North girls’ lacrosse tourney run over

Mendham knocks Knights out of ‘A’ bracket

By: Bob Nuse
   MENDHAM — Rather than dwell on a second half where little went right, the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North girls’ lacrosse team can focus on a season where very little went wrong.
   The Knights were eliminated from the state tournament with a 19-6 loss to Mendham in the North Jersey A Division semifinals on Wednesday. It was a game where the third-year program found itself down by just two goals, 7-5, after a spirited first half. But in the second half, Mendham controlled the draws and the game on the way to reaching the sectional finals.
   And while the Knights certainly would rather have won the game than lost, they can take solace in knowing that for the third straight year the program made strides.
   "One of our goals when we came into the season was to go further in the state tournament than we did last year and we accomplished that," said second-year North coach Beth Mitchell, whose team finished the season with a 13-3-1 record. "We talked about that as a team and I’m proud of them for the season that we had. We felt like if we played our game we had a chance to get to the finals, but that didn’t happen.
   "Mendham is a very good team. They have some talented athletes and they’re quick. I thought we did well in the first half, but the second half just didn’t go our way."
   The Knights found themselves in an early 4-1 hole, but battled back to get within 7-5 on a goal by Marie Sutton just before halftime. But the Knights were outscored, 12-1, in the second half as Mendham dominated play.
   "I thought that goal at the end of the half was huge for us," said Mitchell, whose team won two games in the state tournament for the first time ever. "I felt like we had a chance there because we were playing well at the end of the half. I feel bad for the girls because I know they all wanted it. But we just didn’t click as a team today."
   Sutton scored four of the six goals for the Knights, who also received a pair of goals from Noelle Musco, who reached a milestone in the game when she recorded the 100th goal of her career at WW-P North.
   But North found itself playing defense more often than not, as Mendham gained an 18-9 advantage on draw controls.
   "We knew it would be a game of possession," Mitchell said. "They did a good job on that and were able to capitalize."
   Despite the season-ending loss, the Knights’ season was the best to date in their three-year history. The 13 wins set a school record, while the trip to the sectional semifinals was the deepest the team has gone in the tournament. The five graduating seniors — Musco, Laura Trzasko, Colette Delgado, Liz Yan and Alicia Portalatin — have laid the groundwork for what is becoming a successful program.
   "We made strides this year," Mitchell said. "You never want to see the season end or lose your last game. I’m proud of the progress the team made. We have some young players and we should continue to get better."