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Both the boys and girls Holmdel High School lacrosse teams this season have been seeing success -- and at the forefront are a brother and sister combination of high-volume scorers who come from a long line of laxers.
More: Shore Conference girls lacrosse rankings. See who's new in the Top 20 teams
Meet senior attacker and Stevens Institute of Technology commit Finnegan Buchan, who in April became the boys program all-time leader in goals - through May 4 he's collected 170 goals and 80 assists. This season for the 11-3 Hornets, Finnegan has 35 goals and 30 assists.
Over on the girls side is sophomore and midfielder Ryann Buchan. She's the leading scorer for the 9-3 Hornets, who're unbeaten in their division. Ryann has racked up 39 goals and 29 assists after a 40-goal season as a freshman.
More: A new top dog in Top 20 team rankings for Shore Conference boys lacrosse
Boys and girls lacrosse differ primarily in physicality, equipment, and rules: boys lacrosse allows body checking and requires full pads, similar to hockey. The girls side emphasizes finesse, stick skills, and no-contact play.
Regardless, Finn and Ryann have mastered their sport at the high school level. The two siblings have been laxers from an early age.
“We’ve been playing in the backyard since we were 3 years old,” Finnegan said. “We all had our first sticks when we were 2. We’ve just been playing in the backyard forever.”
"My whole family, we all play lacrosse and Finn's been a really big part," Ryann said. "Just like playing, I want to follow in his footsteps and just seeing him work makes me work harder... My younger siblings play and few of my cousins, they play at Rutgers, so it runs in the family."
The two cousins at Rutgers are Brady and Colin Kurdyla. There's also another set of cousins: Bridgewater-Raritan senior Declan Kurdyla, who's committed to Rutgers; and Cameron Kurdyla, who plays at NJIT. Holmdel's boys played Bridgewater-Raritan at the start of the season and fell to the Panthers. Ryann and Finnegan's uncles - Aaron and Allen Kurdyla, and Patrick Murphy - all played at Rutgers.
Ryann and Finnegan's dad Kevin Buchan also played at Bridgewater-Raritan and Rutgers and they have two younger siblings who are looking like future lax stars, Lachlan and Teagan.
Three times this season Ryann and the Holmdel girls team have had three-game winning streaks and they're eyeing eyeing another division title. This past week Ryann scored the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat an unbeaten Brick Township team.
"Just to kind of reshape the team and continue to lead for the new girls coming," said Ryann when asked of her goals.
"We have a strong HYAA (Holmdel Youth Activities Association) youth program," Holmdel girls head coach Marina Ackerson said. "So these girls have been playing with each other since kindergarten. So they know each other really well and they know where each other plays on the field, and they feel each other and it's just a lot of friendships and a lot of good things."
Meanwhile, you can find Finnegan around the crease, catching and delivering tough passes, while also being able to find the net for the boys team.
He also came up through the town's youth program. This year's high school team added depth when Jack Cannon - a Dartmouth football quarterback commit - returned to lacrosse after taking a year off to focus on football. Finnegan and Jack have been playing together since they were 5 years old. Senior defender Marcus Cremele is also one of his tight teammates.
Despite the personal accolades, Finnegan says he has one goal - a team goal.
"Just a sectional championship, honestly," Finnegan said. "I have no personal goals. I just want to win a sectional championship with my boys."
Finn "has been one of our leaders for the past two years," Holmdel boys head coach Brendan Quinn said. "Obviously the numbers speak for themselves, but everything else he does, in my mind, shines way more than that. Whether it's putting in offseason work, putting the guys together to do such and such, he's such a great leader - him and Marcus and really all of our seniors."
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Holmdel's Finnegan Buchan, Ryann Buchan build on family lacrosse legacy
Continue reading...
More: Shore Conference girls lacrosse rankings. See who's new in the Top 20 teams
Meet senior attacker and Stevens Institute of Technology commit Finnegan Buchan, who in April became the boys program all-time leader in goals - through May 4 he's collected 170 goals and 80 assists. This season for the 11-3 Hornets, Finnegan has 35 goals and 30 assists.
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Over on the girls side is sophomore and midfielder Ryann Buchan. She's the leading scorer for the 9-3 Hornets, who're unbeaten in their division. Ryann has racked up 39 goals and 29 assists after a 40-goal season as a freshman.
More: A new top dog in Top 20 team rankings for Shore Conference boys lacrosse
Boys and girls lacrosse differ primarily in physicality, equipment, and rules: boys lacrosse allows body checking and requires full pads, similar to hockey. The girls side emphasizes finesse, stick skills, and no-contact play.
Regardless, Finn and Ryann have mastered their sport at the high school level. The two siblings have been laxers from an early age.
“We’ve been playing in the backyard since we were 3 years old,” Finnegan said. “We all had our first sticks when we were 2. We’ve just been playing in the backyard forever.”
"My whole family, we all play lacrosse and Finn's been a really big part," Ryann said. "Just like playing, I want to follow in his footsteps and just seeing him work makes me work harder... My younger siblings play and few of my cousins, they play at Rutgers, so it runs in the family."
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Strong Rutgers and Bridgewater-Raritan ties
The two cousins at Rutgers are Brady and Colin Kurdyla. There's also another set of cousins: Bridgewater-Raritan senior Declan Kurdyla, who's committed to Rutgers; and Cameron Kurdyla, who plays at NJIT. Holmdel's boys played Bridgewater-Raritan at the start of the season and fell to the Panthers. Ryann and Finnegan's uncles - Aaron and Allen Kurdyla, and Patrick Murphy - all played at Rutgers.
Ryann and Finnegan's dad Kevin Buchan also played at Bridgewater-Raritan and Rutgers and they have two younger siblings who are looking like future lax stars, Lachlan and Teagan.
You must be registered for see images attach
Holmdel lacrosse on the move
Three times this season Ryann and the Holmdel girls team have had three-game winning streaks and they're eyeing eyeing another division title. This past week Ryann scored the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat an unbeaten Brick Township team.
"Just to kind of reshape the team and continue to lead for the new girls coming," said Ryann when asked of her goals.
You must be registered for see images attach
"We have a strong HYAA (Holmdel Youth Activities Association) youth program," Holmdel girls head coach Marina Ackerson said. "So these girls have been playing with each other since kindergarten. So they know each other really well and they know where each other plays on the field, and they feel each other and it's just a lot of friendships and a lot of good things."
Meanwhile, you can find Finnegan around the crease, catching and delivering tough passes, while also being able to find the net for the boys team.
He also came up through the town's youth program. This year's high school team added depth when Jack Cannon - a Dartmouth football quarterback commit - returned to lacrosse after taking a year off to focus on football. Finnegan and Jack have been playing together since they were 5 years old. Senior defender Marcus Cremele is also one of his tight teammates.
Despite the personal accolades, Finnegan says he has one goal - a team goal.
"Just a sectional championship, honestly," Finnegan said. "I have no personal goals. I just want to win a sectional championship with my boys."
You must be registered for see images attach
Finn "has been one of our leaders for the past two years," Holmdel boys head coach Brendan Quinn said. "Obviously the numbers speak for themselves, but everything else he does, in my mind, shines way more than that. Whether it's putting in offseason work, putting the guys together to do such and such, he's such a great leader - him and Marcus and really all of our seniors."
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Holmdel's Finnegan Buchan, Ryann Buchan build on family lacrosse legacy
Continue reading...
