Ridgewood captures 13th straight Bergen County championship by Sean Farrell of The Record
RIDGEWOOD – One name will stand alone on the trophy.
The only champion in Bergen County tournament history made sure to keep it that way.
Ridgewood won its 13th straight Bergen County girls lacrosse title on Saturday with an 18-8 victory over second-seeded Saddle River Day.
No one else has ever won the tournament since its inception in 2005.
The Maroons (14-0) once again showed why.
“They just rose to the occasion,” said coach Karla Mixon, in her 17th season. “The girls really stepped up on the defensive end. When things didn’t work out, they didn’t get flustered. We just talked and worked it out. They are so intelligent and so smart with the game. They are just amazing.”
Hannah Cermack and Chelsea Trattner chipped in four goals each, while the team’s swarming defense kept the Rebels in check. Those seniors and many others proudly left their home turf after becoming the latest class to carry on a legacy of success.
“It’s something that we should really be proud of as seniors,” Cermack said. “It’s something that our whole town should be really proud of.”
Ridgewood has been unrivaled in North Jersey since its program began in 1995.
The Maroons are 308-54 during Mixon’s tenure with eight state sectional titles and two in the Tournament of Champions.
They added another Bergen County crown by outscoring opponents by a 52-13 margin through three games.
They turned another final into a one-sided game.
“It’s been amazing,” said Cermack, who will play for Boston College. “I think all of our hard work is really paying off. We never know what we’re going to get from anyone. So we’re all just focused on going out there – no matter who we’re playing – and giving it our all from start to finish.”
Ridgewood and Saddle River Day are polar opposites on paper.
One is a nationally-ranked defending champion with well over a dozen college-bound athletes.
The other is a fifth-year team that somehow made its finals debut with just one bench player.
But the upstart Rebels provided a real challenge.
Alexa Tsahalis kept the game close by scoring three of her four goals in the second half. Jackie Wolak and Michaela McMahon both reached their 100th point of the season in the game.
Coming into the day, five of the last six championships were decided by at least 13 goals.
This year wasn’t another one of them.
“I’m happy that we were able to play Saddle River Day because it gave us a challenge,” Mixon said. “Our girls rose to the challenge. I like those competitive games.”
The Maroons reeled off a 5-0 run after giving up the game’s opening goal.
Seniors Hailey and Riley Ricciardi sparked one of the state’s stingiest defenses. Trattner and fellow senior Alex Absey made the most of their chances on offense. And the speedy Cermack did a little bit of everything in the midfield as always. She continued to move up the ranks in Ridgewood’s record book with two more assists and four ground balls.
“She’s just a quarterback for us,” Trattner said. “She’s such a great leader on the field. You can see that she knows when to slow down or push the pace. She takes great shots and takes the draws. She’s a real two-way middie.”
It’s one of the many reasons why the trophy will stay in its permanent home at Ridgewood High School to add another name.
The only one ever inscribed.
“It’s such a great honor and none of us want to break the streak,” Absey said. “It’s a tradition. So it is nice to see that we’ll go on the trophy another time.”