Columbia junior Kira Abel holds up a sign and is joined by her teammates after recording her 100th career point in the 11-10 win over Millburn on Saturday, April 11, at Underhill field. In the game, Abel scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE — For Kira Abel, it was certainly a game to remember.
Abel recorded her 100th career point and scored the sudden-death goal in overtime to lift the Columbia High School girls lacrosse team to a thrilling 11-10 win over Millburn on Saturday, April 11, at Underhill Sports Complex’s Lynn V. Profta Field to improve to 2-3 on the season.
Abel, a junior, finished with four goals and one assist with two ground balls and one draw control. She has 21 goals and seven assists this season, and 59 goals and 44 assists for 103 points for her career.
Abel has committed to continue her lacrosse career at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, which has transitioned to the Division 1 level this spring. New Haven will work toward earning full-member Division 1 status by 2028-29.
In a text message to the News-Record, Abel was thrilled for reaching the milestone, thanking her teammates.
“Hitting 100 points is really special to me, especially because of how long I’ve been playing the sport,” said Abel, “but I didn’t reach this milestone alone. A lot of my points came from my teammates, giving me the best positions to help the team, from either assisting them or scoring off their passes.
“On the overtime goal, I was trying to stay calm and be in the right position to end the game on a high note, and again, my teammates made that happen. We haven’t had the best start to the season, but I think that win will definitely change our mindset for the rest of the season.”
CHS first-year head coach Yasmeen Anderson also was ecstatic for Abel.
“I’m so excited for Kira to reach this milestone,” said Anderson in an email to the News-Record. “She is a strong and dynamic player, the kind that comes through in a clutch, a great leader, on and off the field, and we are all looking forward to witnessing all her other accomplishments in the rest of her Columbia career.”
Junior Amelia Burroughs had two goals and four assists with one GB and five DCs, senior Anabel McGuire had two goals and three assists with three GBs and three DCs, senior Maddie McKinstrie posted two goals, and freshman Lila Clammer added one goal and five GBs. Junior goalkeeper Phoebe Perlman made seven saves.
In earlier action, Abel scored eight goals to lead CHS to its first win of the season in a 14-13 home victory over Cranford on Tuesday, April 7. MacGuire had two goals and seven assists, Burroughs had two goals and nine draw controls, junior Daphne Zimmerman had one goal and one assist, and sophomore Lucy Deiboldt added one goal. Perlman made nine saves.
The Cougars lost at West Morris 21-17 on Thursday, April 9.
MacGuire had six goals, Burroughs had five goals and one assist with three GBs and one DC, Abel had three goals and two assists with two GBs, and Zimmerman had two goals and one assist. Perlman made four saves and freshman River Boren made two saves.
The following are other top scorers for CHS this season: Burroughs: 13 goals and 6 assists. MacGuire: 11 goals and 13 assists. Zimmerman: 5 goals and 3 assists.
Photo Courtesy of Columbia HS head girls lacrosse coach Yasmeen Anderson
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