As a 'tight knit team,' Wall girls lacrosse defeats challenge from Barnegat in NJSIAA game

Sherlon Christie, Asbury Park Press
·6 min read

WALL TOWNSHIP – The last time the Wall girls lacrosse team encountered Barnegat, the Crimson Knights succeeded with a blowout win against the Bengals in a year ago in a Shore Conference Tournament second round game.

The two schools met again Tuesday and this time, No. 4 seed Wall got another victory but with a much closer score, 13-8, as No. 5 seed Barnegat showed a resilient effort in the NJSIAA South Group 2 Quarterfinal Round Game.

Wall senior Rory Paris talks with the Asbury Park Press following her team's 13-8 win over Barnegat in an NJSIAA South Group 2 Quarterfinal Round Game on May 24, 2022.
Wall senior Rory Paris talks with the Asbury Park Press following her team's 13-8 win over Barnegat in an NJSIAA South Group 2 Quarterfinal Round Game on May 24, 2022.

“I think in the first couple minutes, we were just getting into the flow of things and seeing how they play. We haven’t played Barnegat since last year and they are a completely different program now,” Wall senior Rory Paris said. “We wanted to get in the flow and once we got into the flow, we realized that we can do this. We picked up the pace. We know what we had to do to win it.”

More: Shore Conference girls lacrosse: 2022 NJSIAA scoreboard, schedule

And that’s getting the ball into the hands of Wall’s playmakers.

Paris and sophomore Aileen Carr each finished with two goals and one assist, senior Katie Neuffer erupted for four goals and three assists and the duo of seniors Sophia DeSibio and Kristen Williamson each tallied two goals for the Crimson Knights (11-4)

Wall senior Rory Paris talks with the Asbury Park Press following her team's 13-8 win over Barnegat in an NJSIAA South Group 2 Quarterfinal Round Game on May 24, 2022.
Wall senior Rory Paris talks with the Asbury Park Press following her team's 13-8 win over Barnegat in an NJSIAA South Group 2 Quarterfinal Round Game on May 24, 2022.

But the most valuable player of the game was Wall sophomore goalie Regan Ottinger (eight saves) as she cooled off the Barnegat offense in the second half, when she allowed just three goals on 10 shots.

“Regan is absolutely incredible. She’s doing the best that she can,” Paris said. “She is only a sophomore but she’s definitely a dominant player on the field. I believe she’s three saves away from 100 saves. Every save, we just want to do it for her.”

More: Shore Conference girls lacrosse, 2022 all-division, all-county, all-shore, coaches picks

Wall Rory Paris finds herself in traffic but still manages to shoot and score in first half action. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.
Wall Rory Paris finds herself in traffic but still manages to shoot and score in first half action. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.

Meanwhile, Barnegat (17-4) rallied from a deficit of 3-1 to tie the game at 3-3, 4-4 and at 5-5 behind the determination of sophomore Alyson Sojak and junior Calli Dunn. The Bengals’ duo scored all of the team’s goals in the game with Sojak scoring three of her five goals in the first half while Dunn delivered two of her three goals in the first half. Sophomore Emalie Menegus made four saves.

More: Girls lacrosse: 2022 Shore Conference Tournament scoreboard, seeds, schedule

For the Bengals, coach Lyndsey Torre mentioned several notable team accomplishments from her Twitter account following the game.

"Lady Bengals finish the season 17-4. Beyond proud of this group!" Torre said. "Best start in program history, back to back undefeated (Class) B-South Champs. First ever trip (to) the SCT quarterfinals. Most wins in school history. First time being ranked in Shore Conference top 10."

Wall Sophia DeSibio tries to move the ball under heavy coverage. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.
Wall Sophia DeSibio tries to move the ball under heavy coverage. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.

In other NJSIAA girls lacrosse games

Rumson-Fair Haven 17, Hopewell Valley 3: The top-seeded Bulldogs (15-3) had a scorching start with an 11-1 halftime lead on the way to a South Group 2 quarterfinal win over Hopewell Valley. Rachel James (four goals, one assist), Elliott Van Nice (four goals, one assist) Abby Boyle (two goals, two assists), Paige Cecil (two goals) and Sophie Yockel (two goals) led the offense while Kayse Kiernan made four saves.

Wall Katie Neuffer shoots and scores in second half action. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.
Wall Katie Neuffer shoots and scores in second half action. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.

