Randolph Girls Lacrosse secured a hard-fought 6-5 victory over Mountain Lakes on Friday, April 17, at the girls home opener on Bauer Field.  

“Going into the game we knew we needed to get the win, which drove us to give the game everything we had and play all four quarters to the best of our abilities,” freshman Dani Rubin said. 

Freshman Maddy Lufft was the top scorer by the end of the game with three goals, while junior captain Ana Sharkey, junior Riley Minerley and freshman Kaitlyn Harth added one goal each. Luftt gave two assists and Sharkey contributed one. In goal, freshman Sammy Nieto made seven total saves out of 12 on-target shots.  

The Rams came out strong in the first quarter with Luftt scoring twice. Mountain Lakes took its chances on goal, but Nieto saved all the shots, ending the quarter 2-0 Rams. 

The second quarter started with back-and-forth possession between the teams. After an interception by senior captain Amelia Kolbik, the Rams regained possession, finishing with Luftt’s third goal. Mountain Lakes came back with a goal of its own, but Harth quickly followed with a goal of her own. Before the half ended, Mountain Lakes tied the game 2-2.

Randolph regained control in the third quarter. Freshman Ashlynn Stokoe started the half strong by winning the draw, and Sharkey kept up the intensity with a goal. As the quarter went on, the game became intense with fouls and timeouts, but Minerley remained calm and scored, officially marking her 100^th career point.

“Hitting 100 points was definitely super exciting, especially hitting that milestone in such a big game,” Minerley said. “I’ve been really lucky these past few years to have an amazing group of teammates who have helped me get there. They’ve given me so many opportunities to reach this many points, and I’m so grateful to have them.”

Mountain Lakes snuck in one more goal on an eight-meter shot, ending the quarter 6-3 Rams. 

Going into the last quarter, both teams got aggressive with frequent fouls on each side. Although Randolph’s defense was working hard and stopped many chances for the other team, Mountain Lakes scored two goals before the game ended. The Rams ultimately held on to secure the 6-5 victory. 

“Beating Mountain Lakes is a huge accomplishment for us, and it proves we can compete at a high level and beat top teams” Kolbik said.