BY RICHARD JEROME
Staff Writer
This spring has seen quite a turnaround for the East Brunswick High School girls lacrosse team.
Cindi Todoroff’s Bears were 0-13 last year in a total rebuilding campaign. This time around, the results are starting to show, with a 7-9 mark.
“And most of the losses have been by one or two goals or else in overtime,” Todoroff said. “There’s been a huge improvement both in the level of play and the win column.
“We just missed qualifying for the states, which was a disappointment,” she added. “But we made the finals of an unofficial GMC Tournament [there is no conference play for lacrosse] we coaches put together. We beat Old Bridge to reach the finals, which was a big win for us.”
That final match comes today, against or South Brunswick, a 10-4 winner of North Brunswick on Tuesday.
The Bears are led by several seniors, starting with Samantha Wasilus at first home, who leads the club with 57 goals.
“She’s really found the cage for us,” said Todoroff. “We’ve designed the offense around her.”
Wasilus creates a “Sam and Sam” double punch with junior Samantha Silver at third home, who has knocked in 31 goals.
Other senior starters include senior veteran Lauren Dudra, a fine defender, and Stephanie Blanar, a quick, mature player who passes adroitly and scores some key goals.
Among juniors, Katie Colcie is a quick attack wing who passes well, and Rebecca Gross is versatile on attack and defense.
“Amy Facco receives the ball well and plays a great transition game,” said Todoroff. “And Dana Covit sees the ball well on the field.”
Sarah Gross and Lori Seidman have also contributed to the offense, along with soph Carilina Marrero.
As for the defense, Rachael Schneider has come on strong in goal, especially in the second half.
Junior Michelle Ruggiero “reads the field well,” says her coach, while in the backfield, junior Judy Lin plays with mature savvy.
The Bears have several sophomores who are making a mark, including Kirsten Gash, Christina Kmiecik and Shannon Mastrogiovanni.
Assisting Todoroff this spring is Melissa Strauss, replacing Sheri Brooks, who stepped aside to get married and had much to do with the team’s rebuilding success.
“The program is starting to grow,” said Todoroff. “It’s a work in progress.”
E.B. boys advance in GMCT play
The East Brunswick boys have played to a 4-10 record thus far, but are proving to be better than that record indicates.
Take, for example, Tuesday’s GMC Tournament first-round game against Edison, a 10-6 team coming in.
Led by senior midfielder Dan Fessel, who scored five goals and added three assists, the Bears overwhelmed the Eagles en route to a 13-9 win.
The Bears took control of the game in the second quarter, scoring five unanswered goals, including two from junior midfielder Mike Corona. Another junior midfielder, Steve Kulishenko, added four goals for the Bears, while senior keeper Will Kehoe was solid in net, making 18 saves.
With the win, the upstart Bears earned a shot at second-seeded North Brunswick in today’s second round.
The Raiders would do well not to look past the Bears in this one.