Both High School North and High School South have cemented their statuses as field hockey powerhouses within the county. Now, that success has translated onto the lacrosse pitch. Those looking at the girls’ lacrosse rosters will notice a lot of familiar names.
For the Knights, who are currently 16-1, Olivia Harpel leads the way with more than 200 career goals. Zoe Barnett-Ohori, Christina Hayduchok, and Catherine Mak all crossed over from field hockey, too.
Sisters Rachael and Dana Salerno have been key for the 8-9 Pirates in both sports, as well as Colby Hussong. Jess Kaganskiy, the goalie, and Lexi Bruno and Cassie Perez continue to contribute.
Other South standouts include Bianca Ignato, Sloane Garelick, and Skylar DeLemos, all multi-sport athletes. For North, Julia Tampellini, sisters Alex Hendry and Morgan Hendry, and Carli Harpel help lead the way. Goalkeeper Alexa L’Insalata recently recorded her 300th career save and continues to be a workhorse, netting three shutouts on the season.
With the second half of the season comes tournaments, and both teams have made statements. After an 18-6 victory over Hamilton in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament, South lost to North 21-7 in the quarterfinals later that week. South then played 19-2 Rancocas Valley in the first round of the state tournament. The Pirates lost, 19-13.
North, though, is still alive. The Knights won their first 15 games and didn’t lose until the Mercer County Tournament final against Allentown on May 13. They breezed through the first three rounds, defeating fellow county power Princeton in the process. Allentown, though, proved to be too much to handle. They seem to have put that loss behind them, though, playing to an easy 15-5 victory against Southern in the first round on the state tournament. They won their second state game against Cherokee 15-9.
