Lacrosse: North Jersey highlights from the opening round of the state tournament
HILLSDALE – Mia Boretti provided the early spark. Ella Saxon came up with the milestone finish.
Pascack Valley leaned on the scoring from those two and others across the lineup to get past Old Tappan, 14-4, on Wednesday in the opening round of the North Group 2 girls lacrosse tournament.
The Panthers dominated from the start, cashing in on 10 of their first 12 shots and only pausing the party to honor Saxon. She reached her 100th career goal in the second quarter and has stepped up all season for a team with only one senior.
"I've been waiting for it for a while," Saxon said. "And in a game like this where it's win or lose and you're out, it means everything."
The challenge that the Golden Knights and every opposing coach faces in Hillsdale is how to allocate resources against an offense with three scorers over 40 goals.
But the first half on Wednesday was a clear example that the talent in the Panthers' lineup is not limited to their sharpshooting trio – Saxon, Courtney Pelisson and Jenna Reinhart. They combined for only one goal in the opening quarter, but Boretti made sure it didn't matter. The sophomore opened the match with a natural hat trick and added one more goal when all was said and done.
"You just have to realize the opportunities," Boretti said. "Ella, Courtney and Jenna were all being marked up so everybody else had to step up. I just tried to fill my role."
A first-half shutout by the Panthers defense and freshman Caitlyn Dalton in net ballooned the lead to double-digits. The victory sends Pascack Valley (13-4) back to the quarterfinals a year after falling in same round to state champion Summit.
This time, the sixth seed with take on either No. 3 Sparta or No. 14 River Dell.
"I think they are feeding off each other," coach Melissa Velez said. "There are so many girls out here who really, really love this game. They really want to be here. They've worked hard all season. So they're just working for each other."
Here's a look at the other North Jersey teams that advanced on Wednesday or have opening round games still to play.
Boys lacrosse
North Group 1
(5) Ramsey d. (12) Kittatinny, 14-4 – Make it nine straight quarterfinal berths for the Rams, who relied on a pair of players on opposite ends of their high school careers. Senior JJ Phillips tied a career-high with six goals and freshman set-up man Owen Crowley had a goal and five assists for Ramsey.
(7) Mahwah d. (10) Lakeland, 12-8
Coming up
(3) Glen Rock vs. (14) Lenape Valley, Thursday
(4) Jefferson vs. (13) Pascack Hills, Friday
(6) Kinnelon vs. (11) Westwood, Friday
North Group 2
Coming up
(4) Pascack Valley vs. (13) Paramus, Thursday
(6) Voorhees vs. (11) River Dell, Thursday
North Group 3
(5) Tenafly d. (12) Wayne Valley, 15-4 – The Tigers shut out the Indians in the second half to knock off the Passaic County champions and avenge a one-goal loss from earlier this season. Cooper Roberts led the way with five goals and three assists while Cole Mogensen provided 11 ground balls and a 16-for-23 effort in the faceoff circle.
(6) Ramapo d. (11) Mount Olive, 9-6 – Defense paved the way once again for coach Stephen Harvey, whose club has now won six of its last seven games. Goalie Patrick Hogan made eight saves in the win for Ramapo (11-6) and Max Teel and Jackson Cooney added matching hat tricks.
Coming up
(8) Northern Highlands vs. (9) Princeton, Friday
North Group 4
Coming up
(1) Chatham vs. (16) Fair Lawn, Wednesday 4:30 p.m.
(3) Bridgewater-Raritan vs. (14) Passaic Tech, Thursday
(1) Ridgewood vs. (16) West Orange, Saturday
Non-Public A
Don Bosco, bye
Coming up
(6) Bergen Catholic vs. (11) St. Joseph, Friday
Non-Public B
(11) Dwight-Englewood d. (6) Bishop Eustace, 10-9 – The Bulldogs pulled off the biggest upset of the day while securing their first state tournament win since 2019. Senior goalie Jackson Clift continued a brilliant season by stopping 15-of-24, while Alex Jachimowski paced the offense with three goals and two assists.
(5) Montclair Kimberley vs. (12) DePaul, Friday
Girls lacrosse
North Group 1
(2) Glen Rock d. (15) Pompton Lakes, 15-2 – Fairfield commit Ally Zamparelli turned in her stingiest game of the season against a Cardinals team that came in averaging just under 10 goals per game. The senior goalie chipped in four saves, while Panther teammates Emily Sanders (four goals, two assists) and Ryan Doyle (five goals, one assist) took on their usual roles as offensive catalysts. Glen Rock has now won five straight.
(3) Mahwah d. (14) Cedar Grove, 13-5 – Sophomore Abby Clark set a career-high with six goals for the Thunderbirds, who will host No. 6 Verona in the quarterfinal round. Elizabeth Crames, who committed to Long Island University earlier this month, picked up 13 saves on 18 shots in the Mahwah net.
(4) Westwood d. (13) Lakeland, 20-6 – Junior Alexis Toro is within one point of 200 after a nine-goal, one-assist outburst to kick off the postseason. Freshman Meaghan Morrison made seven saves in her postseason debut for Westwood, which outscored Lakeland, 11-3, in the second quarter.
Coming up
(7) Kinnelon vs. (10) Ramsey, Friday
North Group 2
Coming up
(3) Sparta vs. (14) River Dell, Thursday
North Group 3
(3) Northern Highlands d. (14) Whippany Park, 18-5 – The Highlanders struck for seven unanswered goals in the first quarter and never relinquished control in their highest-scoring match of the season. Maddie Willkomm dominated with six goals and four assists, while Norah Marron and Julia Buono forced three turnovers apiece.
Coming up
(4) Randolph vs. (13) Ramapo, Thursday
North Group 4
Coming up
(1) Morristown vs. (16) Passaic Tech, Wednesday
(2) Ridgewood vs. (15) North Brunswick, Saturday
Non-Public A
(5) Immaculate Heart d. (12) Red Bank Catholic, 18-6 – The Bergen County champions are heading back to the second round for the 12th straight time after hitting a season-high in goals. IHA will face the winner of Thursday's match between No. 4 Paul VI and No. 13 Immaculata.
Non-Public B
(6) DePaul d. (11) Holy Cross Prep, 14-6
Coming up
(4) Saddle River Day vs. (13) Morris Catholic
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Lacrosse: Highlights from the opening round of the state tournament
