These Morris/Sussex lacrosse teams will play for NJSIAA sectional trophies on June 9. There will be a local team in all but one of the North finals, with the NJAC represented on both sides of last-shot-world-cup-group-g-preview/">Group 2.
Here’s a quick look ahead at all of those games.
This is a familiar matchup for Mountain Lakes. The Lakers beat exactly the same teams to bring home sectional finals last spring. It was the same configuration too, with the girls on the road at Watsessing Park in Bloomfield and the boys at Wilkins Field.
The Lakers girls have won four straight Group 1 North titles. The boys have swept every sectional trophy, 12 in a row.
However, the Ridgers held Mountain Lakes to just a single goal by junior attack Avery Reid in an 11-1 Stars & Stripes crossover win on May 20. Reid has a team high 34 goals and seven assists, 13 draw controls, 21 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. Junior midfielder Shea Sutter has 32 goals and eight assists, 58 draw controls, 64 grounds balls and 24 caused turnovers.
The Mountain Lakes boys have won four of their last five dating back to being knocked out of the Morris County Tournament by Delbarton. Junior attack Lawson Fagan (32g, 59a) is the Lakers’ leading scorer for the second year in a row.
The Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex champion, Sparta (14-5) wants to add more hardware to its trophy case. West Morris last won a Group title in 2016, beating Moorestown in Group 3. The Spartans boys have never won a Group championship. Senior Eddie Brown (49g, 20a, 20gb) has led Sparta in scoring in each of his three seasons on varsity. The Spartans have won seven in a row since losing at West Morris, 15-7, on April 29. Maryland-bound senior attack Luke Gouse (55g, 39a, 69gb) had seven goals and three assists for the Wolfpack in that game, and also won 88% of faceoffs.
Sparta had defeated Mendham in the sectional final last spring, only the second in school history. But this is a very different Spartans squad, with a three-headed offense: senior attack Moira Sweeney (45g, 17a, 60dc, 40gb, 13ft), junior attack Joey Roque (43g, 20a) and freshman midfielder Reagan Cina (46g, 14a, 27dc, 33gb, 24ft). Junior attack Shea Shoulberg (38g, 60a) had two goals and nine assists as the Mendham girls beat Sparta, 18-8, in an April 7 Stars & Stripes crossover. But the Spartans have Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex championship experience. Mendham, meanwhile, hasn’t reached a Group final since 2019 and last won in 2010.
Welcome to a two-site doubleheader with a pair of trophies on the line. The Chatham girls will host Summit, who moved up from Group 2, at Haas Field behind Chatham Middle School. The players and fans will then likely hop into their cars for the short drive to Cougar Field for the Cougars boys game against Summit. The Hilltoppers boys have won six of the last seven Group titles, five in Group 2 and the last after shifting to Group 3. Chatham’s last Group win came a decade ago. The Summit girls have won seven of the last 10 Group titles, playing in all but one final over that stretch. But that was mostly in Group 2, while Chatham won three in a row in Group 3 – and then ran into the Hilltoppers, 9-8 in overtime last spring.
Ridgewood has won eight Group titles, most recently in 2023. Morristown (18-5) had claimed Group 4 in 2022 and 2024. All those championships ran through a familiar team clad in maroon. Sophomore attack Emma Cregan (44g, 29a, 28gb, 23ft) had two goals and two assists as the Colonials edged Ridgewood in overtime, 8-7, on May 16, launching a six-game winning streak. Senior Caroline Condon (33g, 20a, 108dc, 32gb, 26ft) scored the game winner with two minutes left in OT. The Maroons (19-4) have won five straight since the home loss to Morristown.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Meet the Morris/Sussex lacrosse teams playing for trophies
