Montclair Kimberley Academy’s girls lacrosse players recall vividly the last couple of seasons in which the Cougars reached the Prep B Tournament championships only to come away with no hardware.
Last season, Princeton Day got the better of Montclair Kimberley in the second half to defeat the Cougars 13-12 in the 2022 Prep B title match.
This season the Cougars (9-5) turned the tables and came home with a 10-9 victory over Princeton Day on the road in the 2023 Prep B final.
“Winning the Prep championship this year feels absolutely amazing,” said MKA junior goalie Orly Sedransk, who made nine saves for the victory.
“After two very close Prep championships in the last two years, we definitely had some fire under us heading into the game,” Sedransk said. “We have worked so hard for this, and it is definitely rewarding to be able to celebrate together after a hard-fought and well-deserved win.”
One of the senior leaders, midfielder Caroline Murphy, can look back at winning this title in her final season at MKA.
“It feels amazing to win the title my senior year,” Murphy said. “It’s been one of the best feelings I’ve had in my high school sports career – it’s definitely rewarding to be a senior leader on a team like ours that has been working incredibly hard and nonstop since March. Being able to see how far everyone has come in a season is undoubtedly one of the best parts about being a captain.”
For Montclair Kimberley head coach Cheryl Goss the rematch with Princeton Day was strong motivation to win in the ’23 Prep B championship match.
“We knew that PDS was going to be a tough game from the start, and that we would have to give 110 percent for all 50 minutes,” Goss said. “Luckily, I think we were able to draw the energy we needed from the idea that we had the chance to redeem ourselves after last year.”
Some of the current Cougars, including Sedransk, were also on the MKA team in 202,1 when Montclair Kimberley lost 9-7 to Trinity Hall in the 2021 Prep B title contest.
Against Princeton Day in the final this season, the scenario facing MKA was the same as in 2022.
In both championships, the two teams finished the first half tied at 6.
But while Princeton Day got the better of the Cougars in the second half in the 2022 final, it was Montclair Kimberley who got the better of the Panthers this season.
Sedransk admitted there was some fatigue at halftime, but the Cougars trudged forward.
“At halftime, we were definitely starting to feel tired from the heat, but the tied-up score kept us focused and ready to come out strong,” the junior keeper said. “On the defensive end we knew we had to stay very tight on their cutters and not foul to put them on the eight-meter. On offense we wanted to get more people to drive to the goal and put the ball in the back of the net. The draw went well in the first half and we definitely kept up on the draw in the second half.”
Goss said the Cougars “cleaned” up some things at halftime that helped the team come through in this year’s second half.
“We played a bit sloppy in the first half, but cleaned it up in the second,” Goss said. “Our draws and rides were really going our way, and Orly made some huge saves.”
The Cougars were able to generate a 10-8 lead with four minutes remaining in this spring’s final.
And Montclair Kimberley held on in the final minutes to win its first Prep B Tournament championship since 2019. “PDS won the last draw, but our defense was able to stop their transition,” Goss said.
Murphy said they focused on holding onto the ball late in the match but added that defensively the Cougars limited Princeton Day’s shots.
“We tried our best offensively to take care of the ball during the final possessions of the game, but the defense was absolutely ready to lock off cutters or play solid 1-v-1 defense to completely stop PDS from scoring,” Murphy said.
In the 2023 final, junior Aeryn Curren led the Cougars with five goals while Sedransk made nine saves to hold off the Princeton Day comeback in the final minute.
Along with Curren, two freshmen, Maggie Murphy (Caroline’s sister) and Addie Goldstein, added a pair of goals to propel MKA to the title.
Montclair Kimberley now sets its sights on the Non-Public B state tournament where the Cougars hope to double up their hardware this season.