kingsway High School at 4 p.m. April 1. Three days later Mainland will host St. Joseph High School from Metuchen for a 10 a.m. start April 4.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
