Glen Ridge HS girls’ lacrosse team enjoys memorable season

GLEN RIDGE, NJ – Led by a strong group of seniors, the Glen Ridge High School girls’ varsity lacrosse team enjoyed a memorable season this spring.

The Ridgers went undefeated in the Super Essex Conference. They also won the Essex County Tournament title for the second straight season. It also marked their fifth ECT title in seven years. They finished as runner-up in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 state tournament to finish with a stellar 17-4 record.

The Ridgers, indeed, were one of the best in the state.

“The 2017 season was a very good season for us,” said GRHS head coach Beth Larkin. “With our great group of seniors, the squad was elevated into the Top 10 in the state. We started the season at No. 12, and are now ranked No. 7 in New Jersey. It was great to win back-to-back County Championships and our fifth title over the past seven years. We also went undefeated in the Super Essex Conference this season to bring that Conference championship back to Glen Ridge. I think these seniors really worked hard since they were underclassmen to bring our squad to this elite status.”

Senior stats

Colleen Grady had 73 goals and 37 assists this season and finished her GRHS career with 222 goals and 85 assists. “She has developed into a very well-rounded, player of strength over these last few years,” said Larkin.

Galen Lew had 51 goals and 23 assists this season and finished her stellar career with 182 goals and 71 assists. “Galen is the quintessential do-everything player,” said Larkin. “She is always hustling all over the field and is such a finesse player with a strong lacrosse IQ that will be missed.”

Maggie Smith had 44 goals and 26 assists in 2017. She finished her career with 95 goals and 59 assists. “She really had two stellar seasons these past two years and her strong drive and shot and feeding abilities are something that will be hard to replace,” Larkin said.

Juliann Lisovicz had 22 goals and five assists this season. She finished her career with 117 goals and 21 assists.

The Ridgers featured other key players this season.

Merritt Davie and Meghan Marhan anchored a stingy defense that allowed 10 or more goals in only eight of the team’s 21 games.

Lily Kinley: a sophomore goalie, stepped in nicely to replace 2016 graduate Nicki Eckert, who is playing at Skidmore College. Kinley had 117 saves this season.

Gretchen Gilmore had an outstanding freshman season and made an immediate impact for the team, said Larkin. “She scored 53 goals in her inaugural campaign but also impressively garnered 129 draw controls off the circle, which was amazing,” Larkin said.

Claire McMahon, a sophomore attacker, had a breakout season with 37 goals and 18 assists, showing a stellar performance in the ECT final with five goals and four assists against Montclair.

Post-season awards

NJGILL Stars & Stripes Conference:

First Team:

Galen Lew, Colleen Grady, Merritt Davie

Second Team:

Maggie Smith, Claire McMahon, Gretchen Gilmore

Honorable Mention:

Juliann Lisovicz

All-Super Essex Conference:

First Team:

Galen Lew, Colleen Grady, Merritt Davie, Maggie Smith, Gretchen Gilmore

Second Team:

Claire McMahon, Juliann Lisovicz, Meghan Marhan, Lily Kinley

Honorable Mention:

Madison Grady

In addition, Grady has been named a US Lacrosse All-American and Lew was named an Academic All-American.

“The process is a nomination process where the nominees must meet certain criteria set forth by the US Lacrosse organization,” said Larkin. “The criteria is quite stringent and it’s a very competitive field. The athlete must be of the highest caliber on your team, play for a very high-end team and meet requirements of league, county, conference, state titles. I submit to our Northern NJ Chapter committee. I have to submit a lot of data on the nominees as to season, career stats, post-season awards, accolades, colleges recruited by and where they will be playing at the next level and recommendation statements.

For Academic All-American, which Galen was named to, must also meet all the above requirements of being an elite athlete but added to that they must be a proven highly achieved academic student with a GPA of at least a 3.7, taking heavy load of Honors/Advanced Placement curriculum and show extra-curricular achievements outside the playing field in the school and community beyond.”

Despite losing those key seniors to graduation, the Ridgers will look to continue their run of success next season.

“2018 will be a bit of a rebuild for sure, losing nine seniors,” said Larkin, “but we return some good young talent and a junior class that has steadily been improving over their last three seasons and I’m expecting them to step up in 2018, to fill some of roles left open. Daphne Patton is a real hustler and aggressive player who I expect to run midfield. Freshman Campbell Moriarty is looking like she will follow the steps of her standout sister, Paige (two-time All-American and 2016 D3 Attacker of the Year) on our attacking zone. We may take some lumps next season as we continue to compete in the toughest league in the state, but we know what we will be going into and will focus on the process as we always do.”

  Glen Ridge High School girls lacrosse