A Montclair Senior Who Hopes To Dig Mounties Out Of Hole

Senior Drew Nesmith was just trying to help his team get their first win as of the middle of last week.

The Montclair boys lacrosse team started out at 0-4 for the season after coming off a Group 4 state title.

"We're just trying to get our first win under our belt," said Nesmith. "We are just taking it day to day and game to game. We think once we win a game we will be able to feed off of it."

It has not been Nesmith's fault as he leads Montclair with 11 goals on the season and is Montclair’s Athlete of the Week. In the four games, he has scored at least twice. He hit the back of the net three times in the 15-5 loss to Mountain Lakes.

Nesmith and the other seniors on Montclair's team have had to take on more responsibility this season after the graduation of 18 seniors from a team that won the Group 4 state championship and made it to the Tournament of Champions semi-finals.

"Everybody knows that we lost a lot of seniors from last year and had big shoes to fill," said Nesmith.

For Nesmith he said that he is willing to do whatever it takes to win a game. "Whatever the coach asks me to do I do it," said the senior midfielder.

And a younger and inexperienced Mounties team this season went up against a tough early season schedule as they faced four very good teams in Mahwah, Ridgewood, Glen Ridge, and Mountain Lakes.

The combined records of those teams was 15-3 this week and Montclair had a shot at three of the four games losing by two to Mahwah (12-10) and by three to both Ridgewood (8-5) and Glen Ridge (12-9). "We knew that we would have a tough start, but I thought we would be better," said Nesmith.

While he leads the team in scoring, the senior middy has been doing it despite being the target of the opposition. "They have been putting their best man on me at first and then double teaming me later," said Nesmith.

The Mounties senior credits a tougher workout in the offseason in helping his shot. "The coaches have said that my shot is faster," said Nesmith. "I think for me lifting was a big part of my offseason workout."

Nesmith said that he has hit the weight room between three to four times a week since September and that this has helped him increase his speed on his shots.

When the dust is settled this spring for lacrosse, the senior will take his sticks north to Marist University. Nesmith said that he also looked at Brown and Rutgers for college but opted for Marist. "When I was on the campus and talked to the coaches, I just liked the program and the schedule," said Nesmith.

He follows his brother Jordan who played lacrosse at Dartmouth University. “We have never played together, but I really learned from him about his work ethic,” said Drew Nesmith.