Vikings' season proves strength of girls program
BY GEORGE ALBANO
Staff Writer

SCOTT PILLING staff Danielle Bussiero and her South Brunswick teammates enjoyed a stellar season this spring, surpassing the expectations of many people who expected the Vikings to be more of a rebuilding team.

Just the fact that the South Brunswick High School girls lacrosse team was playing in the state tournament was a major accomplishment for the Vikings.

Never mind the fact they lost to Vernon 13-6 in the first round of the New Jersey Group IV tournament to end their season. Just making it that far was practically a victory in itself.

South Brunswick was coming off its finest season ever last year when it went 11-4 and recorded its first state tournament victory ever. But as many as 12 seniors from that talented team graduated, leaving the Vikings with some major holes to fill and a huge question mark over their postseason hopes.

But a young and determined SBHS team took the field this spring and went 7-7 during the regular season to make the state tourney for the fifth straight year.

"We graduated 12 seniors, so I didn't know how it was going to go this season," said head coach Gail DeMarco, who started the program in 2000 but was on maternity leave last year. "But the girls did a really great job."

The 2007 season didn't start out so promising, however, as the Vikings lost four of their first five games. But they looked like a completely different team over the last two-thirds of the regular season, winning six of their last nine games.

"We really struggled early in the season," DeMarco admitted. "But after that we started playing together and everything kind of clicked and we played well."

The veteran coach said her team simply had to go through an adjustment period.

"We had six seniors on the team who were used to playing with all those girls last year," she said. "They had to get used to playing with six or seven new girls this season, so there was a learning curve.

"But once they got used to one another and played together, we were fine."

In fact, DeMarco remembers the game in which it all came together for South Brunswick.

"It was when we beat Old Bridge in double overtime," she recalled. "It was maybe our third win, and I thought it was the turning point to our season."

The Vikings would lose an 11-10 heartbreaker to Old Bridge in a rematch in the second round of the GMC tournament, after beating J.P. Stevens 11-5 in the opening round.

Then in the state tournament, ninth-seeded South Brunswick raced out to a 4-1 lead against No. 8 Vernon, but the home team scored four unanswered goals to go in front 5-4 at halftime and then outscore the Vikings 8-2 in the second half.

Julia Bohn led the winners with four goals, while Silje Karlsen and Casey Quinn each added three goals and two assists, and Stephanie Messina scored twice.

Meanwhile, Danielle Bussiere and Nicole Heyer each had two goals for South Brunswick. Alanna Jogan added a goal and three assists, while Katie Roiwood also scored a goal to round out the scoring.

Bussiere and Jogan, both seniors, were two of the Vikings' main weapons on attack all season. Bussiere, a three-year varsity starter, recorded her 100th career goal this season, while Jogan, who started since her freshman year, hit the century mark as a junior last year.

Amy Walters, another senior who's been playing varsity since her sophomore year and starting the last two seasons, converted from a defender to midfielder this season, where she helped solidify the Vikings' transition game.

"We lost a little bit of everything from last year," DeMarco pointed out. "That's why we needed to move her up."

Another midfielder who came up big this season was Heyer, who's only a junior and was a big reason for the Vikings' success.

"She was huge," DeMarco said. "She really stepped up."

The defense also shined this season, with senior Christa Deruis, junior Rachel Gurney and sophomore Jericka Fernandez leading the charge.

"Last year was the first time Rachel ever played lacrosse," DeMarco noted. "And Jericka moved up from the freshman team. They both played well on defense this year along with Christa."

So did senior goalie Alex Gaudio, who recorded nine saves in the state tournament game as Vernon held a 22-16 advantage in shots.

South Brunswick, meanwhile, was left to reflect on a satisfying season in which it exceeded everyone's expectations.

Boys' finest season ends

in state semifinals

The South Brunswick boys' quest for a state title to go along with their conference crown came to an end on Tuesday with a 16-8 loss to Montclair in the semifinals of the Group IV tournament.

The Vikings, who entered the game with a state-leading 18-game winning streak, got two goals each from Kory Kelly, Chris Laurita and Theo Smyk, but were unable to slow a relentless Montclair attack that was led by Jordan Nesmith's five goals and Dylan Koontz's four goals and two assists.

The game was actually closer than the final score indicates, with the Vikings trailing just 6-5 in the second half, before Montclair simply caught fire. South Brunswick goalie Luke Zabel did all he could to keep his team in the game, but in the end, the Vikings ended their season with a stellar 18-2 mark.