Sports Report: Maroons Lacrosse Flexes Muscles

A big second quarter helped Ridgewood varsity boys lacrosse run by Hunterdon Central, 14-4, on Saturday at home, capping a week in which both the boys and girls coasted to impressive victories.

Vann Jorgensen, also the quarterback of the football team, deposited five goals to help lead the Maroons and raise its record to 3-1 on the season. The victory notched Ridgewood a three-game winning streak.

The contest was tied at two after the first quarter before the Maroons reeled off nine unanswered points to give Ridgewood an 11-2 lead heading into the fourth quarter and put the game away.

Max Luing chipped in three goals while both Peter Reuter and Andrew Toner contributed a pair of goals each. Luing and Reuter added an assist each to the victory.

In goal, Ridgewood split time between Tim Mattessich and Noah Pounds to stop the Red Devils.

On April 6 the Maroons collected an impressive 8-5 victory over Montclair, a team that won Group 4 North and also made the semi-finals of the Tournament of Champions. Jack Allard led the way with three goals in the home victory while Jorgenson added two goals and two assists and Reuter chipped in four helpers for the day.

Girls lacrosse

It might not have had the glamour of a state playoff game, but the Ridgewood girls lacrosse , 10-8, in a battle of two of the top teams in the state.

On Saturday at Ridgewood High School, it was a battle between two of the powerhouse programs in the state.

During the 2010 regular season the Maroons lost to Moorestown. But last season Ridgewood got the better of the state tournament run as they took home the Tournament of Champions title while Moorestown lost in the Group 3 South sectional final.

On Saturday, Ridgewood's Jess Miller made her two goals mean something as she scored them in the final 10 minutes of the game to help the Maroons to the victory.

Overall, it was Ridgewood's Sammy Giordano who was on fire with five goals to push them by Moorestown in what could be a preview of a playoff battle in the state tournament in June.

Defensively Maroons' Isabel Sippel made a dozen saves in the contest to preserve the victory. The game was tied at four at halftime.

It also made it two wins in two games in the early going for the Maroons.
   
Baseball

Ridgewood took on one of the best teams in Bergen County and just came up a little short. The Maroons battled, but fell to Don Bosco, 5-3, in Ramsey in a Big North battle.

The Maroons took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Don Bosco came back to tie the contest at 2 in the bottom of the first.

Down 4-2 in the top of the sixth inning, Ridgewood scored a run to make it a one-run game, 4-3. But the Maroons could not come back.

Ridgewood senior pitcher Tucker Rekucki pitched well, but took the loss.

Offensively for the Maroons junior Kurt Hommen smacked a triple and had an RBI against the Ironman. Senior Russell Tanner added an RBI while senior shortstop Tyler Welence smacked a double.

The loss to Don Bosco ended a five-game winning streak that included three victories in Florida. The Maroons dropped to 5-1 to start the season.

Coming into the battle with Don Bosco, Ridgewood scored a thrilling 5-4 victory over Teaneck on Friday with the winning run coming in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Senior Frankie Paleno crushed a home run against the Highwaymen pitching and two RBI in the Big North contest.

Senior Matt Granski picked up the win and raised his record to 2-0 on the season.
In the first game in New Jersey, Ridgewood traveled to Passaic Tech and pounded the Bulldogs, 12-1 on April 6 to hand Maroons pitcher Cooper Byrne the victory.

Senior Doug Licitra and freshman Nick Coppolla cracked home runs to back the Ridgewood offense. Tanner had three RBI for the day.

Softball

The Ridgewood girls varsity softball team hasn't met the lofty expectations bestowed upon them. Ranked the top team in North Jersey by numerous publications, Ridgewood's record is a less than stellar 2-3 after being shutout 4-0 by Immaculate Heart Academy on Monday at home in a Big North game.

But the Maroons know that they are going to take their lumps with one of the toughest schedules in the county. Not only do they play IHA twice this season, but they also face Paramus twice this season. Both are considered two of the best teams in the county. Ridgewood will also face Indian Hills, Northern Highlands and Paramus Catholic to name a few.

The Maroons are hoping that on May 2 when they travel to IHA for the rematch that they are able to get more than three hits off of IHA pitcher Stephanie Thomas.

Ridgewood junior pitcher Nicole Hroncich fired the ball well, but the Maroons did not give enough offensive support.

Ridgewood will get another test and show where they are in the early going of the season when they host Paramus at 4:15 p.m. on Friday.

Boys tennis

On the same day that the Ridgewood baseball team fell to Don Bosco, the Maroons tennis team swept by Ironman led by first singles Charlie Gundeck, who swept Rob Streiff, 6-1, 6-0. In all, the Ridgewood team gave up only four games in the whole dual match.

The win gave the Maroons a 3-0 record in dual matches.

In the Bryan Bennett Memorial Tournament at Delbarton High School, Ridgewood made it to the tournament semi-finals only to fall to eventual tournament champion Livingston, 5-0.

All the matches went only two sets but Maroons' Griffin Kurzius had the best chance of sending a match to three sets before falling 7-5, 6-1 to Livingston's Varun Dyapa in the third singles.

Download the movie