Lacrosse: Handing out midseason awards for the 2024 season in North Jersey
The lacrosse season has reached a turning point.
County championships will be handed out this weekend and divisional races are nearing the finish. With the spring more than halfway complete, it's time to hand out the midseason awards.
Boys Lacrosse Rookie of the Year
Owen Crowley, Ramsey
One of the biggest wins for Ramsey came before the season when the 6-foot-1 attackman decided to stay at home after considering Delbarton. All Crowley has done since then is score 12 goals and a team-high 32 assists in the Jacobson Division. Crowley has added 15 ground balls on the season, helping Ramsey take a step forward with a young lineup.
Honorable mention: Lyndhurst's Lukas Gallo and Rutherford's Leo Cone.
Boys Lacrosse Coach of the Year
Steve Sokolewicz, DePaul
What happens when you return to the varsity level with 17 players on the roster and plenty of youth and inexperience across the board? For DePaul, a division championship season and the highest win total since 2015.
That is a credit to Sokolewicz, who was pulled back into coaching last year with the Spartans in a pinch. Yes, it is a nice luxury to have a player like sophomore midfielder Cody Webster (39 goals, 37 assists), who can impact a game in so many ways. But DePaul has also shown resilience by winning five row in a row since losing Tommy Kivari – then the team's second-leading scorer – with a high ankle sprain.
Boys Lacrosse Team of the Year
Don Bosco
So many teams belong in the running from DePaul to Glen Rock and Fair Lawn. But when the top team in North Jersey happens to be No. 1 in the state and beat the team ranked behind them by eight goals (on the road, no less), there is really only one answer. That is the body of work that Don Bosco and new coach Matt Lane have put together and one that reflects their ability to win in any way.
The Ironmen play strong defense led by long-stick middie Sal Postiglione, possess the ball more often than not with Scott Conte on the draw and developed a nice supporting cast up front behind Brady Scioletti.
Boys lacrosse: Top field player
Jack Schultz, Ridgewood senior
The Maryland commit proved to be a superstar during Ridgewood's Kirst Cup run last year and came back even stronger as a senior. The Maroons' captain has produced more offense than anyone in Gibbs with 27 goals and 19 assists – roughly a point a game increase from his average last year.
What makes those numbers even more impressive are the circumstances behind them. Schultz led Ridgewood (10-1) to an unbeaten record in April, even though Lafayette-bound middie Jack Frers missed four games late in the month. Ridgewood has also played a high-level schedule with five games against teams ranked in the top 15 in the state.
Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year
Colton Carfello, Don Bosco senior
Carfello has all the tools of a top goalie with quick hands, light feet and the ability to read the play and position himself in the right spots.
That has translated to a .720 save percentage this year and another Gibbs Division title for Don Bosco. And not only has Carfello given the Ironmen a consistent effort game-after-game in his career, but he's elevated his play in the three biggest matches this year. The Saint Joseph's commit stopped 13-of-17 against Ridgewood, went 9-for-10 against Mountain Lakes and 11-of-13 against Bergen Catholic.
MORE: Previews and picks for the Bergen and Passaic county tournaments
Girls Lacrosse Rookie of the Year
Jane Tenaglia, Holy Angels
Tenaglia has been a program-changing player for the Angels while taking over as the top scorer in North Jersey. She's poured in 58 goals and 10 assists in the midfield and provided important work on the draw with 30 faceoff wins. With the Oradell native now on board, Holy Angels has jumped from three wins to eight this season.
Honorable mention: IHA's Liliana Betz, Pompton Lakes' Meryl Lawson and River Dell's Hope Arturi.
Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year
Zach Donovan, Passaic Valley
Things have come a long way for the Hornets, who went winless in 2021 and lost all 15 games when Donovan took over the following season.
This year, the Hornets (7-4) have gone from worst to first in their division and taken big strides on both sides of the ball. The program also earned its first county tournament win in over a decade on Friday by avenging a one-goal loss to Clifton from the opening week.
Girls Lacrosse Team of the Year
DePaul
This is shaping up to a magical season for the Spartans (9-1), who are favored to win their first Passaic County title in 13 years. And after finishing third in their division last season, the Spartans now find themselves a win away from locking up a share of the American Red title.
Experience is a strength for coach Kelsey Hall's club with 12 returning starters. Senior Mia Nardi has been lights out with a .652 save percentage, while junior Ava Bower leads the offense for the third straight year with 46 goals.
Girls lacrosse: Top goalie
MC Salter, Saddle River Day senior
The Siena commit has been on the money this year for the first-place Rebels, who advanced to Monday's Bergen County quarterfinals. She's held opponents to a little over seven goals a game and posted the highest save percentage of her career at .628.
A four-year starter, Salter is now the state's active leader in career saves (721) and has an outside shot of catching the Bergen County record set by former Westwood goalie Allyn Lilien (882).
Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year
Maddie Willkomm, Northern Highlands junior
The sharp-shooting lefty continues to be a force up front for the Highlanders after making the Bergen County first-team as a freshman and sophomore.
Willkomm is on pace for her best offensive season with 30 goals and 20 assists for a team that lost two-thirds of its scoring to graduation. Northern Highlands got off to a slow start while adapting to those changes and a few unexpected ones, but Willkomm now has the team pointed in the right direction on a four-game win streak.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ lacrosse: Handing out midseason awards in North Jersey
