The postseason is very important for the Freehold Township girls lacrosse team. Having proven they are the class of Shore Conference A North Division for the second straight season, the Patriots are looking to conquer more worlds this spring.
“We want to go further than last year,” said the Pats center-midfielder Maddie Comfort. “We didn’t go far in the Shore Conference and states. We didn’t leave that much of an impression.”
For this year, she added, the is “not just satisfied with the division title.”
Last spring’s tournament shortcomings left some doubting if the Pats were ready to step up in class. They want to answer those critics this time around.
“We want to show other teams we can handle teams out of our division,” said Comfort. “We want to show we can stand up with the bigger, better teams.”
Comfort and her teammates took a step in that direction Wednesday in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament. With Comfort netting nine goals, the Pats moved on with a 17-11 win over Holmdel.
Adj Tepedino and Alex Marino each scored the three-goal hat trick, and Jennamarie Colicchia contributed a goal and a team-high four assists. The win lifted the Patriots, the No. 5 seed, to 13-0 on the season.
F
reehold Township’s regular season
was one for the books as they went through it undefeated. They met all challenges in and out of the division. Ocean Township’s Spartans were their biggest rivals and they gave the Pats their biggest test in the final game of division play. Needing a win to tie Freehold Township, the Spartans threw everything to the champions, and the champ responded with a 9-8 victory. Fittingly, it was Comfort who scored the eventual game-winner.
“We knew what we had to do and understood what it took to win,” she pointed out. “We were the team to beat in the division and we knew it was going to be difficult. We had to practice hard.”
The Patriots started to jell as a team back in the winter at the Peddie School indoor league, according to Comfort. It was a getting-to-know-each-other period for the girls. They learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Of course, you can’t get passed the play ofComfort. The junior, already one of Shore’s best players heading into the season, did not rest on her laurels. She has improved her game and turned into a complete player.
“The team needs me to do things other than score,” she said. “I needed to do more.”
That included becoming more of a playmaker and being a two-way player who gets back on defense. There isn’t anything that she can’t do to contribute to a Patriot win.
Still, it’s her scoring talent that is extraordinary. Recently, Comfort scored her 100th career goal.
At 5 feet 10 inches tall, her long strides chewup the open space quickly, and before a defense knows it she has broken through and is depositing the ball in the cage.
“I’m always sprinting, speed is the key to the game,” she insists.
She has diligently worked on her left hand, giving her the ability to move left or right, which makes her even more of a threat.
Comfort also uses her height to postup like a center in basketball and hang out in front of the cage. Her teammates can lob her pass that she can catch above everyone else and turn it into a goal.
But, Comfort likes nothing more than to be sprinting up field in possession of the ball.
“When you control the ball, you control the game,” she said.
The biggest difference between the Comfort of ’07 and this spring is that she has become more of a leader.
“I’m a more mature player,” she said. “Last year I was a little intimidated by the seniors to step up to the plate and score a goal when we needed it. This year I’ll take the shot.”
The junior is the first to credit the development of sophomore Marino and the play of Colicchia with helping make her job easier and making the Patriots a much more dangerous team.
The defense, led by sophomore Katleyn Murphy who helps the transition game with her ability to bring the ball forward, has held steady, and goalie Anna Kibrick has one of the best save percentages in the Shore.
There were questions about this season because of the graduation of six seniors. But, it didn’t take long for the Patriots to fill those positions and reload rather than rebuild.
“We’ve had so many girls step up to the plate,” Comfort said.
If there has been something that has separated the Patriots fromthe rest, it has been the team’s wealth of talent. Coach Nikki Hastings can turn to the sidelines and insert a substitute without any drop-off in the talent level. It allows the Patriots to have fresh legs on the field at all times and remain on the attack.
“We have so many more girls ready to step up and fill in,” Comfort pointed out. “The great thing is our depth.”
The Patriots will be counting on that depth making a difference in the postseason tournaments.