By: Rich Fisher
It has come to the point in the high school girls lacrosse season where teams either survive or go home, and the tournament gods could care less whether you’re missing a key player or not.
South Brunswick understood that perfectly on Tuesday, as they smirked at the gods before rolling to a 10-4 win over North Brunswick in the first-round (and semifinals) of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament.
The victory came without leading scorer Alana Jogan, who injured her knee in a fall last Wednesday against West Windsor-Plainsboro South. The Vikes were also without junior attack Heather Bacci (concussion).
"You’re always a little concerned when the girls are used to one offense and then we have to adjust, which is part of the reason we didn’t win on Thursday (against Montgomery)," coach Gail DeMarco said. "Alana went out on Wednesday and we didn’t have time to really re-adjust.
"I was very confident after a couple days of practice that the girls would be able to compensate. But Alana is always a presence on the field so there’s always a worry. The girls just did an excellent job today."
In winning for the fifth time in six games, the Vikings (9-7) move into today’s (Thursday’s) 4 p.m. final at home against East Brunswick.
Jogan was cleared to play on Tuesday, but with SBHS leading for most of the game, DeMarco let her rest until the waning moments, when the 44-goal scorer went in just to test to knee. And while it will be nice to have the sophomore back, South Brunswick hardly missed a beat without her against the Raiders.
"Today we really worked together well," said junior attack Katie Campisano, who scored three goals along with Lori Schmon. "All the goals were spread out between everyone. Sometimes it’s just one or two girls scoring but today, we all worked as a team. We can’t always count on one person, we all have to pick it up."
"We all just kind of come together more and we all pitch in without Alana," Schmon said. "We have more confidence now."
Especially Campisano, who has 15 goals in the last eight games after a slow start. Isn’t it amazing what overnight shipping can accomplish?
"I came back from Italy over spring break and I left my skills over there," said Campisano, who also had an assist against the Raiders. "It was like lost baggage. So I called Italy and had them ship them in."
Schmon never called UPS, but is also becoming a threat with five goals in her last three games.
"I think I’ve been picking it up more," the junior said. "I’ve had more confidence going to goal lately."
Meanwhile, sophomore Danielle Bussiere continues to score at a ridiculously consistent pace, as she notched a pair against the Raiders for her fifth straight two-goal game. Bussiere (red card) and defender Jasmine Hemmings (college trip) both missed the regular-season meeting with North Brunswick, which the Vikes pulled out in overtime.
"Those are two of our key players and both are huge presences," DeMarco said. "Jasmine is a major defensive presence, she’s amazing at stopping the ball and being the anchor down there. Danielle also moves around on defense and gets the ball up the field quickly. I believe their presence today made a tremendous difference."
It looked like it would be another dogfight when NB took a 1-0 lead 3:43 into play. But Campisano scored on a nice underhand shot, Bussiere’s goal gave South the lead and Schmon scored two straight to make it 4-1. NB scored with 1:41 left, but the Vikes regained the momentum just prior to the half when Bussiere tallied with 14 seconds remaining.
"That was really important," DeMarco said. "It set the pace for us for the second half. They really did a nice job. North Brunswick didn’t score for the first 15 minutes of the second half."
By then it was 7-3, and the Vikes responded to that goal with three more as Alana Asch and Allie Ruggerello also scored. DeMarco praised the defensive efforts of Lisa Koblin, Amy Walters and Hemmings, along with goalie Alex Gaudio (10 saves).
The effort sets up today’s championship game, as the Vikes go for their first GMCT title after losing in the finals to Old Bridge last season. South went up 6-0 on host East Brunswick two weeks ago, then hung on for an 8-6 win during a day when a bomb scare had been called in at EB.
"When we played them they said their school was gonna blow up," Campisano said. "It was just out of control. They were like ‘No homework tomorrow, our school is blowing up.’ They told us that during the game. And (assistant coach Janice Shehata) was like ‘They’re messing with your brains, don’t worry about it.’"
Provided all is calm today, it should be an entertaining match-up.
"It’s gonna be a tough game," Schmon said. "They’ve beaten a lot of good teams. It’s just going to be tough. But we have confidence from beating them before."
Confidence, and an attitude that won’t let a few injuries get in the way.
LAX LEFTOVERS: The Vikes clinched their second straight state tournament berth last Wednesday with a 12-11 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South. The game was tied at 10 before Bussiere scored two goals in the final 2:44. Jogan had four goals in the win while Asch and Schmon had two each and Ashley Foltiny and Campisano had one apiece. Gaudio made seven saves. "It means a lot to get to states again," DeMarco said. "It says a lot about the girls dedication and how hard they work." . . . South fell to Montgomery, 9-7, on Thursday. Foltiny had four goals while Campisano had three and Bussiere two. Ruggerello had two assists . . . the Vikes will likely be on the road in the first round of the states, but Campisano said "Our fans travel everywhere. They’re our posse." . . . despite being sidelined against North Brunswick, Bacci was flawless in blowing the horn to end the halves.

