Mustangs Fall in Opening Round of States

The girls lacrosse team made an early exit from the state tournament, as the Mustangs dropped a 15-9 first0round decision to Northern Highlands Regional in Allendale on Monday.

A number of costly turnovers and an inability to win draws contributed to the loss.

“Towards the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, we really couldn't get the draw and it just dictates possession,” Montville head coach Jennifer Mulvaney said. “[Northern Highlands was] not only getting the draw, they were then scoring in transition on the draw as well. We tried to make some adjustments to slow them down in transition and even grab the draw, but it didn't always go our way.”

The Mustangs headed into halftime trailing 9-7, after a back-and-forth first half that saw them leading the game on three different occasions.

Northern Highlands opened the half with three unanswered goals, surging them ahead 12-8.
 
Offensively, Montville found success early as junior Shelby Labe and Danica Witty combined for six first half goals.
 
But a defensive adjustment for Northern Highlands put an end to that, as Labe was saddled with double, triple and even quadruple team coverage for all of the second half.

And with their leading scorer locked down, Montville struggled to adjust, producing just three second half goals.
 
“They were double, triple and quadruple covering Shelby,” Mulvaney explained. “What we needed to do was back door and get into the space, and we weren't recognizing that maybe we were open and trying to help her out by getting into a passing lane for her. Unfortunately it would result in either a tough shot or a turnover.”
 
Northern Highlands tacked on two goals in the games final minutes, leading to a first-round exit for the Mustangs.
 
“They gave everything they had from start to finish and I give them so much credit because even with two minutes left, down by a couple of goals, they didn't stop playing hard,” Mulvaney said. “They left everything out on this field and that's all I can ever ask from them.”

Loaded with youth, Mulvaney is confident that her team will use this game to improve.

“We have a lot of youth, a lot of new faces on the field and playing in big games, so I like to think that even though we had those turnovers today that we're going to learn from them and turn it to our favor.”