JUNE 12, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD — The number of inexperienced players that took the field at the start of the lacrosse season for the Ridgewood High School girls team provided an easy target for outside observers to express concern about the squad’s chances.
Head coach Karla Mixon knew it wouldn’t be a problem.
“I knew that this team was a special team,” Mixon said at the program’s season-ending banquet, held Wednesday at The Woman’s Club of Ridgewood. “I was able to see that talent in the tryouts… I wasn’t too worried about that.”
The young Maroons proved their coach right, opening the year with 23 straight wins before falling to Summit, 6-5, in the semifinals of the State Tournament of Champions last week.
The loss came with controversy after officials disallowed a potential go-ahead goal late in the game by Ridgewood after ruling it was scored with an illegal stick. Summit’s Julia Persche scored the game-winner with seconds remaining, but video of the goal showed that a Summit teammate took Persche’s stick and appeared to adjust it during the celebration before handing it back to Persche.
Ridgewood called for a stick check, but officials deemed it legal and the goal counted.
The setback was a tough way for the Maroons to end their season, but it could not erase the history that the team had made.
The 23-1 record tied the 2011 squad for the best mark in program history, and the team once again claimed the Stars and Stripes Division title.
