A Dynasty Ends: Moorestown (NJ) High School Girls Lacrosse Defeated in 2010 State SemiFinals

Nothing lasts forever. All good things must come to an end. Cold words of comfort, indeed, to the members of the Moorestown (New Jersey) High School girls' lacrosse team, as they faced their worst nightmare: a defeat in the semifinal round of the Tournament of Champions by a score of 7-6 at the hands of Shawnee High School. The Lady Quakers were more well-known for blowout wins in their regular and postseason games, winning over 95% of their matches in the past decade: 228 straight wins against New Jersey teams. Among those games were ten straight Tournament of Champion wins, and, since 1976, a grand total of seventeen Tournament of Champions trophies won.

In the 19 years that she has led the MHS girls lacrosse squad, head coach Deanna Knobloch amassed a record of 377-23-4; since 2000, that number has been 251-10, until the May 24, 2010 loss on their home field. Of the thirteen senior players on this year's team, twelve will continue their lacrosse careers with college scholarships. (The other senior, Sarah Weber, has accepted a field hockey scholarship to the University of Virginia.)

Those lofty numbers in the self-proclaimed "winningest lacrosse program in the nation over the last decade" tumbled at the hands - and dexterity, and stick - of Shawnee's supremely talented junior goalie, Alex Zaugra, who stopped twenty shots for the win. (At least a dozen other shots bounced off the post or Zaugra herself.) Moorestown's players, who had notched victories during the regular season of 20-1, 19-0, 22-3, were unprepared for Zaugra's relentless defensive maneuvers, and never quite got into their regular rhythm. During a pre-game 'psyche' party, players spoke of a double-digit shutout victory. As a result, perhaps they were overconfident going into the game. Moorestown had a 4-1 halftime lead, and started the second half with a goal for a 5-1 score. After that first second-half goal, the game's tempo changed. Shawnee slowed down the action and took a 6-5 lead going into the final quarter. At the midpoint of the fourth quarter, one of Moorestown's senior midfielders had a literal meltdown on the field, bursting into tears and falling to the ground, but managed to compose herself and pushed on.

Moorestown's sophomore attack phenom - who can shoot only left-handed - then tied the game up at 6 all with just over two minutes left in regular play. Following the tie, Moorestown won the ensuing draw but was unable to even get off a shot due to a smothering, double-teaming defensive effort by Shawnee. With twelve seconds left, Shawnee scored the game-winning goal against a Moorestown defense that seemed to have collapsed upon itself. With literally seconds left, Moorestown won the final draw, but the player - either ignoring or unaware of two open teammates by Shawnee's net - lost possession, and the game ended. For those of us spectators, it was an exciting, thrilling game, one that saw three Moorestown players yellow-carded, and the win, going either way, coming down to those very final seconds.

At the early end of their season, Moorestown was ranked #5 by laxpower.com in the CCR (Coaches/Computer Ratings), #19 in NRP (National Ratings Percentage), and #86 in SOS (Strength of Schedule.)

Will Moorestown rebound as New Jersey's top girls' lacrosse program? Unquestionably. Coach Knobloch has a stable of extremely talented junior starters ready to step up next year, as well as at least four highly skilled sophomores. Untapped resources lie as well with the incoming freshman class. Many of these players - and their skill sets - are already familiar to the coach and her assistants, since nearly every girl who is a varsity hopeful attends the coach's summer camps, now in their sixth year, and held on the high school campus. Moorestown also has a very deep pool of young players currently in the recreation and travel leagues as well. This year's goalie will be back for her senior season, and there's a very promising sophomore goalie who will also see minutes on the field next year. Lacrosse is the sport of choice in Moorestown, where both boys and girls learn the basics from the time that they can pick up a stick.