By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
Sam Boyer had played basketball and soccer from first grade. But when she found lacrosse, she found a sport tailored perfectly for her athleticism.
“I fell in love with it,” said the Hillsborough High School senior. “The fast pace, it fit how I like to play.”
The fourth-seeded Raiders’ 13-4 win over fifth-seeded Montgomery in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinal Monday was a reminder of the sort of style that first drew her into the sport.
“As a midfielder, it was kind of hard because I was getting exhausted from all the running, but I really like the fast pace,” Boyer said. “I think it shows how good we can play when we focus, even when it’s fast. We’d have turnovers, but then we’d get the ball back.”
Back and forth the action went in the game, but it was Hillsborough that made the most of its opportunities on offense. Using a balanced attack that has helped the Raiders to a fast start this year, Hillsborough jumped out to a 6-1 halftime lead and grew it over the second half.
“It was an intense game where we had to work hard for 50 minutes and play at a sprint speed no matter where the ball was,” said Hillsborough head coach Beth Murrin after her team improved to 12-3. “That can be hard. It takes you out of your offensive style. It is playing to our strengths defensively. We handled it. Early on, it was tough. It put the game at a frenetic pace. We tried to adjust to it.
“We held it together. I think we played extremely hard and played our hearts out for 50 minutes. At this point, that’s what you’re asking for. You ask for the kids to play with their heads all year and now you want them to play with their hearts.”
The win was the Raiders’ seventh straight since a loss to Bridgewater-Raritan. Hillsborough will play at top-seeded Bridgewater today in the SCT semifinals.
“I think (Monday) gives us a lot more confidence,” Boyer said, “and being the fourth seed in the bracket when we wanted to be higher is giving us more motivation to try and compete and beat them.”
The Raiders could make a strong case for being the No. 2 or 3 seed. They started the season a little slowly with a loss to a good Hunterdon Central team and an overtime loss to Pingry sandwiched around five wins. Since making a adjustment to play more zone defense following its loss to Bridgewater, Hillsborough has been streaking, including a 9-8 double overtime win over Ridge, the No. 2 seed in the SCT. In addition, some seeding meetings go by the Laxpower rankings, and if the SCT did, then Hillsborough would have been the No. 3 seed.
“I’ve explained that to them,” Murrin said. “You feel like your performance is discounted, so that helps you play with a little extra motivator.”
While the winning margin against Montgomery was similar to a 14-6 win earlier in the year, the game was played differently. The tempo was much faster.
“We’ve actually become a team that plays more of a high-pressure zone defense,” Murrin explained. “That turning point, it was after the Bridgewater game, we started to go to it more and more minutes and had a lot of success. We played a different defense than it the first time, and they play a similar style. It creates a lot of turnovers. It’s our goal — play a high-pressure defense and create turnovers and control the game.”
The Raiders were more efficient on offense than Montgomery. Six different players scored goals, plus Gabriella Vangeli had three assists. Gianna Napoletano and Lisa Ross each had four goals and an assist. Celia Terreri and Olivia Johnsen, who netted the game-winner against Ridge, had two goals and an assist each, and Danielle Fanizzi and Boyer had a goal and two assists each.
“In previous years we always had one player who was the best and would score all the goals,” Boyer said, “but this year we’re a well-balanced team and we don’t have one or two people that our team is centered around. We all contribute and we’re a cohesive group and we work well together.”
At the other end, the Raiders frustrated Montgomery. Brooke McCormick made eight saves for the defense that continually put the ball back in its offense’s hands.
“We were making a lot of turnovers, but our defense has been getting better with our backer defense and they were blocking shots and our goalie made a lot of good saves,” Boyer said. “And we were getting more opportunities on the attacking side.”
Boyer has been more aggressive this year, her last with the Raiders before she heads to St. Joseph’s University, where she hopes to play club sports. She has taken on a larger role each year for Hillsborough.
“All the years that I’ve been playing, I’ve been the underclassman in the midfield to the better players,” she said. “Now that I’m a senior I have to do more for the team and be more confident and take the ball up and lead the team. All the other midfielders are younger so I have to be more of a leader on the field.”
Boyer has become a bigger weapon on offense out of the midfield, and still contributes plenty at the defensive end.
“Sam has been on varsity roster for four years,” Murrin said. “These last two years, she’s become very integral to our field. We play as she goes. We need her a lot. She’s incredibly fast. Part of what’s happening this year is the game has become more instinctual for her. Her lacrosse knowledge and knowledge for what we’re doing has grown and it matches her athleticism.
“She’s become more of an offensive threat this year. In the past, she’s been more of a defensive middie. This year, she’s a true two-way middie. She comes up with ground balls and comes up with assists. Sam is one of our better drivers and dodgers. She’s been doing a phenomenal job for us this year.”
Boyer felt she had to play a little differently this year to help the team. It was part of being a talented veteran.
“Over the years, we’ve been losing more people who have been dominant shooters,” she said. “I’ve always been more passive, giving the ball to others. This year I realized I need to be able to score and be more confident in my shot so we can win. I would shoot (in past years), but I didn’t need to be a leading scorer. I didn’t have to contribute that much.”
The Raiders have seen improvements in their team at both ends of the field. They are balanced on offense, which makes it hard for opposing defenses to key on one player to stop. At the defensive end they have been more effective in mixing defenses.
“Our new defense gives us a difference in the play,” Boyer said. “We can change the pace and have it more upbeat and quicker and cause more turnovers, and then we can go back to man and switch it up if they get more comfortable. So it gives us an advantage on the defensive side.
“It’s a backer (zone defense). All the years we’ve done it, we’ve played it, but our coach said this is the best we’ve played it as a team.”
Now the Raiders have the chance to test themselves against one of the state’s best teams. For one game, they will try to put everything together at their highest level.
“You go into a game like this, and you know you’re the underdog,” Murrin said. “They’re 15-0 and ranked high in the state. When you watch video of how we played last time, we don’t think we played our best. And in addition, we think we’re a better team now. The big thing is to compete for 50 minutes and try to play the style we’re going to talk about to control the game.”
The Raiders have plenty of motivation, from being slighted in the seedings to having the chance to avenge one of their losses to the goal of going farther than most of them ever have.
“I just remember as a freshman I was in the county final and it was the coolest thing,” Boyer said. “I just wanted to be in one. How we’ve been playing has been really exciting because I’m a senior now and it’s been three years.”
