MONTVILLE – The Montville Mustangs (2-0) galloped to a 14-6 win over the Mendham Minutemen (0-1) on Wednesday. The Mustangs broke away in the second half with nine goals after entering halftime with a 5-3 lead against their Rizk Division foes.
Through two games now, the Mustangs have found the back of the net 20 times. Interestingly, while senior attackman Ryan Conlon is among the best at his position in the state, he only has two goals so far this season.
Against Mendham, Conlon did rip an incredible shot to give Montville a 4-3 lead with 2:04 remaining in the second quarter. With Conlon guarded by the opposing team’s defense, others stepped up massively. Enter senior Evan VanderWekke and sophomore Justin Martinez.
On Wednesday, VanderWekke was a scoring machine and an excellent distributor, finishing with four goals and three assists for seven points. Fittingly enough, the fourteenth goal for Montville was scored by number 14 himself, VanderWekke.
The star through the first two contests of the season for Montville, however, has to be Martinez. A great player on ice in hockey, Martinez is now developing into something special for the sport that is famously nicknamed “the fastest game on two feet.”
In Montville’s first game of the season against Tenafly, Martinez showed flashes of potential with three assists. Against Mendham, Martinez had a fantastic six-point performance, scoring four goals and recording two assists. The sophomore was dynamic on Wednesday and he was responsible for the first goal of the day for Montville.
“Justin [is] coming along, he’s a sophomore, just a kid that has a knack for the game, [that] has a good eye for it,” Montville head coach Rick DeBonta said postgame. “Evan [VanderWekke] coming along behind, feeding him, finding him. Just putting it in the back of the net and supporting.”
Wednesday’s game for the Mustangs was a game that will no doubt help them as they progress through the season. Morris County is a talent-filled lacrosse hotbed and Montville knows that they can compete with the best of the county. The youth on the squad will be important for those games as they were on Wednesday
“Lot of hustle, we got a bunch of young guys out there, lot of sophomores playing,” DeBonta said postgame. “First time, really, in a serious Morris County game so they did a great job.”
Defensively, there was a lot to like from the Mustangs. A shutout in the first quarter and excellent work in the second half helped the home side greatly. Goalie Caleb Bruno also shone brightly, making critical saves throughout the game.
For Mendham, Wednesday’s game was only their first of the season. They have the talent such as seniors Hudson Loures, Brody Connelly and Patricio Grob to make some noise in 2026.
The Minutemen felt a similar feeling to the way they ended their 2025 campaign. Mendham fell to Montville last May in the first round of the NJSIAA, North Jersey, Group 2 Tournament.
For Montville, they will look to continue their winning streak this Saturday when they visit Montclair.
