The rich, storied tradition of Bridgewater-Raritan High School lacrosse for sophomores like Sam Tremarco and Jenna Millets extends beyond their Panthers’ girls’ squad.
Not only are they both members of their girls’ team’s draw control unit, but they are also present.
Both of their older brothers played for Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s boys’ team.
On Saturday, the present and future of the Panthers’ dual squads were showcased.
To launch a girls' and boys’ lacrosse doubleheader for the Panthers on Community Night, which celebrates the everlasting partnership between the town’s high school and youth lacrosse programs, it was only fitting that the Bridgewater-Raritan girls’ squad posted their most dominating performance of the season to date.
“You see our boys and you see the energy they have,” reflected by Tremarco, whose older brother: Tom (Class of 2023), contributed to the boys’ most recent Group 4 state championship in 2022. “This makes you wish that you can be out there, too, and I think that’s what’s carrying over to us playing on Community Night since we never have. The fact that we are, we all were feeling the energy that we want to be a part of this, because it is a big thing for our town.”
“We want to just show up for everyone.”
Indeed, Bridgewater-Raritan came through on Saturday afternoon.
Two days after registering its most complete game of the season, surging Bridgewater-Raritan (7-7) eclipsed this feat by surrendering just one goal in the first 31 minutes of regulation and triggering a running clock against Shore Regional High School (6-9). While the Panthers’ offense and defense shined on Saturday afternoon, in a game of lacrosse where possession is always paramount, Bridgewater-Raritan went 17-for-23 (.739) in draw controls at the center logo en route to a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half.
This also included the 100th career draw control for Tremarco (three goals, eight draw controls, three ground balls), who was also one of five of her team’s multi-goal scorers in Bridgewater-Raritan’s impressive 15-4 victory over Shore Saturday, May 2, at John Basilone Memorial Field in Bridgewater.
“It’s definitely been about relying on my teammates for the pick-me-ups and playing together in our pathway to success,” credited Tremarco of her squad, which tallied this result just two days after another dominating victory, 18-7, against North Hunterdon Regional High School on Senior Night.
Despite a quick pair of saves by Shore sophomore goalie Olivia Merten (six saves) to begin the game, senior Giada Catanzaro (five goals, four assists) helped Bridgewater-Raritan strike first with 8:17 left in the first quarter. Senior goalie Brooke Pino (seven saves) then stopped the Blue Devils’ next shot, and sophomore Skye Cabatu (two goals, three draw controls) doubled the Panthers’ lead to 2-0 with 7:43 left in the first quarter on a free position shot.
Neither team scored over the game’s next four minutes, but a runner by Shore junior Marielle Montenegro (one goal, one assist, two draw controls, three ground balls, two forced turnovers) trimmed Bridgewater-Raritan’s lead to 2-1 with 3:42 left in the opening period.
Then, the Panthers opened the floodgates.
After the ensuing draw, 30 seconds later, Catanzaro quickly responded with an unassisted goal for Bridgewater-Raritan. Just 23 seconds later, Catanzaro tossed a pass to Millets (two goals, six draw controls, two ground balls, one forced turnover), who got on the board to suddenly put her team ahead, 4-1, with 2:49 left in the first quarter.
Although Merten made two point-blank saves for Shore on rips by Catanzaro, who appeared to be fouled multiple times in her bid to clinch an early hat trick, Bridgewater-Raritan eventually drew a whistle.
With 26 seconds left in the first quarter, Catanzaro’s resulting free position goal gave Bridgewater-Raritan a comfortable 5-1 cushion, especially given the momentum its defense has gained over the past week.
“We’ve really worked hard and kept up our intensity in games, in practice, and off the field, but it’s not just about one person,” assessed Millets of her team’s improving defensive unit, which surrendered a single-digit number of goals in back-to-back games for the first time this season. “We’re all there for each other as a team.”
“That, our friendship, and our love for each other is what really makes us strong.”
Neither team scored for just over seven-and-a-half minutes, but Bridgewater-Raritan’s defense proved to be a difference maker early in the second quarter.
That is especially true thanks to its trio of Tremarco, Millets, and Cabatu, who each scooped up nearly three quarters of the game’s draws on Saturday morning while also playing defense on Bridgewater-Raritan’s side of the field.
