Christine Graziano’s family jokingly reminded her that she was three goals away from scoring her 100th before top-seeded Mendham took on third-seeded Morristown in NJSAA/Investors Bank/The Lacrosse Ball Store North Jersey, Group 3 final.
After her team rattled off 10 unanswered goals, the junior middie was at 99 career goals and had a feeling that another was on the way. That goal did not take long to come and Graziano ripped home her third goal a minute and a half in to reach the 100 goal plateau.
Graziano potted a fourth goal in the second half to propel Mendham, No. 9 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, to its fourth straight sectional title in a 15-1 victory over Morristown in Mendham yesterday.
“The biggest thing was getting the victory, but getting my 100th goal is nice, especially because it came with a victory and it came with a title. The most important thing was getting that banner,” Graziano said, who leads Mendham with 57 goals. “Once we came out strong, I just thought we can do this we can get it.”
Mendham scored 15 consecutive goals throughout the game behind seven different goal scorers. Senior middie Becky Gohsler and sophomore middie Christine Long each potted hat tricks, while junior middie Carlye Maita finished with two goals and as many assists.
Sophomore middie Kira Lopes and junior attack Carrie Speicher added two assists apiece as Mendham’s offense concentrated on breaking through Morristown’s defense with backdoor passes into the slot.
While its offense was at full force, Mendham’s defense remained true to form. Although Morristown won the first four draws, Mendham’s defense, which is led by seniors Emma Bargiacchi and Mackenzie Mantione, kept its stick in the passing lanes to prevent attackers from battling to the cage.
Even when attackers did find their way to the net, Giuliana Durso remained strong with seven saves. Her shutout was broken when Allie Ferrara scored with 3:40 left.
“Our defense has always been a huge part of what we’re all about,” first-year head coach Lauren Yee said. “We’ve got great senior leadership down and (Giuliana) Durso played huge for us in the cage. Our defense is really what we feed off of in the offensive end.”
The victory was a little sweeter for Gohsler.
The Delaware-bound middie had to limit her playing time due to an arm injury during the semifinals of the Morris County Tournament, but is now back at 100-percent and it shows. Gohsler has scored hat tricks in her last two state tournament games.
“It’s so nice because when I was sitting out I realized how much I want to be out on that field and how much I want to make an impact,” she said. “I’ve just been trying to play as best as I can for my team. Sitting out was not a good feeling.”