Eyes on the Prize
South Jersey has always produced great girls’ lacrosse teams, but there is even more strength up north, simply because there are double the number of teams.
Either way, the South playoffs begin at the end of the month and teams are looking to make their mark. This is the first lacrosse preview, with a look at South Group 4 schools.
The winners of the South championship will play the North champ for the state title.
According to recent power points, it will take some doing for a team from the seven-county South Jersey area emerges as the champion, but Cherokee shouldn’t be counted out.
Entering the week, the highest seeded South Jersey team is Cherokee, which was fourth. Old Bridge was the top team, followed by Southern Regional and Freehold Township.
Keep in mind, there is no traditional state semifinal in girls’ lacrosse even though the NJSIAA terms the South final as the state semifinal.
Winning a South title, which is akin to earning a sectional championship, is still a big deal and the traditional South Jersey teams have their work cut out.
Entering the week, Cherokee was the only team from the seven-county South Jersey area among the top 10 in power points, although teams 11 through 17 were from South Jersey, beginning with Williamstown at 11 and followed in order by Lenape, Kingsway, Egg Harbor Township, Eastern, Millville and Washington Township.
As the seedings suggest, Cherokee will have the best shot among area teams at winning a South title. As an example of the other teams’ chances, Lenape, which is the No. 12 seed, lost 11-3 to Cherokee.
Now, teams can improve, but Cherokee is not only the top Group 4 team from the seven-county South Jersey area, but the Chiefs may have a chance to contend for the title.
One thing in Cherokee’s favor is that the Chiefs have played a killer schedule.
The Chiefs began the week 9-4 and all four defeats have been teams that are ranked in the state’s Top 20 according to NJ.com. Of those four, three are in South Group 3, Moorestown, Shawnee and Cherry Hill West.
The other loss was 10-6 to Haddonfield, a team that will be favored in South Group 1.
Cherokee also owns a 12-5 win over Paul VI, which was ranked in last week’s NJ.com Top 20.
Chiefs sophomore Abby Ball is among the most dangerous scorers in South Jersey. She began the week with 41 goals and had 93 for her career. Juniors Lyla Clark and Addy Schramm had 34 and 20 goals respectively.
Notice that all three players will be back next season when Cherokee could be even better, but the Chiefs, while not a favorite, have to at least be considered a threat in South Group 4. If any other team from South Jersey advances past the quarterfinal round, it should be considered.
Photo: Cherokee's Abby Ball (No. 22, white) / Marc Narducci
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Author: Marc Narducci
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