Pino blocked a free position attempt by Shore junior Ava Matthews (one goal, one draw control) with 9:58 left in the second quarter, while Merten followed suit inside of the Blue Devils cage on a similar attempt by Cabatu just 53 seconds later. Even though Shore then intercepted a pair of long-range passes from Bridgewater-Raritan’s side of the field, the Panthers’ defense held down their fort, and Millets eventually intercepted a popped-out ball in heavy traffic with 5:38 left in the second quarter.
Just 50 seconds later, sophomore attacker Carolyn Little (one assist) dropped a perfect ball into the bucket to Tremarco from well behind the Blue Devils’ arc. Tremarco’s resulting layup – similar to what she did on the basketball court this past winter as the Panthers’ starting point guard, broke the game’s scoring drought and extended her team’s lead to 6-1.
Tremarco’s older sister: Angela (Class of 2025), was the Panthers’ point guard on the basketball court in the winter and a star softball player in the spring for Bridgewater-Raritan. Her older brother: Tom, is currently playing lacrosse at the University of Scranton, while Angela Tremarco is currently playing softball at Saint Peter’s University.
The way Sam Tremarco is playing as a sophomore, especially coming back from an injury late in the regular basketball season that sidelined her for just about two months, she showed her early potential to follow suit in sports at the next level.
Also playing basketball in the winter with Tremarco were sophomores Erin Brocklehurst (two ground balls) and sophomore Sarah Hurlbut, whose twin brother: David, is also on the basketball and lacrosse teams on the boys’ side. While Sarah is currently sidelined due to injury, her eventual return will further boost the Panthers’ offense given she had 23 points (14 goals, nine assists) as a freshman last season.
“What we’re doing outside of lacrosse is making a big impact, too,” continued Sam Tremarco, who also had fellow lacrosse backfield defender Brocklehurst serve as her backup girls’ basketball point guard in the winter. “Our team bonding really makes a big difference. We’re feeling the chemistry outside of lacrosse, so when we come back into it, we just feel it even more.”
“That just connects all of us.”
Senior defender Allyson Trebino (two ground balls) and junior defender Izzy Knapp (one ground ball, two forced turnovers) also contributed to a 15-9 ground ball advantage for Bridgewater-Raritan in its victory. Given its improving defense, that is a scary thought for a Panthers’ squad that is already amongst New Jersey’s top teams in goals scored (12.1 goals per game).
Bridgewater-Raritan has now surrendered an average of just 5.5 goals in its last two games after allowing just under 13 goals per game in its first 12 games this spring, and on Saturday afternoon, the Panthers did not concede a single free position goal.
On offense, the Panthers continued to capitalize.
Millets scored her second goal with 4:00 left in the second quarter, and while Shore’s defense forced a tight pass in traffic, junior Sia Agarwala (one assist, three ground balls) rescued the Panthers’ possession via a ground ball that rolled in her direction. On a cutter by sophomore Ashley Ciufo (two goals) perpendicular to the Blue Devils’ cage, she scored Bridgewater-Raritan’s sixth consecutive goal with 2:04 left in the second quarter.
While Merten denied Catanzaro a free-position goal as time expired in the first half, Bridgewater-Raritan went into the break with an 8-1 advantage that was never in doubt.
“We’re finally hitting the point where our defense is playing together, recognizing each other’s strengths, and filling in wherever we do have some weaknesses,” assessed afterwards by Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Jaimie Peterson, whose team is peaking at the right time in her second year in charge following the retirement of longtime head coach and Hall-Of-Famer Kathie DeBonis. “Over these past few weeks, they’ve done a really good job of sealing together, being grittier, and understanding how their roles might be changing along with what they need to do individually and as a team to make that unit more cohesive.”
“Having those four goals allowed today was really a testament to how well we’ve been doing with that.”
The Panthers were not done after the break.
A putback by Tremarco just 54 seconds after the opening draw of the second half began a burst of four more goals in just over four minutes for Bridgewater-Raritan, which then tallied another key save by Pino with 9:57 left in the third quarter. After another goal by Catanzaro, which put Bridgewater-Raritan at double-digit scoring with 8:59 left in the third quarter, Shore was assessed a two-minute yellow card for slashing on Tremarco’s ensuing draw control.
In this span alone, Tremarco collected a hat trick on a free position goal, and Catanzaro scored on a dish from Agarwala with 7:00 left in the third quarter to extend Bridgewater-Raritan’s lead to 12-1.
“We’re all working together as a unit, but that also really helps all of us individually,” Millets said of her draw unit’s overall success.
“Our teammates focus on the small things, like always hustling, being disciplined, and cheering each other on.”
Shore sophomore Scarlett Watson (one goal) then broke the Panthers’ ten-goal burst on a runner with 4:48 left in the period. After a save by Merten with 3:09 left in the third quarter, Pino followed suit for Bridgewater-Raritan on a shot that was deflected by Brocklehurst with 1:05 left in the period.
This sent the Panthers into the fourth quarter with a 12-2 advantage, but a goal by Matthews for Shore with 8:21 remaining briefly halted the game’s running clock. Just 36 seconds later, Cabatu resumed this with another goal, and with time ticking away, sophomore Sanjana Vijayanand (one goal) got on the board on a pass from Catanzaro in transition.
With 2:48 remaining, Ciufo rounded out the scoring to give Bridgewater-Raritan its largest lead, 15-3. A late goal by Shore junior McKenna Frame (one goal, two ground balls) on a rebounded save by Pino closed out the game’s scoring, which also factored in one ground ball each by Merten, junior Braelyn Dalia (two draw controls, one ground ball, one forced turnover), senior Aubrey McGrade (one ground ball, two forced turnovers), and junior Haleigh Madison in defeat for Shore.
However, the damage was already done to launch Community Night for Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
“We’re big on energy and supporting each other on both sides,” revealed of the partnership between the boys’ and girls’ programs by Millets, whose older brother: Brady (Class of 2025), coincidentally led all boys’ scorers on Community Night last year with five goals in the Panthers’ 10-7 victory over then-reigning Group 1 state champion Bernards High School. “We always show up for each other no matter what. Our boys will support us, and we will support them.”
“The energy really picks us up, so playing on this day, we want to bring up the energy for them as well.”
With the girls’ squad in the stands on their campus’ adjacent Turf 2 later that evening, the boys’ fifth-ranked squad rolled to a 14-5 victory over reigning Group 1 state champion and then-17th-ranked Glen Ridge High School. As the Somerset County Tournament will be seeded in the coming days on both the boys’ and girls’ sides, both red-hot Panthers’ squads could not have made better closing statements in what will likely be their final games that will factor into seeding.
“It’s an exciting night,” concluded Peterson of Community Night, which also showcased a youth boys’ lacrosse game at halftime of the Bridgewater-Raritan – Glen Ridge boys’ game in front of the Panthers’ packed house with multiple food trucks also parked on campus. “I’m hoping to get our program more involved with Community Night, but it’s exciting for them, and I know our team is going to show up for our boys’ game today. This program is so rich in culture and tradition on both sides – boys’ and girls’, and that’s something I kept with me that I learned from Kathie DeBonis.”
“It is something I continue to instill in the girls, and we need to continue to hold this close to us and remember our roots where Bridgewater lacrosse started.”
Next up for Bridgewater-Raritan (7-7, 2-2) is arguably its biggest week to date of the season, which will begin with a showdown against New Jersey’s top-ranked team in Moorestown High School (9-2) under the lights of John Basilone Memorial Field at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, in Bridgewater.
The Panthers will then serve as host to crosstown rival, three-time reigning Somerset County Tournament champion and sixth-ranked Pingry (12-3, 3-0), which has dropped two of its last three games since edging North Hunterdon, 9-8, in Annandale on April 23.
This includes a 12-9 loss at home for the Big Blue on Saturday evening to third-ranked and reigning Group 4 state champion Westfield High School (9-3), which will be in Bridgewater-Raritan’s North, Group 4 state sectional playoff bracket when the state tournament begins in late May.
Opening draw for Bridgewater-Raritan and Pingry will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 7 to then lead into the first round of the Somerset County Tournament, which will begin Saturday, May 9.