Girls lacrosse team ties for 2nd place

In terms of wins and losses, the Vernon Township High School girls lacrosse team was struggling after 10-plus regular-season games.

But like true winners, the Vikings learned from their mistakes, built on their strengths and finished the season as winners.

“After starting the season 4-7, we finished up 10-8,’’ head coach Steve Carlson said. “We were 4-2 in our league (NJIGLL Freedom West), which was good (enough) to be tied for second place.’’

The Vikings had several memorable moments on the field this year.

“First and foremost would be our last game against Sparta,’’ he said. “We really put ourselves in a good position to win. Unfortunately, we were unable to close the game out.

“But looking how far the team had progressed from game one to game 18 was amazing to see. The resiliency that the girls showed during that game alone stood out to me. Also, during that game, Sid Van Tassel became only the fifth player in program history to amass over 200 points.

“Another game that stands out is our game versus Kittatinny. This is the game in which, as a team, we learned what we needed to do to be successful. This win opened up a six-game win streak for us, leading into the state playoffs.’’

Leadership was a key to the Vikings’ success.

“I have to start with our captains, Riley Lewicki and Lauren Waschek, who worked hard at motivating the team and keeping everyone as one family,’’ Carlson said. “Then I can look at the attack, in which Colleen Fraser took a lead role in running our offense and being a leader by example in her relentless effort.

“Then Lexi Moskovitz, as her confidence grew on attack, all of the other attack players seemed to step up. Sid Van Tassel, Grace Dodbrzynski and Makenna Thomas were outstanding leaders in a critical aspect of lacrosse: the draws.

“Bailey Mann and Riley Lewicki really stepped up into a leadership role to organize the defense. Sophomore goalie Abby Sokolewicz took a tremendous step this season in her communication and organization on the field.’’

Carlson mentioned student athletes who showed steady improvements throughout the season.

“To name a couple of individuals, Lexi Moskovitz showed by the end of the season, her speed and hard shot really shined in the last bunch of games,’’ he said. “In our last seven games, Lexi scored 17 goals and had 18 assists.

“Grace Dobrzynski became a tremendous player on the draws as well as her ability to knock down balls and create turnovers on defense. Gabi Tavares and Cassidy White continued to work on their defense and were invaluable to our success towards the end of the season.’’

The Vikings advanced to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Group 2 Sectional Tournament, where they were defeated, 15-14, by Sparta.

“We are very excited for the group that we have returning next season,’’ the coach said. “Sidney Van Tassel, who became the fifth-highest scorer in program history, will be returning for her senior year.

“Makenna Thomas, Kaitlyn White and Abby Bonnema have all shown an ability to get to goal and score. We have a solid defense returning with low defenders Bailey Mann and Gabi Tavares and high defenders Grace Dobrzynski and Cassidy White. Sophomore goalie Abby Sokolewicz will also be counted on to have a strong junior year.

“On top of that, we have a number of other players who did get some varsity time and are excited to put in the time off season to return strong in 2024. This group includes freshmen that want to leave a mark their sophomore seasons.”