Cougars Open State Tournament With Statement Win in Girls Lacrosse, Tennis Sweep Before Quarterfinal Heartbreaker

Nicholas Mistretta

MHS ’79 Cougar Sports Correspondent

Montgomery’s spring playoff schedule delivered a mix of dominance, tight finishes and season-ending battles as several Cougar teams opened NJSIAA Tournament play this week.

Girls LAX

The biggest statement came from the girls lacrosse team, which rolled past South Brunswick, 14-3, in the first round of the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 4 Tournament on May 28. The Cougars wasted little time taking control, erupting for eight first-quarter goals and building an 11-2 halftime lead.

Montgomery, now 13-4, outshot South Brunswick 20-7 and controlled possession throughout, finishing with 11 ground balls and 15 draw controls.

Elliana Pizzulli led the scoring with three goals, four draw controls, one ground ball and a forced turnover. Lexi Lopez served as the offensive catalyst, distributing five assists for a team-high five points.

The Cougars also received balanced scoring across the lineup. Delsa Malmasi, Emma Scrudato, Hadley DeBruin and Kennedy Dexter each scored twice, while Mollie Little, Carson Benedict and Sophia Soron added one goal apiece. Little, Benedict and Soron also recorded assists.

Dexter helped Montgomery control the midfield with five draw controls, while Scrudato added three draw controls, two ground balls and two goals. Elizabeth Andes made four saves in goal, allowing three goals as the Cougars advanced.

South Brunswick, which finished 14-7, received goals from Madison Monkowski, Paula Kubas and Dulcinea Solomons.

Boys LAX

On the boys lacrosse field, Montgomery fought hard but lost 8-5 to Hillsborough in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 4 Tournament on May 28.

The Cougars, who finished 9-9, were led offensively by Miles Dawson and Zach Mutton, who each scored twice. Colin Long added a goal and collected five ground balls, while Patrick Petrozzini and Will Schwartz each had an assist. Petrozzini also finished with five ground balls, and Schwartz added three.

Goalie Xander Mancilla kept Montgomery within reach with a strong effort in net, making 13 saves against a Hillsborough team that improved to 9-10.

Baseball

In baseball, Montgomery nearly pulled off a first-round road upset before falling to Monroe, 1-0, in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 Tournament on May 27.

The game was scoreless through six innings before Monroe pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Montgomery pitcher Jake Hayes delivered a strong postseason performance, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing one earned run on seven hits while striking out six and walking two.

The Cougars were held to one hit, a single by Ian Quinn. Liam McDonnell drew Montgomery’s lone walk, while McDonnell and Mason Neufeld each stole a base.

Monroe pitchers Ben Faigin and Andre Love combined on the shutout, striking out 12 Montgomery batters. Faigin struck out six over three hitless innings, and Love earned the win after allowing one hit over four innings with six strikeouts. Alex Marcus drove in the game’s only run for Monroe, while Justin Mangano went 3-for-4.

Montgomery baseball finished the season 9-18.

Boys Tennis

The boys tennis team opened its NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 Tournament with a commanding 5-0 first-round win over North Brunswick on May 22 before falling to Marlboro, 3-2, in a closely contested quarterfinal match on May 26.

Against North Brunswick, Montgomery swept all five courts. Wilson Dee won at first singles, defeating Vaibhav Chari, 6-3, 6-2.Ethan Qian followed with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory over Krupesh Thakkar at second singles, and Luca Couto-Frignani completed the singles sweep with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Youssef Elokr at third singles.

The doubles teams were just as strong. Srikar Bavigadda and Arjun Poddar defeated John Lara and Thomas Naumann, 6-0, 6-1, at first doubles. At second doubles, Shaury Kulhari and Amogh Mutyala topped Ojas Karandikar and Kyle Sehgal, 6-0, 6-2.

In the quarterfinal round, Montgomery pushed Marlboro to the limit before falling, 3-2. The Cougars earned both of their points in singles play. Juan Miguel Pereyra won at first singles, defeating Kanata Sasaki, 6-1, 6-1, while Ethan Qian added a 6-2, 6-3 win over Vismai Neeli at third singles.

Marlboro took second singles and both doubles courts to advance. The match turned on two tight doubles contests, both decided in third-set tiebreakers. At first doubles, Evan Albert and Allen Xie defeated Nathan Han and Advaith Molakaseema, 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 10-8. At second doubles, Arihan Bahl and Eric Silverstein topped Sanjay Balaji and Arjun Poddar, 7-5, 3-6, 10-7.

Softball

On the softball field, Montgomery’s season ended with a 12-1 loss to Manalapan in the first round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 Tournament on May 26.

Montgomery answered Manalapan’s first-inning run with one of its own in the bottom of the inning, but Manalapan took control from there, scoring two runs in the second, four in the third, two in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Manalapan finished with 10 hits, while Montgomery was held to three.

Manalapan pitcher Leah Garby threw six innings, allowing one run, none earned, on three hits while striking out seven and walking none. Garby also went 2-for-3 with a double at the plate.

Stella Hegel helped lead Manalapan’s offense with two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Nicole Cammarata drove in three runs, while Alexa Shaffer added two RBIs.

Montgomery softball finished the season 12-11.

Photo Credit: Nick Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomry.com