The last time the girls’ lacrosse division rivals Hunterdon Central Regional High School and Bridgewater-Raritan High School met, the Panthers’ season came to a screeching halt in the state sectional quarterfinals with a defeat in Flemington.
This loss for Bridgewater-Raritan back on May 29, 2024, happened in the final game coached by Hall of Famer Kathie DeBonis, who retired at the conclusion of last year.
Her successor, Jaimie Peterson, and the Bridgewater-Raritan girls received revenge along with their biggest victory to date on Thursday, April 10.
Bridgewater-Raritan (5-0, 1-0) dominated the first three quarters of its game against sixth-ranked Hunterdon Central (5-1, 2-1), but the Red Devils surged back to erase a four-goal deficit and tied the game late in the fourth quarter.
Although Hunterdon Central had a chance to win the game as time expired in regulation, Panthers senior goalie Karly Perez (eight saves) denied a game-winning,free-position shot at the buzzer to force overtime.
Senior Sophie Levin (six draw controls, one forced turnover, two ground balls) then swatted over the first draw to freshman Sam Tremarco (two draw controls, two ground balls), who snagged possession to set Bridgewater-Raritan up with the advantage in sudden victory.
Junior Giada Catanzaro (four goals) then delivered the golden goal with 1:03 remaining in overtime to seal a thrilling 9-8 overtime victory for Bridgewater-Raritan in a memorable battle against undefeated teams at John Basilone Memorial Field in Bridgewater.
“This was a huge team effort and team win, and they’ve been working really hard for this,”praised Peterson after the game about her victorious group. “From our bench to the field, thiscouldn’t have been done without anybody on our roster. They’ve been preparing since March 10 to put this together, and this week, they really locked in at practice. They came together and really figured out our and our opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.”
“I am just so proud of them.”
Bridgewater-Raritan (5-0), which remained undefeated and in contention to win the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title for the first time since 2023, will travel across the Delaware River next to Easton Area High School at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, in Easton, Pa.
Over Spring Break, the Panthers will return home against Ridge High School at 4 p.m. on Tuesday,April 15, before back-to-back road games at division rival Hillsborough High School (Thursday, April 17, 2:30 p.m.) and top-ranked Moorestown High School (Saturday, April 19, 11 a.m.).
After classes resume on campus, Bridgewater-Raritan will play its Senior Night game against Montgomery High School Tuesday, April 22, at 6 p.m. at Basilone Memorial Field following its pregame ceremony honoring its members of the Class of 2025.