Girls Lacrosse suffered a loss to Mendham, 15-6, in the quarterfinal round of the Morris County Tournament (MCT) on Saturday, May 4.
The loss was especially disappointing coming on the tails of a blowout win against Roxbury, 18-3, in the second round of the MCT on Wednesday, May 1, which Rampage covered.
In the May 1 Roxbury game, Randolph kept a substantial lead the entire time. The win was not surprising given that Randolph was given the No. 6 seed out of 21 teams, behind only Morristown, Chatham, Mendham, Madison and Mountain Lakes. This gained the Rams a bye in the first round and a meetup with No. 11 seed Roxbury in the second round.
The whole team contributed to the Roxbury win with seven scorers. These included freshman Anabella Sharkey, sophomore Kate Ellermeyer, junior Guilianna Pozzi and seniors Alexis Rodell, Taylor Santoro, Riley Novak and Summer Walsh.
“I think it was a much-needed win and gave us a bit of our confidence back,” freshman Kathleen Saltz commented. “We always talk about having seven threats on offense, and I’m glad we could accomplish that today.”
The game started off fast with Sharkey scoring almost immediately, followed by two by Rodell and one by Santoro. Soon after, S. Walsh passed the ball to Rodell, who scored and claimed an early hat trick. The Rams ended the first quarter with a 5-0 lead.
The Rams continued their strong play in the second quarter, which included Sharkey assisting Novak, who scored with a goal off the post. Roxbury got on the board, scoring two goals in the quarter, which ended with the Rams leading 13-2.
In the third quarter, the Rams added to their big lead. During the fourth quarter, they finished the game off strong with another three goals and ended the game with an 18-3 win, sending them to the MCT quarter finals.
“I am extremely proud of how we played yesterday,” Head Coach Picciuto said after the Roxbury win. “We have been taking time working to compete to our standard of play no matter who we are playing. Yesterday was a step in the right direction, moving into counties and a lot of players were able to get their confidence back after some tough games this season. I am excited for the rest of their county journey this year.”
Unfortunately, Randolph’s subsequent loss to Mendham in the semifinals took the Rams out of further contention in counties.
Up next, the team plays @ Villa Walsh, tomorrow, May 9, at 4 p.m.