Lenape 17, Toms River North 2: Kristen Redding (two goals) scored a goal in each half for the No. 8 seed Mariners (13-6) in the South Group 4 quarterfinal game.

More: Unsung heroes: These Shore Conference lacrosse players have a vital role in their programs

Rancocas Valley 8, Middletown South 2: Skylar O'Keefe and Julianna Trachtenberg each provided one goal and Lauren Hutson added one assist for the No. 5 seed Eagles (14-4) in a South Group 4 quarterfinal game.

Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.
Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.

Southern 13, Washington Township 6: Delaney Falk's five goals, Rylee Johnson's four goals and two assists and Casey McBride's four assists powered the No. 3 seed Rams (16-3) past the Minutemaids. Additionally, Deirdre Jones had two goals and one assist and Morgan Muirhead had six saves in a South Group 4 quarterfinal game.

More: 22 Fantastic Freshmen: Shore Conference lacrosse players carving out a role this season

Moorestown 19, Lacey 4: Kayleigh Flanegan led the team with two points (one goal, one assist) while Madison MacGillivray​​​​​​, Zoey Smith and Madelyn Bell each added a goal and Shyanne Nucifora had one assist for  the No. 7 seed Lions (14-5) in South Group 3 quarterfinal game.

Wall Sophia DeSibio shoots and scores in second half a action. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.
Wall Sophia DeSibio shoots and scores in second half a action. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.

Shawnee 19, Central 6: Hannah Lewis scored four goals, Emma Harmon added another goal and Evelyn Rausher made 11 saves for the No. 8 seed Golden Eagles (11-8) in a South Group 3 quarterfinal game.

Allentown 19, Ocean 11: Grace Martel's six goals and two assists fueled the No. 6 Spartans (11-8) against the Redbirds. Additionally, Jane Alto added two goals, Maggie Halsey and Kayla Sobieski each added one goal and one assist and Ava D'Erasmo had one goal. Morgan Horowitz stopped 13 shots in the South Group 2 quarterfinal game

All Sophia DeSibio tries to work in towards goal agains Barnegat Isabel Guro. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.
All Sophia DeSibio tries to work in towards goal agains Barnegat Isabel Guro. Wall defeats Barnegat 13-8 in NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse in Wall, NJ on May 20, 2022.

Manasquan 15, Sterling 9: Ava Chiarella led the team in points (two goals, four assists) while Talia Blum (three goals, one assist) and Bianca Chiarella (three goals) also helped with the firepower for No. 2 seed Manasquan (14-5) in South Group 2 quarterfinal game. Quinn McCarthy finished with 11 saves while Kiki Noe had three saves.

New Providence 10, Shore 6: Maddie Malfa (two goals) and Kendall Bennett (one goal, one assist) led the offense for the No. 5 seed Blue Devils (8-8) in a battle with the Pioneers. Shore's Alyssa Ruggiero, Gabby O'Brien and Cami Grella each added one goal and Alana Serrao (four saves) and Sofia Merten (five saves) each played goalie.

In NJSIAA boys lacrosse

Don Bosco Prep 21, CBA 4: Sophomore attack Ryan Marin, junior attack Brendan Donnelly, junior attack Nick Blalock and freshman midfielder Davis Campbell each contributed equally to the scoring for the No. 9 seed Colts (12-9). Sophomore goalie Brandon DeSena finished with two saves in the Non-Public A quarterfinal round game.

More: Rumson-Fair Haven boys lacrosse makes it a ‘habit of getting’ to SCT Final, and winning it

More: Shore Conference boys lacrosse: 2022 NJSIAA scoreboard, schedule

More: Boys lacrosse: 2022 Shore Conference Tournament scoreboard, seeds, schedule

Red Bank Catholic 9, Holy Spirit 7

Nick Cosimano had amassed 13 ground balls, Torin Harmon had two goals and three assists, Jackson Lu added three goals and one assist and Peter Villare had two goals and one assist as the No. 6 seed Caseys (13-8) stunned the No. 3 Spartans in the Non-Public B quarterfinal round. Also, Ryan Brown had two goals and Christian Schrader had 18 saves.

Sherlon Christie is a sports reporter at the Asbury Park Press and has covered sports at the Jersey Shore since 2004. Don't miss any of his coverage by subscribing at https://subscribe.app.com. You can contact him at https://linktr.ee/schristie2

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Wall NJ girls lacrosse defeats challenge from Barnegat in NJSIAA game