BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Ridge High School's girls lacrosse team beat Somerville 16-10 on Thursday evening at Somerville High School, improving to 10-2 on the season.
The Red Devils pulled away after a close opening quarter, then used a balanced scoring effort and a strong showing on ground balls to secure the road win.
Ridge led 3-1 after the first quarter before breaking the game open with nine goals in the second. That surge gave the Red Devils a 12-4 halftime lead.
Somerville outscored Ridge 6-4 over the final two quarters, but the early cushion held up.
Emily Green led all Ridge scorers with four goals and an assist. Camryn Ireland also finished with five points, scoring three goals and adding two assists.
Lexi Hansen had three goals, four ground balls and four draw controls. Charlotte Daniel added a goal and two assists, while Bryce Parker had two assists. Sydney Kiessling, Lauren Swan, Kate Haviland, Cameron Hansen and Gia Luzzi also scored for Ridge.
On loose balls, Ridge held a 20-14 advantage. Willow Young and Sydney Kiessling combined for six ground balls to help drive that effort.
"Willow Young and Sydney Kiessling were ground ball machines backing up their teammates today," head coach Olivia Harpel said. "They hustled, kept it clean, and protected their sticks to get us the ball back over and over again."
Somerville, now 1-10, was led by Morgan Blanchard with four goals. Cameryn Clifford scored three goals, added an assist and had a game-high nine draw controls.
"Somerville is well-coached, with talented players. We knew Cam Clifford would be difficult to stop," Harpel said. "I think we surprised ourselves more than anything and played a bit distracted. We leaned on each other and a strong rotation to hold on and stick to our game plan."
The result continued what Harpel described as a season of progress for Ridge.
"It has been awesome to see this team steadily take steps forward each week," Harpel said. "Individual players have evolved their skillsets while the collective has bonded together to support one another."
With another game coming quickly, Harpel said the team's postgame focus was simple.
"After the game, we talked about hydration and fueling our bodies for another game tomorrow," said Harpel.
Ridge is scheduled to travel to West Morris Central High School in Chester on Friday, May 8, for a 6 p.m. faceoff.
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