NORTH CALDWELL- Defending champion Glen Ridge remains the prohibitive favorite to repeat as Essex County Tournament champions, and will very likely receive the No. 1 seed when the 20th annual girls lacrosse event assembles its field on Tuesday night.
Still, teams such as West Essex, which has the most ECT titles with 10 despite struggling out of the gates this spring, and Montclair Kimberley Academy, which is trying to reload after winning back-to-back NJSIAA Non-Public B state titles, are other teams hoping to compete at a high level in the 2025 ECT.
Montclair, last year’s ECT runner-up to the Ridgers, who captured their eighth county crown, has also had its troubles getting going this season.
What is a common thread for all four of the top girls lax programs in Essex is that they all face formidable schedules in their respective NJIGL Stars & Stripes divisions.
And, quite soon now, winning games in the ECT will be a major focus of the season.
“Essex County has some of the best lacrosse teams,” said West Essex Coach Gianna D’urso. “The fight for a county title is there, but we have to earn it. We will continue to face tough opponents and we hope by that point in our season when the ECT is underway that we have trained hard enough to be prepared for that test/fight.”
Glen Ridge (5-4), which is also the defending Group 1 state champions and operates out of the Stars & Stripes White Division, has lost one-goal decisions to Ridgewood, Kent Place and Westfield along with a hard-fought effort (13-9 setback) against always-formidable Oak Knoll.
The Ridgers of veteran coach Beth Larkin boast two dynamic attackers in seniors Campbell Spillett and Katie Powers (Bucknell bound). Also, goalie Jorie Boyle (Ramapo College bound for women’s basketball) is a strong source of resistance in the back.
Then there are the other Essex girls lax teams to watch.
West Essex (1-7), which dropped an 8-4 decision to a persistent MKA squad (4-4) on Monday (April 21), competes in the Stars & Stripes Blue and already has setbacks to the likes of solid squads such as Morristown, Chatham and Northern Highlands.
MKA (4-5), also from the Stars & Stripes White, lost on the road to a strong West Morris team on Wednesday (April 23) and Glen Ridge, 14-4, Friday (April 25) after posting three straight wins. The Cougars still have very challenging upcoming regular season games against both Kent Place and Chatham.
Montclair (2-5) has lost to Chatham and Mendham along with local rival MKA and might be hard pressed to return to an ECT final this spring. Coach Kim Kolodny's Mounties, who are led by senior attackers Olivia Nicoll and Aven Hodgson, still have tough, upcoming contests to play vs. Summit, Kent Place, Ridgewood and Glen Ridge.
For D’Urso and West Essex, the schedule is as tough as it comes.
“Our schedule is stacked this season playing against the best competition in the state of New Jersey,” said the West Essex head mentor. “Our schedule included several Top 20 teams, which is great for us to be challenged. We keep working hard in practice and putting in the work to raise our level of play.
“I speak to the girls a lot about loving the challenge and embracing the schedule we play against. It helps us to get better and prepares us for the county and state run. The team needs to continue to get better each day in practice and then in the games.”
Leading the attack for West Essex are Alivia Lugo and Adelaide Minnella.
“They are two phenomenal players and athletes” said D’Urso. “They work well together and raise the level of play as well as the expectations for our team. They look for each other but also look to help be leaders on our attack as a unit.”
One of the top all-around players for the Knights is multi-sport star Sasha Resnick.
Sasha is one of the best all -round athletes that I have ever coached,” continued D’Urso. “She is a 3-sport athlete at West Essex and excels in every one of them because of her hard work and commitment. She is constantly pushing not only herself but her teammates around her to get better.
