Athlete of Week: Ferguson Leading a Young Lady Mounties Team

The Montclair girls lacrosse team saw their hopes of a Essex County Tournament title go out the window on Saturday, falling 12-5 to West Essex in the semi-finals.

With the loss the Lady Mounties dropped to 4-8 on the season, but against a tough schedule in the tough Essex County field of competition.

Despite the loss to the Lady Knights, Montclair goalie Lucy Ferguson made 23 saves to keep the Lady Mounties in the game.

Mounties head coach Ann Jennings said she has seen the senior goalie develop from her days as a freshman to today.

"I have been able to watch her grow from when she was a freshman," Jennings said. "She really has developed her leadership on the team and working with our defense. She is very vocal and she can see the field. She is very confident in goal."

And having the likes of Lucy has assured Jennings of the play in goal.

"Having a good goalie is very hard to find and Lucy has embraced it," she said. "She really does a good job at watching the attacker."

For Ferguson she has been playing goalie since she was in seventh grade. "It's a challenging position and I'm always working to get better," said Ferguson, who played midfield and attack before moving to goal. "I started playing in the goal like everyone else ... we all had to take a turn in goal. I wasn't afraid of the ball so they kept me there."

For the senior who will be playing lacrosse next season at William and Mary, the challenge of goal is also what she likes about the position. "It's important to stay focused and mentally tough," said Ferguson. "The hardest part is also the best part You have the pressure of always making a difference in the game."

The senior goalie helped lead the Lady Mounties into the semi-final game against West Essex after sixth-seeded Montclair defeated Columbia, 10-6, in the quarterfinals.

It was a nice redemption game for the Lady Mounties and Ferguson. "We lost to Columbia twice last year, they are always a strong team," Ferguson said. "It was huge win last Saturday for us after getting off to a slow start this season. It was definitely a confidence boost for the whole team."

In terms of her best played games she can point to the 12-3 loss at Glen Ridge, the top seed in the county, on April 4, where she made 29 saves.

But one of the biggest came on Wednesday, a 9-6 victory over Verona on April 26. In the victory over the Hillbillies, Ferguson made 17 saves in a game on Wednesday last week.

In some respects it made up for a loss to Verona last season that was a disaster for Ferguson.

"Last year Verona knocked us out of the county tournament," Ferguson said. "I broke my thumb in practice the day before that game. I played in last year's game with my thumb taped, but we lost. So, beating Verona was also a good win this year. I think I played some of my best lacrosse in the second half with several saves and interceptions late in the game."

What does she like best about the game? "I love the speed and intensity of the game," Ferguson said. "I've been playing with the same friends for years now and that's one of the things that make it really fun."

In addition to lacrosse Ferguson has played tennis for Montclair. She also likes soccer and skiing.

Before heading out to William and Mary, Lucy plans on playing in the senior division at the National Tournament with some of her teammates from the Metro club team, and she has also been invited to play in the ESPN Rise games in July.