Passaic Valley’s Sabbak nears 100 goals by Sean Farrell of The Record
HACKENSACK – History will have to wait.
Jennifer Sabbak made sure her family will be around to watch it.
Passaic Valley’s all-time leader in goals came one away from scoring the 100th of her career during a game on Wednesday.
But it wasn’t the right time or place for her moment, with neither of her parents able to make it to the late-morning contest at Bergen Tech.
So she spent the last 31 minutes and 48 seconds of Wednesday’s game without a shot, happy to delay the inevitable for another 72 hours.
The senior midfielder opted to pass on the milestone. And then pass some more.
She hopes her 100th goal will come at home on Saturday, with both parents in attendance.
“I will be ecstatic,” said Sabbak, after her team’s 8-6 win over the Knights. “It’s crazy to have a record in this school. I want to make my mark.”
Sabbak never intended to play lacrosse years ago, let alone leave a legacy at Passaic Valley. She never picked up a stick until high school.
Softball was her sport since kindergarten. First base was her position.
But when things didn’t work out as planned in her freshman year, she was convinced to join the lacrosse team about a month into the season.
“I thought my passes would go out of bounds or deflect off somebody’s stick or go into the abyss,” Sabbak said. “I didn’t think I’d come down to 100 goals.”
Learning the fundamentals was step No. 1. And she had to learn on the fly. The other players had already developed some skills in the opening weeks and knew the plays.
“I knew absolutely nothing,” Sabbak said. “They threw me in and I was wondering what was going on. I literally had no idea. You’re coming out of your comfort zone. Playing a game you don’t understand that well is hard. But you get it after a few games.”
Her potential stood out to coach Lori Demsey even early on.
She is one of the tallest players, now at 5-foot-8. She is athletic. And she is tough.
“You can tell on the field when she turns it on, she’s going to goal and she’s going to score,” Demsey said. “It’s like she was born to be a lacrosse player in my mind.”
Sabbak worked her way up to the varsity team for a few games late in her freshman season.
She became an offensive star in the next two, scoring 24 in 2015 and then 58 last spring.
“She always knows how to weave through any player,” senior Alyssa Landi said. “We’ll be calling for her to back out and suddenly, she’s through three girls. She’ll throw a wild shot and it will go in because she’s got great placement.”
Sabbak came into the day with 98 goals, and jokingly asked if she could play defense instead. Her last shot in the game came on her only goal, a wrap-around with 6:48 left in the first half.
Then she let sophomores Emily Hyde and Catherine Bennett go to work. Each scored a hat trick in the win.
The senior, who sports a captain’s band on her right leg, said the girls at Passaic Valley mean more than the goals.
“It’s not going to be any goals,” said Sabbak, on what she’ll remember most. “It’s not going to be anything like that. It will be the coaches and the girls, the bonds that we have. I’ll miss it so much.”