Mount St. Mary lacrosse rallies to win Central Group I title

WATCHUNG - The Mount St. Mary lacrosse team was slowly watching its incredible season slip away on Friday against the Pingry School in the NJSIAA Central Group I final. 

Third-seeded Pingry (12-7) led 4-1 at halftime and scored again just five minutes into the second half to take a 5-1 lead over top-seeded Mount St. Mary (18-2). But with 15:33 left in the game, the Mount Lions started to stage their comeback.

Down 6-4 with 8:29 left, Mount St. Mary scored two goals in the span of a minute to tie the game 6-6 with 2:23 left. With 24.9 seconds remaining, Alaina Parisella scored to give the Mount Lions their first lead, and goalie Sabrina Morano made a point-blank save with 10 seconds left to preserve the victory, 7-6, and earn their first NJSIAA Central Group I title. 

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"All the hard work we've been doing all year is finally paying off and it's so exciting," said Mount St. Mary's Emma Genovese, who scored twice. 

After being held to only one goal in the first half, Mount St. Mary outscored Pingry 6-2 in the second half for the comeback victory. It was the second game of the season that was decided by one goal for the Mount Lions, as they lost to Hillsborough 12-11 on May 8 in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals.

"In the quarters of counties we had a big lead, and we lost that lead against Hillsborough," said Parisella, who finished with a hat trick. "We were just playing Shore and we started to lose our lead again, but that time we were able to stay with it, and this we actually got into the lead, we were down the whole time, and it just shows the progression from game to game to game."

Mount St. Mary, which started the season 1-1 before reeling off 13-straight wins, has outscored opponents 412-93 in its 18 victories and has been averaging 20 goals a game. 

Last season, Mount St. Mary went 14-7 and fell in the South Group I quarterfinals. This year, the Mount Lions jumped to Central Group I and defeated No. 8 New Egypt and No. 4 Shore to earn a berth in their first sectional final. 

"I think we've gotten mature, more mature when we run our plays and we don't rush as much," Genovese said. "And the chemistry has definitely gotten a lot better."

Friday was the first time this season Mount St. Mary and Pingry had met, and the Big Blue had won seven of their last eight games. They scored first just two minutes into the game, but with 16:48 left, the Mount Lions tied it 1-1 on a goal by Genovese. Pingry would then score three straight goals in less than a minute to take a 4-1 lead. 

"We've kind of watched film on them and knew what to expect," Parisella said. "We tried working on ourselves to see if we could beat the things that they're good at too, and in the first half we kind of struggled with that, but I feel like we definitely got into our rhythm in the second half and were able to pull away with it."

Momentum started to shift late in the second half as Mount St. Mary started to win the draw controls.  

"There were nerves, but we kind of put our heads on straight again, and I guess that paid off," Genovese said. "Sam (Tush) and Alaina are incredible off the circle, they're the reason we won most of these draws."

Mount St. Mary, which also won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title, moves on to the Group I Tournament, which will start either next Tuesday or Wednesday, and the final will be on June 3. 

"Practice is going to be tough and focused, and we're just going to have to get better and better," Parisella said. 

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego