RED BANK CATHOLIC GIRLS LACROSSE HOLDS OFF MANASQUAN TO CLAIM DIVISION TITLE

It was only a matter of time before Red Bank Catholic's effective work on the draw paid off Tuesday night. Red Bank Catholic, which won all but one draw control in the first half, rattled off five straight goals over a 4:43 span before the break to pull away from Manasquan and that cushion proved to be vital as Red Bank Catholic held off a late Manasquan rally to earn a 12-10 win at Count Basie Park in Red Bank. With the win, Red Bank Catholic claimed the division title, making it a perfect four-for-four for its senior class. Kirsten Pezzullo finished with four goals and Mackenzie Boyle had two goals and four assists to pace Red Bank Catholic's attack. The trio of Boyle, Pezzullo and Grace Gargiulo out-dueled Manasquan at the circle, 18-6. "We work on it a lot in practice for 10 minutes with my six middies," first-year Red Bank Catholic coach Troy Madison said. "Those six girls get after it. My assistant coach made a comment about it that it looked just like practice yesterday. Our hard work pays off and the work we're doing in practice. Every day, they get out there and get after each other and it does get chippy in practice. When we're out there, it makes it a lot easier for them to battle another team." Behind that 5-0 run late in the first half, Red Bank Catholic took a commanding 7-3 lead into the break and pushed its advantage to five goals on two separate occasions in the second half at 10-5 and 11-6. Then, Manasquan came alive. The Warriors, fueled by six goals from Janie Cowley, made a ferocious run over the final 10 minutes of the game and turned a five-goal deficit into a two-goal deficit with 1:36 left. Manasquan had a chance to cut the disadvantage to one goal in the final minute, but Red Bank Catholic came up with a pivotal stop to seal the win. "It's just about the want and desire to win by both teams," Red Bank Catholic defensive wing Morgan Alessi said. "It's a great game and we just played harder." In the first half, both teams exchanged blows before Red Bank Catholic countered a Manasquan 3-2 lead with five straight goals take the 7-3 advantage. Manasquan lost attacker Jenna Harms, who had one goal and one assist at that point, to a rib injury after a collision in front of the Red Bank Catholic net with just over 10 minutes left in the half. The Warriors took their lone lead just seconds after the restart, when Bella Feldmann, who finished with two goals and two assists, dodged left and fired low-right to make it 3-2 with Manasquan with 10:05 left in the first half. In Manasquan's second-half rally, Cowley scored three straight goals to turn an 11-6 deficit into 11-9 before Pezzullo ended that streak with her fourth goal of the to essentially ice the win. "Our team is more like a family than anything else and we just came together and played like one," Pezzullo said. "When it came down to it, they scored and we knew we had to get it back and score. I think what got us going was our adrenaline." The victory was the latest chapter in what has become an exciting Shore Conference rivalry between Red Bank Catholic and Manasquan. In the teams' first meeting this season, Red Bank Catholic emerged with a similar 12-9 win on April 12. "I think this is a good game to start with going into the Shore Conference and states because it's a hard team and they're tough and they're coming to play and that's what every team we're going to see is going to do," Boyle said. "I think it prepared us a little bit for what we're going to see and hopefully we do better than what we did in the past. "When we first played them, it was tough, but we knew they were out for blood. I've known half those girls and we play on the same club team, so we came in here as rivals but we're also friends, so it's tough. We just fought all the way down to the end of the game and came up with the win to get the division." Red Bank Catholic has a strong case as the No. 2 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament, which is seeded later this week. The Caseys' only loss this season came against Rumson-Fair Haven, ranked No. 8 in the NJ.com Top 20, the five-time defending champion. Brian Deakyne may be reached at bdeakyne@njadvancemedia.com.

RED BANK CATHOLIC GIRLS LACROSSE HOLDS OFF MANASQUAN TO CLAIM DIVISION TITLE

NJ.COM

nj.com | 5/2/2018