HHS girls break through for lacrosse victory

DeLuca leads offensive barrage

By: Rudy Brandl
   It was only a matter of time before the Hillsborough High girls won a lacrosse game.
   The team continued to steadily improve after suffering two early blowout losses. The offense started to click and the games kept getting closer. Last Thursday, it all came together when the Raiders rocked Watchung Hills by a 10-3 score.
   Hillsborough (1-5) was coming off its most heart-breaking loss of the season, a 15-13 double overtime gut-wrencher in East Brunswick. The HHS girls spotted Watchung the game’s first goal but asserted their dominance after that and coasted to their first victory.
   "They’ve been playing tough against some tough teams," Hillsborough head coach Beth Murrin said. "We’ve been keeping it close and we just lost a real tough game in overtime. I knew this was coming. They’re a real good team this year and they’ve been making a lot of improvements."
   The biggest improvement since the season-opening 14-1 loss to Ridge has come in the offense. After struggling to score early in the campaign, the Raiders broke into double figures in both games last week.
   "In our first couple of games, we couldn’t even keep the ball on offense," said senior first home Katelyn Powers, who contributed two goals in the victory. "We’ve been working on plays to get somebody open instead of just passing to some random person."
   Hillsborough ran off four straight goals to end the first half with a 4-1 lead and added another early in the second half before Watchung got back on the board. Powers converted a beautiful transition goal off an assist by fellow senior Katie DiGiovanni to tie the game at 8:48.
   "We’ve started working on offensive plays and shooting drills," Powers said. "I just tried to be the person in the open space to get the ball."
   Watchung scored first and controlled the possession for the first part of the game. The Powers goal changed the momentum and the Raiders started to roll.
   "When Katelyn scored that goal, it gave everybody the urge to start winning," said freshman Ali DeLuca, who scored five of her team-leading 12 goals against Watchung Hills. "When you score, it gives everyone more confidence and then the score keeps rising."
   Sophomore wing Caitlin Glowacki put the Raiders ahead with a great individual effort that featured a spin move and flip into the net at 13:29. After that, DeLuca produced a natural hat trick with three consecutive goals, two on nifty moves from behind the net to close the first half and another on a hard shot off a spin move early in the second half.
   "The offense has really come alive this week," Murrin said. "We scored six against Central, 13 against East Brunswick and 10 today. That helps them have the confidence that they can play teams in these high-scoring games."
   "Our communication and field transition have gotten a lot better," Glowacki added.
   Powers and Erin Poulter answered Watchung’s second goal to put the game out of reach at 7-2 with under 15 minutes remaining. DeLuca added two more goals and older sister Krystina DeLuca, who played a fine game as third man, chipped in with a hard shot to the back of the cage.
   The Raiders started to gain momentum in their Apr. 17 game against a highly-touted Hunterdon Central club. Central bolted to a 7-2 lead but the Raiders closed the game with a 4-2 surge to finish with a very respectable three-goal deficit.
   That strong second half carried over to the East Brunswick game, where the HHS girls believed they were going to get that first win. DeLuca fired in four goals, while DiGiovanni and Kristen Watts netted hat tricks. Glowacki scored twice and Powers added one goal.
   "That should’ve been our game," Glowacki said. "We worked really hard and we just lost it in the last three minutes."
   Hillsborough started slowly again vs. Watchung, but gained momentum and confidence throughout the game and wound up winning easily. Murrin still believes her team has a shot at a .500 season, possibly even before the May 15 state playoff qualifying deadline.
   "It was hard to start off with the four toughest teams, but the rest of our games are winnable," Murrin said. "We could still get to .500. We just have to buckle down and it could happen."
   The Raiders were scheduled to face South Brunswick and Morristown-Beard this week.