Bridgewater-Raritan's Weissman is the CN Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year

After suffering devastating losses in the NJSIAA North Group IV Tournament the last three years, the Bridgewater-Raritan High School girls lacrosse team entered the 2017 season with a different approach.

According to four-year starting goalie and captain Arielle Weissman, the Panthers decided to use a more lighthearted method when it came to this season, so instead of putting unnecessary pressure on themselves, the players went out, worked hard and had fun. 

"We had such a strong senior class, and we wanted to have fun, and our key was to have fun and not put pressure on ourselves about the end result," Weissman said. "I just tried to keep the mood light at practice and have fun, so instead of being a demanding authority figure, I just tried to make it a fun experience and keep it light, which was helpful."

And it paid off. Bridgewater-Raritan won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title, the North Group IV sectional title, the Group IV crown and its first Tournament of Champions title in program history. 

Weissman, who finished the season with 135 saves and a 20-1 record, was the backbone of Bridgewater-Raritan's defense, and according to coach Alyssa Frazier, without Weissman the Panthers might not have achieved such success. 

"This season I definitely think we had our toughest schedule for sure," Frazier said. "We went to Long Island twice, had Moorestown on our schedule, we had a lot of big games and we went further than ever, so there were a lot more high pressure games. And when you’re a goalie, in those games it’s a lot of pressure on the goalie, and she stayed calm, cool and collected and came through for us when it counted."

For her efforts, Weissman is the 2017 Courier News Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year. 

"Arielle is a great leader, she’s really vocal on the field, she takes charge, she’s one of the fastest on my team," Frazier said. "She did a phenomenal job for us, she was one of the captains this year, she’s a great leader, she’s quick, she has quick reflexes, great clears, anything that has to do with being a goalie, you could say about her."

Weissman, who has been playing lacrosse since the sixth grade, started playing goalie in seventh grade out of necessity, because her team didn't have one. Weissman said that she had experience with the position because her brother, who plays ice hockey, would practice taking shots on her. 

"It was a natural fit," Weissman said.

Weissman finished her career at Bridgewater-Raritan with a 77-11 record and 649 saves. Her biggest save came in the Tournament of Champions final, when she made a point blank save against Oak Knoll's Ali Baiocco with 37 seconds remaining to preserve the Panthers' 7-6 lead and earn the team its first TOC title. 

"It’s incredible, you can’t ask for much more than winning the last game of the season, and being the last team in the state with a win," Weissman said. "A few of us have watched our brothers win a TOC, so it’s good to be on the field playing instead of watching in the stands."

Weissman also credits meditation breathing for her big save. The Bridgewater-Raritan seniors adopted the strategy during sophomore year, so before big games the players would practice their breathing in order to calm themselves down. 

"In that moment it was a situation where I could fall back on my breathing and make the save, or let them score," Weissman said. "So it was do or die, and my defenders made it such an easy save on me. And if I hadn’t fallen back on that breathing, I would not have made that save."

Along with facing a tougher schedule this season, Weissman also dealt with a hip injury that inhibited her more and more as the season progressed. She said that while physically she was unable to perform at her highest level, the mental hurdle was the hardest to get over. 

"I think my position was really crucial in me being able to get over the mental part," Weissman said. "As a goalie I have to learn how to get over things and cope with certain situations, so instead of looking at the negative I was able to look at the positive."

Despite her injury, Weissman managed to help lead the Panthers to one of the best seasons in program history, and whether it was meditation breathing or just plain talent and dedication, Weissman is happy that the senior class was able to finally chase down what had eluded them the last three years. 

"I think this senior group is special just because of the hard work and dedication, not just this year but all four years they put into the program," Weissman said. "I think our legacy is have fun while doing hard work, but make sure you’re putting in the effort and the offseason is crucial in being successful, don’t put your sticks down when the season ends, work hard 24/7 because that’s the only way to achieve your goals."

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

ALL-AREA FIRST TEAM

A Mena Loescher, Ridge, Jr. 

A Hannah Hollingsworth, Bridgewater-Raritan, Sr. 

A Laurel McHale, Bernards, Jr. 

A Alaina Parisella, Mount St. Mary, Jr. 

M Ally Mastroianni, Bridgewater-Raritan, Sr. 

M Paige Petty, Bernards, Sr. 

M Catie Perkins, Hunterdon Central, Sr. 

M Mary Pagano, Pingry, Sr. 

D Bridget Cawley, Bernards, So. 

D Ann Bill, Delaware Valley, Sr. 

D Melissa Hawkins, Bridgewater-Raritan, Sr. 

G Arielle Weissman, Bridgewater-Raritan, Sr. 

ALL-AREA SECOND TEAM

A Stefani Peluso, Immaculata, Sr. 

A Olivia Johnsen, Hillsborough, Jr. 

A Lauren Shaw, Hunterdon Central, Sr. 

A Kirsten Murphy, Bridgewater-Raritan, Sr. 

M Nicole Perez, North Hunterdon, Sr. 

M Emma Genovese, Mount St. Mary, Jr. 

M Emily Zobian, Voorhees, Sr. 

M Hanna Christian, Bernards, Sr. 

M/D Brittany Bill, Hunterdon Central, Jr. 

D Olivia Genovese, Mount St. Mary, Fr. 

D Abby Cawley, Bernards, So. 

G Charlotte Grimm, Bernards, Sr. 

HONORABLE MENTION

BERNARDS: Annie Thomas, Annie Gillis, Anna Tamke; BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN: Tai Jankowski, Julia Lytle, Addison Reilly, Ally Stanton; DELAWARE VALLEY: Ava Boethig; GILL ST. BERNARD'S: Amelia Kirby, Emma Dean; GOV. LIVINGSTON: Lindsay Gerrato; HILLSBOROUGH: Gabriella Vangeli; HUNTERDON CENTRAL: Gabby Jones; IMMACULATA: Kristen Olmstead, Sam Fama; MONTGOMERY: Sara Howard, Shannon Curry; MOUNT ST. MARY: Sabrina Morano, Jennah Santiago, Samantha Tush, Meghan Decker; NEW PROVIDENCE: Kaitlyn Cumiskey, Samantha Scott; NORTH HUNTERDON: Katie Fullowan, Samantha VanBelle; PINGRY: Olivia Lai, Lindsey Lubowitz; RIDGE: Bea Behrins, Emma Wightman; RUTGERS PREP: Sophie Thellmann; SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD: Sabrina DiLollo, Amber Bretz; SOMERVILLE: Camryn Rogers, Alonna Gliksman; UNION CATHOLIC: Lauren Power; VOORHEES: Sarah Wittpenn; WATCHUNG HILLS: Katie Carroll; WESTFIELD: Hannah Liddy, Sydney Paoletti.