BY GEORGE ALBANO
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Above, North Brunswick’s Kate Coscione fights for control of the ball during the Raiders game with rival South Brunswick on Friday. At left, the Vikings’ Alison Ruggirello puts a shot on net. Torrey Hunter was giving out mid-term grades this week. Not to her students at North Brunswick High School, but to the Raiders’ girls lacrosse team.
Hunter, the only coach the NBHS girls lacrosse program has had in its four-year existence, saw the Raiders reach the halfway mark of the 2005 season, and so far she likes what she sees, especially after an impressive 9-2 win over Watchung Hills on Monday.
“I give them a B-plus,” Hunter, a Spanish teacher at the high school, said before Wednesday’s scheduled home game against East Brunswick. “There are still parts of our game we need to clean up, like our passing, but overall they’ve done a good job so far.”
How good? Monday’s win gave the Raiders a 2-5 record, which on the surface might not raise any eyebrows, but upon closer examination is indeed significant. After all, we’re talking about a program that won only one game its first season in 2002 (and that was against another first-year program) and failed to win a single game in 2003.
Last year, in its third varsity season, North Brunswick improved to 4-12-1, but this year’s team could be the Raiders best yet, according to someone who should know.
“We’ve definitely improved,” Hunter, a former lacrosse player herself at Rutgers, said. “The girls have come a long, long way in the past four years. The seniors on this year’s team were on my first team when they were freshmen and they have improved tremendously.
“Their catching and throwing is much better now and they play a more fluid game,” she added. “They’re more consistent and they have a better field sense and understanding of the game.”
In fact, with a break or two, the Raiders could have easily been 3-4 or even 4-3 halfway through the season. One of their losses was a 10-9 heartbreaker to Old Bridge, while another was a 13-11 overtime setback to South Brunswick.
“They’re our two big rivals, so those were some very tough losses,” Hunter said. “But even though we lost we showed how far we had come as a program. They always beat us, but the score was never that close against either team. They’ve always been a challenge for us, but we really stepped it up against them in those games and made them fight for the win.”
Even in defeat, however, it was clear the Raiders were growing as a program.
It was even more evident when they recorded their first win of the season, a 20-1 rout of South Plainfield in which 11 different players scored.
The reason for the transformation, Hunter says, is twofold: Part of it is experience, but another part is also youth.
“There are a lot of seniors who have been with the program for four years,” the coach pointed out. “But we also have a few freshmen who have added intensity to the program. We’re now starting to get girls move up from the feeder youth program in town and that really helps.
“We’re getting girls now who have come through the youth program and already have three or four years of experience. They’ve given the program new blood and have really stepped up the intensity in games and even in practice.”
Two such freshmen are Kaitlyn Curran and Erin Dunne, both starting midfielders.
“They’re always involved in our midfield transition,” Hunter said.
Another freshman midfielder on the roster is Meghan Olmstead, who has started a few games this season, but has been sidelined recently with a slight ankle sprain and should be back in a week.
The trio of freshmen gives Hunter reason to smile when she thinks about the immediate future of the North Brunswick program.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “All three of them have speed, too. They’re all very fast.”
But while the freshmen represent the future of the program, the seniors remain the heart and soul of this year’s team. Players such as tri-captains Jen Scharf at attack, Kate Coscione at center midfield, and Alyssa Pearson at midfield and on defense.
“She can play any position,” Hunter said of Pearson. “And Kate scored four goals in our overtime loss to South Brunswick.”
All three girls were also captains as juniors. In addition, Kelly Bochert, Nina Grinshpun and Zoie Flaks are three more seniors on defense, while fellow senior Kim Woodbury starts in goal for the Raiders.
Another senior, Casey Baldini, usually starts on attack, but has been out the last few weeks with an ankle injury, although she’s expected back soon. Nehreen Iqebal, yet another senior, backs up Woodbury in goal.
All nine seniors have been with the program since their freshmen year, and most of them have been starters all four seasons.
“Some of them played in the youth program for a year or two when they came in as freshmen, but a majority of them had never played lacrosse before,” Hunter noted.
Meanwhile, several underclassmen have also played key roles. Besides the freshmen, juniors Lauren Parisi and Jackie Porsolt have shined at the midfield position (“Both of them have really stepped it up on defense,” Hunter said), while sophomore Jacqui Manning and junior Kristen Cocco have contributed on attack. Junior Samantha Schimmeo and sophomore Samantha Graney give the Raiders depth at both midfield and attack.
“We had 38 girls try out this year and most of them are still with the program, so the interest in girls lacrosse is growing,” Hunter said. “I made no cuts, either, so we have more depth on our JV team than in years past. They’ve become a strong feeder for the varsity.”
Yes, the future for girls lacrosse at North Brunswick High School certainly looks bright, but Hunter hopes the future is now.
“I’m hoping we can be .500 by May 17 so we qualify for the state tournament,” she said. “It’s a realistic goal, too, and it would be a nice farewell present for the seniors. They will always remember they had a hand in the first team making it to states.”
Of course, should they make it, Hunter may have to upgrade the Raiders’ final grade.