Double Overtime Victory Earns Millburn-S. Hills LAX Championship

MILLBURN, NJ —In a nail-biter, the Millburn-Short Hills Lacrosse Club’s 5th Grade team came away victorious in a double-overtime, sudden-death championship game versus the GT Lacrosse Club from Eastern Pennsylvania in the annual Trilogy Veterans Day Classic Lacrosse Tournament Sunday.

Each year the tournament is held at Mercer County Park over Veterans Day weekend and features competitive youth teams from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Sunday’s tournament started at 8:45 a.m. under sunny skies, but with temperatures in the low 30s and a brisk wind, the boys were forced to bundle up more than usual for a lacrosse game. Wearing rubber examination gloves under their lacrosse gloves, and using hand warmers on the sidelines, the Millburn boys got right to work in their first game versus 3d Garden State, winning that game 7-3. The young Millers went on to defeat Mad Dog NJ 6-0 and NJ Diesel 7-0, ultimately qualifying to face GT in the championship game.

The Millburn team was coached by Head Varsity Coach of Millburn High School Brian Stromko and Dan Miggins, who teamed up to run the MSHLAX fall program for grades three through eight.

Tense Ending

In the final minute of the championship game, GT advanced the ball over the midline where Millburn defender, J.P. Maggio, battled for a ground ball on a dropped pass. GT came up with the ball and with Maggio in pursuit, Millburn defender Wes Dieckman dove at the opponent to force a shot that was saved by Millburn goalie, Shane Posner. Posner cleared the ball to the midline where midfielder, Jack Gukassey, caught the ball and charged the goal. He dished the ball early to Parker Justice in the alley who ran at the goal but lost the ball to a GT defender’s check. The GT goalie grabbed the ball and lofted a clearing pass to the top of the box where Gukassey intercepted the ball. Once again, Gukassey attacked the goal but this time was met with a swarm of GT defenders. At the last moment, Gukassey found Justice on the back door who took a no-angle shot and scored the winning goal for the Millers.

Over the last three years, the MSHLAX 2026 team has grown to include over 30 of Millburn Township’s 5th grade boys, but due to a number of conflicts, only 14 were able to attend the tournament, leaving them relatively short handed. MSHLAX was the only “single township” team competing in its division of private, for-profit clubs, which usually recruit top players from multiple towns to form a single team.

“Many of our Millburn boys have been playing together for four years now, but each year new kids join, so we have a wide range of experience and skills,” said Executive Director of MSHLAX Jonathan Justice. “What’s most meaningful is seeing them enjoying the sport, creating lifelong friendships and learning some life lessons along the way. That said, pulling off a short-staffed tournament victory is a great reward for all their hard work. What they accomplished today was truly an all-team effort—they couldn’t have done it without each and every one of those 14 boys.”

The Millers were led on defense by long-poles Wes Dieckman and J.P. Maggio who were joined by first-year long-pole, Jordan Roth, who also stepped up to hold off attacking opponents. The midfielders, whose job it is to play both offense and defense and cover 100 yards of play, were anchored by returning players Leo Cantor, Zev Fine, Gukassey and Chase Plotkin; they were joined by first-year midfielder, Tim Chinchilla. The team’s attack was comprised of Max Cantor, Jake Frohlich, Parker Justice, Bruno Pastore (who also did double-duty as a middie), and Reese Solomon. The team’s goalie, Shane Posner, came away with two shut-outs on the day versus Mad Dog NJ and NJ Diesel. Scorers included Max Cantor, Fine, Gukassey, Justice, Plotkin and Solomon, with selfless assists provided by a number of Millers including Dieckman, Leo Cantor, Gukassey, Fine, Justice, Pastore and Plotkin.

The Millburn-Short Hills Lacrosse Club is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization operating exclusively for the purpose of promoting youth lacrosse and lacrosse education within the Township of Millburn, New Jersey. For more information about the Boys and Girls Programs, please visit www.mshlax.org.

(Photo courtesy of MSHLAX 2026)

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your
local Patch site here. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter by clicking here. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading our Apple iOS app here, or by visiting the Google Play store for the Android app here.