Hopewell Valley’s Luke Caldwell, left, and Ty Becker, right, celebrate after Caldwell scored against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Joeseph Demareski, left, looks to move past th e defense of Allentown’s Peter marucci, right, during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Ty Becker tires to avoid having the ball knocked away against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown’s Sean McCaffery, front, tries to get around the defense of Hopewell Valley’s Milan Desai, back, during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown’s Michael Spooner goes to pass the ball against Hopewell Valley during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown’s Trevor Duffy, right, looks to move around the check of Hopewell Valley’s Joeseph Demareski, left, during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Johnny Ellis runs up the field with the ball against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown’s Luke Laurinatis runs the ball clear against Hopewell Valley during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Luke Caldwell, left, tries to move away from the defense of Allentown’s Ryan Pellegrino, right, during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown’s Brian McCaffery moves with the ball against Hopewell Valley during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Luke Caldwell, 22, reacts after scoring a goal against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown’s Anthony Visconti tries to control the ball against Hopewell Valley during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Ryan Foret holds the ball against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Dylan Yasher, left, controls the face off as he tries to move away from Allentown’s Brian McCaffery, right, during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown goalie Kyle Simels passes the ball against Hopewell Valley during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley goalie Owen Shehab stands in action against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Luke Caldwell sits on the bench before the start of a CVC boys lacrosse game against on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Kyle Yadamiec goes to pass the ball to a teammate against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Allentown coach Alex Finan looks on against Hopewell Valley during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley coach Matthew Foret looks on from the sideline against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Show Caption1 of 20Hopewell Valley’s Luke Caldwell, left, and Ty Becker, right, celebrate after Caldwell scored against Allentown during a CVC boys lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Expand HOPEWELL TWP. — The opportunity to do something special this season is so immense for the Hopewell Valley boys lacrosse team that leaders Luke Caldwell and Ryan Foret would often gather their teammates for offseason workouts. “Come shoot with us,” they would say, according to teammate Kyle Yadamiec, “to make sure we were getting better so it’s not just the Luke and Ryan show anymore.” The Bulldogs want to be as deep of a team as possible. They were already very good last season with an 18-3 record including a Mercer County Tournament championship, but it wasn’t quite good enough to reach a sectional title game, which has been an elusive feat for the Colonial Valley Conference’s boys lacrosse schools. Hopewell, fortunately, was able to bring back that entire team and now has 14 seniors as it pursues an elite status this spring. The Bulldogs are off to a 2-0 start after rolling CVC rival Allentown at home on Thursday, 8-2. “One thing we’re looking to improve on is our depth, so we’re really focusing on making sure everyone is involved, everyone is keeping their stick skills sharp and getting better so that we have more depth,” said Yadamiec, a junior midfielder who scored two goals in the win. “Injuries happen, so be ready — next man up.” Caldwell and Foret each scored two goals and Foret had an assist, but the Bulldogs also got a goal from defenseman Milan Desai off a turnover in the first quarter and one in the fourth quarter from Max Przelski, a freshman attackman who also scored his first assist. Yadamiec’s two unassisted goals in the third quarter gave Hopewell some breathing room in the third quarter since the Bulldogs were only up 5-2 at the time against Allentown (0-1), which features a pair of Division I lacrosse commits and should again be a top CVC team. “I know my capabilities; I know that if I have an opportunity, I’ll take it,” Yadamiec said. “For me, it’s just like, how can I make the team win? How can I help out the team? Their defense was really good. Credit to them, defense was playing really well; 6-on-6, they were stopping us pretty well, so in transition I knew I had an opportunity and I just took it.” Virginia commit Brian McCaffery and Luke Laurinatis were the only players to score a goal for Allentown, so Hopewell’s defense has clamped down on two solid teams so far. The Bulldogs beat Immaculata in their season opener on Tuesday, 9-5. In terms of the CVC, what really separates Hopewell is its nearly flawless ball movement and ability to penetrate any type of defense. “We reflect sometimes on our last season, and this time last season we were dropping passes and stuff,” Yadamiec said. “I think this year definitely ball movement is a lot better. We’re able to spin it a lot faster and just keep it off the ground as much as we can.” In addition to shooting on the field together in the offseason, the Hopewell players held group weight-lifting sessions to boost their camaraderie. “Staying together, keeping a tight-knit group was really important for us, and then we were just keeping our stick skills sharp and making sure all our strength from last season carried on to this season,” Yadamiec said. “We’re really just staying locked in, mentally focused and even though we have a bunch of seniors now, just stay locked in for the season and keep our heads right. Just because we had a great season last year doesn’t mean it’s gonna carry on to this year.” The NJSIAA realigned some schools this season for the state tournament, so Hopewell is now in North Jersey Group II and will play a schedule that should prepare the Bulldogs to go all the way. They will next travel to Warren Hills (another North II team) on Saturday, and in May they will host a pair of reigning sectional finalists in Cherokee (South IV) and West Morris (North II). Hopewell’s mission to to grow more dominant throughout the season and in the CVC Tournament in order for this decorated senior class to get to that historic sectional final. “It’s one game at a time,” Yadamiec said, “but yeah, that’s our overarching goal.” Allentown (0-1) 1 0 1 0 – 2 Hopewell Valley (1-0) 3 2 2 1 – 8 Goals – B. McCaffery, Patten (A), Caldwell 2, Foret 2, Yadamiec 2, Desai, Przelski (HV). Assists – Laurinatis (A), Foret, Yadamiec, Przelski, Becker (HV). Shots – 13 (A), 26 (HV). Saves – Simels 8 (A), Shehab 6 (HV). ...read more read less