【N.J】 Naomi Kahney leading the charge for undefeated Notre Dame – – – New Jersey News

Naomi Kahney makes scoring goals look easy.

It appears that way because she brings an intense passion to the field to be the best and do what’s best for her team..

Kahney, now a senior on the Notre Dame girls lacrosse team, has a Colonial Conference-best 27 goals on the season and has been a major force behind the Irish’s 6-0 start.

“We all just want to have the best season we can have,’’ said Kahney. “We have Sammy (Renda) and Amelia (Eilbacher) back and we have some really good freshman and a very deep bench. It’s been a while since I played with a team this good and it’s exciting.’’

A year ago, the Irish were 8-8 and part of the reason was both Renda and Eilbacher were out with knee injuries all season.

Kahney accepted the added responsibility and has really stepped up this season, as well, and will most likely have a new career high in goals for a season after she caged 28 a season ago.

“She is one of our senior leaders and Naomi can do a lot of things,’’ said Notre Dame coach Bryan Fisher. “She has a good motor and she’s not afraid. She means a lot of us and we are happy to see her get off to a good start and we need her leadership.’’

Kahney credits the ND staff for helping her become this dominant player.

“I have looked up the coaches for a long time and I have such respect for them,’’ said Kahney, who is headed to The College of New Jersey in the fall. “They have made be a better player and a better person. I wouldn’t be anywhere without them.’’

Never one to backdown or quit, Kahney is anxious to see just how far this team can go.

“I’m so excited for this team this year,’’ stated Kahney. “It’s really cool to see us just getting better. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything to benefit the team and enjoying it at the same time.’’

It’s enjoyable to watch Kahney make it all look so easy.

Tigers Return, Finally

When Princeton High took the field on Saturday against Hillsborough the players might have needed to introduce themselves as the Tigers hadn’t played since April 4th.

The game went to double overtime before Princeton took an 11-10 win as Riley Devlin scored seven in the game.

“I will say it is not the most ideal situation,’’ said Princeton caoch Katie Federico. “It’s quite unfortunate that we were unable to get additional games on the schedule, even after significant efforts to add them. The layoff has allowed the team to bond and gel more, which has been needed given the youth we have on the team. Their confidence in themselves and their teammates has grown during this time. The girls are excited to get back on the field and I think the energy they will bring will be an asset for us, especially given the challenging schedule we have over the next week.’’

Being one of the teams hurt the most through graduation, it’s a very young group of Tiger cubs with only a handful of seniors on the roster.

Freshman Nicki Lee has the lead in goals with six for the 2-0 Tigers and Sarah Henderson, a junior returning from an injury, has a team high six assists.

“I knew Nicki was a strong player because of what many of our returning players had told me and knew about her given that her sister, Joci, has been on the team since her freshman year,’’ said Federico, of the younger Lee. “What has surprised me, however, was how easily transitioned into our attack and how comfortable she looks playing with our returning varsity players. Nicki is a learner and constantly asks questions at practice. Because of this, I have already seen a lot of growth in her in just a few short weeks. She’s a great player to coach and a fun player to watch.’’

Keep an eye on the young Tigers.

Berardi Gets First Win

Congratulations to Saah Berardi, the first-year coach at Lawrence, as she notched that sometimes elusive first win when the Cardinals took a 13-10 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South.

“It feels great and I am so proud of the girls for this win,’’ said Berardi. “We came from behind and were down at halftime, and the girls just needed the confidence, focus and urgency. The girls were so happy.’’

The loss to Allentown was tough, but the game saw Jessica Everman record her 100th goal and goalie Izzy DePaz come up with her 200th career save.

Lawrence had a thrilling one with Steinert as the Cardinals took an 11-10 win behind Everman’s eight goals.

The Cardinals senior now has 108 career goals.

Seeing Double at Steinert

There are two sets of twins on the Steinert roster, with Lauren and Emily Hardiman and Katie and Ali Longo.

“It’s unique to say the least,’’ said Spartans coach Mike Newton. “But, it’s kind of nice a have a set on defense, the Longo girls and a set on offense with the Hardiman girls.

The Longo girls are doing the job on defense as they first time a team scored double digits was Lawrence.

The Hardiman’s Lauren and Emily each have 14 goals and Ali Longo notched her first career goal in the Lawrence game.

After the Lawrence loss the Spartans are 4-1 with a tough test this week against West.

Free Position Shots

— Allentown is off to a 4-0 start and what’s scary to the opposition is they might be the youngest team in the conference.

— Keep an eye on Hamilton West. Morgan Bressler is heating up with 25 goals and looks like she has plenty of support.

— Big week for WW-P North with Stuart and Hightstown as the Knights look to end two-game skid.

— Nice four-game winning streak for Peddie heading to Lawrenceville on Tuesday.

— It’s been win one/lose one for Hopewell Valley. Rough week ahead with Notre Dame and Princeton.

— It was goals galore for Princeton Day and Hun as they scored 30 with the Panthers taking a 16-14 win. Sophie Jaffe had a career high six goals for PDS and Abby O’Brien had five goals and two assists for the Raiders.

— Speaking of PDS, it dropped the first two of the season and now has come back to win three straight. They have a big test with Allentown on Thursday.