Mike Sanguinetti recently passed his brother, and Robbinsville High School lacrosse legend A.J. Sanguinetti as the school's scoring leader.
Robbinsville senior lacrosse attacker Mike Sanguinetti, center, led the Ravens to a narrow 12-10 victory over Notre Dame on April 13.ROBBINSVILLE -- A.J. Sanguinetti, one of the best lacrosse players that ever stepped foot on a Robbinsville High School athletic field, is no longer the most accomplished player in school history.
That mantle now goes to his younger brother Mike, a senior attacker, who recently broke a pair of A.J.'s school records.
When A.J. graduated in 2012, he had scored more points (201) and more goals (140) than any other Raven had before him.
Four years later, during a narrow 12-10 win over Notre Dame on April 13, Mike finally surpassed A.J.'s scoring record, netting 5 goals and 4 assists in the victory. A few days later, Robbinsville's all-time goals record also belonged to him.
What made the win over Notre Dame even sweeter? The Ravens hadn't beaten the Irish since 2012 - back when A.J. was a senior.
"This is a signature program win for us," Mike Sanguinetti told NJ Advance Media after the victory. "It's been something we've been striving for since my brother's team beat them when he was a senior. It's been a goal of ours to keep after it and we've been rebuilding and rebuilding, but this is our time. As a team we're working the ball around very well. I got a lot of help from Jake Veres, he's a sophomore who's got a bright future.
"Lacrosse is a game of runs, and when Notre Dame got close at the end of the half we came back and scored twice and that was big," he said. "We knew it was going to be a close game, but in years past they've blown us out. But I think now and into the future whoever makes the best runs is going to win."
After the victory, Robbinsville coach Sean Greig praised his players. It's not hard to guess who received the biggest ovation.
"You don't get many kids like Mike," said Greig. "I'm really happy for him getting the points record. He's just a special kid and he's great, but we've got some other outstanding players. We've got Corey Kale (a former Athlete of the Week), he's coming up and is learning from Mikey, and Jake Veres is young and learning. Our defense was outstanding today and I can't say enough about our goalie Derek Taylor. He had the game of his life."
While Robbinsville certainly has a talented roster, it has a clear leader - Mike Sanguinetti, who now has the rest of the season to further inflate his impressive records.
Rich Cuccagna may be reached at rcuccagna@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichCuccagna. Find NJ.com on Facebook.