Lacrosse Alumni Play Annual Game for Charity

Thursday night at Silver Lake Park over 100 people came to watch some of the best Harrison lacrosse alumni play against each other in a fundraising event to benefit both the Harrison Lacrosse program and the Sloan Kettering cancer center.

The game has been played for the past six years and for the last three has been played in memory of Peggy Kelly. Kelly was a beloved member of the Harrison community and a fan and contributor to several of Harrison High School's sports teams.

"I didn't know Mrs. Kelly too well, we had only met a few times," said Harrison Lacrosse coach Bruce Kinisky, who set up the game. "She was a wonderful woman and when I heard what she had meant to the Harrison lacrosse program and to her boys, I just thought it was a great opportunity to recognize somebody and do something for somebody who had given back a lot to the community and the people. It was a nice way to pay tribute to somebody."

Kelly's two sons were some of the town's best lacrosse players during their varsity careers. Sean was a member of Harrison's graduating class in 2003 and played two years of varsity lacrosse, Ryan graduated two years later after playing three years on the varsity team. Both boys went on to SUNY Buffalo and played lacrosse at the college level.

"It is great, everybody in the community gets behind us and donates their time and money for the cause," said Ryan Kelly. "People were calling and emailing me the day of the game to ask if they could still donate to our cause, it was great to feel the love of all my friends and family."

The game took place on the turf field in the park and the teams were separated into a white and maroon squad. The majority of the athletes were recent graduates from Harrison, but some of the players were coaches at the Harrison lacrosse camp.

"A lot of us play in a summer league together so it was nice to get out there and play against each other as opposed to us all playing with one another," said Ryan Kelly. "We got to goof around a little bit."

The majority of the players participated in college lacrosse at some level. Colleges represented included Cornell, Springfield, Siena, Buffalo, Hofstra, Fordham, Sacred Heart, Ohio Wesleyan and others.

As for the on-field action, the game was divided into two halves and it was a close game all the way to the end. Matt Cipolla was the white team's goalie throughout the game and his team won 7-6.

"Both the Cipolla brothers played really well," said Kinisky. "They were the team's goalies and I thought they each looked good out there."

After the game the teams got together for a barbeque in the park. Some people hadn't seen each other since last year's alumni game so they stayed late and caught up with one another over a hot dog and soda.

"It was great to see everyone," said Kinisky. "The majority of the guys on the field were born in Harrison and are Harrison High School alumni."

More information on the Sloan Kettering Cancer Society can be found here: http://mskcc.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=giv_donate_now