West Milford makes history with first girls lacrosse county title
WAYNE - West Milford danced while the game was in doubt, and oh, how they danced when they won.
Inspired by Coach Harry Shortway’s footwork and pep talk after the third quarter, the Highlanders won their first Passaic County girls lacrosse title with a thrilling 10-9 win over DePaul Saturday at Wayne Valley.
It was the first Passaic County title for the young program.
“We wanted it,” said West Milford senior Kailey Maskerines, who had the game winning goal with 3:45 left. “We all wanted this bad, so we just kept fighting.”
The Highlanders rallied from 4-0 down after the first quarter, but were opportunistic and relentless in attacking the Spartans goal. With the game tied at eight after three quarters, Shortway launched a loud conference with his team, urging them forward and to fight for the last 12 minutes.
“He was very pumped up,” said Maskerines. “Whenever we need to get pumped up. He screams and gets us going. It was a little more today.”
“He was just getting us hyped,” said West Milford senior Paige Fava. “He was hyping us up, jumping in the middle and getting us pumped for the fourth quarter. He’s a crazy guy, but he loves the sport and he loves us.”
The Highlanders took their first lead fives minutes into the fourth quarter when Fava darted in and out after a free position and went low to make it 9-8. DePaul answered later with Katie McGuire scoring in transition with 4:35 left.
McGuire finished with a team-high five goals for the Spartans.
West Milford won the draw after the McGuire goal and the ball got to Maskerines who cut across the crease and fired a shot home.
“I saw an opening running around the crease and I knew I had to take it,” said Maskerines. “I had to do it for my team and take charge out there as a senior captain.”
“It’s happened before, we came back from down 8-2 against Vernon,” said Fava. “We are used to being the underdog and coming out on top. We were unfazed. We know we can come back from 4-0 down.”
West Milford withstood a late challenge by the Spartans, including deflecting a shot from point blank range in the final 45 seconds.
Fava finished with five goals for the Highlanders, while Maskerines had four.
“It’s crazy,” said Maskerines. “I never thought we would be here, but this was the year to do it. There was something special about this team. The seniors, our COVID year, was eighth grade, and we didn’t have much. We all stayed together for the last four years.”
“It was really hard at the beginning of the season, but we came out of the hole we were in and we were conference champs and county champs now,” said Fava. “Our team has improved so much over the last three years tremendously.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: West Milford makes history with first girls lacrosse county title
