By Warren Rappleyea
North Brunswick Township High School’s girls lacrosse team continues to impress after raising its record to 13-0 with an important victory over Montgomery High School, 10-9, April 30.
Coach Danielle Bussiere’s Raiders took a 6-4 lead into the half and held off a determined Montgomery rally to pick up the win. North Brunswick’s big three did the job again. Samantha Mehalick pumped in four goals to go with an assist; Tatum Altman notched three goals to go with a pair of assists; and Victoria Tucci added three more goals and an assist.
With the exception of a 14-11 victory against Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) rival Monroe Township High School April 19, North Brunswick has made short work of most of its opponents. Fast starts have been the team’s hallmark, forcing the opposition to play from behind.
“Montgomery was a good test for us,” Bussiere said. “They kept coming at us, and our girls had to be at their best. It’s the kind of game that will help us prepare for the postseason.”
North Brunswick was upset in the GMC Tournament finals last year on a late goal that gave Old Bridge High School the crown. The coach has repeatedly said that her team has used that loss as inspiration for this season.
The two teams met again April 28, and the result was decidedly different. Tucci scored seven goals and picked up three assists, while Altman and Mehalick scored five times apiece and the Raiders cruised to a 17-5 win.
Altman leads the team in scoring with 62 goals and 54 assists, and Mehalick leads in goals with 75 to go with 31 assists. Tucci has scored 54 times and assisted on 37 others.
In other girls lacrosse action, South Brunswick High School sits at 9-5 after winning two of three matches in the past week. The week ended, however, in disappointing fashion with a lopsided loss to Hillsborough High School.
Emily Lorber tallied seven goals and four assists, and Caroline Hvozdovic scored five times and assisted on six other goals in a 19-2 win over John P. Stevens High School April 28. Alyssa Ryan added a hat trick for the Lady Vikings.
Two days earlier, South Brunswick squeezed by Old Bridge, 7-4. Shannen Sterner’s three goals paced the offense, and Hailey Konopka added a goal and two assists. Lorber had a goal and an assist. Dakota Apicella turned aside 15 shots in goal.
In boys lacrosse, South Brunswick opened its week with a 9-5 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South April 26. Austin Miller notched a hat trick and added four assists. Tyler White and John Slover scored two goals each.
The Vikings lost a 9-8 decision to Old Bridge April 28 and fell two days later to Princeton Day School, 16-4. Miller and Anthony Perlitto scored in both losses. South Brunswick is 5-8 on the year.
North Brunswick’s boys are 5-9 after losing two straight. The Raiders lost a 13-0 decision to The Pennington School April 30 after falling, 18-1, to Monroe April 28 in a game that saw Colin White make 12 saves. Miguel Nicolas Quirino scored the lone North Brunswick goal, his 17th of the season. Quirino scored five goals in a 15-7 win against Bergen County Technical High School April 26. Ibe Allah and Graham Randall added three goals each in the win.
Baseball
On the baseball diamond, South Brunswick improved to 9-6 with a 1-0 victory against Sayreville War Memorial High School April 29. Adam Britton’s second-inning single scored Alex Pollock with the game’s only run. Anthony Sjolund picked up the win, allowing four hits in nearly six innings of work.
On April 27, the Vikings handed Perth Amboy High School a 9-1 defeat. Brandon Siroki went five innings on the hill, allowing four hits to earn the victory. He also went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Second baseman Ryan Moran added three hits and drove in a run. Sean Nally had two hits, two RBIs and scored a pair of runs. Freshman Jacob Ciccone closed out the game on the mound.
North Brunswick stands at 6-8 after three tough losses. On April 30, the Raiders fell, 3-2, to Metuchen High School, as Eric Reardon took the hard-luck loss after allowing just four hits over seven innings. Andrew Tan drove in both North Brunswick runs with a single.
Four days earlier, Woodbridge High School edged the Raiders, 6-5. Reardon went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Tyler Petrillo was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jesse Scher had two RBIs.
Reardon tossed a three-hitter April 25 but lost a 2-0 decision to Woodbridge. Tan and Petrillo had the only hits for North Brunswick.