Highlanders lose PCT title to Wayne Valley

The West Milford High School boys lacrosse team came up just short of its second straight county title.

The team’s impressive run in the Passaic County Tournament (PCT) concluded with a 7-1 loss to top-seeded Wayne Valley in the championship game there Saturday afternoon, May 6.

The Highlanders, seeded second, started the season 0-7 and owned a 2-9 record as the tournament began. But they earned consecutive victories over Pompton Lakes and Lakeland last week to reach the final.

The PCT title was the fifth for Wayne Valley (13-1) and the second in three seasons.

West Milford defeated Wayne Valley, 4-3, in last year’s final to win its first PCT title in school history.

Wayne Valley, which defeated West Milford, 3-2, in overtime April 11, held a 2-0 lead in the final after the first period and a 3-0 edge at the half. Vincent D’Andrea’s tally with 2:23 left in the third brought the game to 3-1, but Wayne Valley scored the final four goals.

West Milford began play in the PCT on May 1, when it defeated seventh-seeded Pompton Lakes, 8-3, at home. The team was led by D’Andrea (three goals, four assists, two ground balls), Theo Bolger (three goals, three ground balls), Nick Lombardo (two goals, one assist, seven ground balls), Jake kelshaw (two assists, 14 ground balls and 11-of-12 face-offs won), Nash Appell (seven ground balls), Nick Lombardo (seven ground balls), Brett Provenzano (six ground balls) and goalie Tyler Acanfrio (three saves).

Two days later, the Highlanders edged third-seeded Lakeland, 4-3, in overtime to earn their second straight trip to the finals.

Lombardo had two goals, D’Andrea and Bolger each added a goal and an assist, Kelshaw had three ground balls and won 3-of-7 face-offs, and Appell totaled 10 ground balls with Acanfrio making 10 saves.

West Milford is scheduled to play at Pascack Valley at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13.

Here is how other West Milford sports teams fared last week:

Girls lacrosse

The second-seeded Highlanders were defeated for just the second time this season when they suffered a 12-7 loss to third-seeded Lakeland in the semifinal round of the PCT on May 3 at home.

West Milford, which had defeated Lakeland, 10-8, in a regular-season game April 8, trailed by just one goal, 6-5, at the half but was outscored, 6-2, in the second half.

Trista Starr, Kailey Maskerines and Paige Fava each scored twice for West Milford, which also received a goal from Adison Arciniega.

On Friday, May 5, West Milford improved to 10-2 when it rallied from a four-goal deficit to earn a 6-5 victory over Vernon in double overtime there.

Maskerines had four goals and Lily Kreutzer and Arciniega each scored once. Amanda O’Brien anchored the defense with a 15-save performance.

The Highlanders were scheduled to play at Passaic Valley at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 11.

Baseball

The Highlanders, seeded 13th, bowed out of the PCT in a 3-0 loss to fifth-seeded Lakeland in a first-round game there May 1.

Bryant Carrion’s single was the only hit of the game for West Milford against Lakeland pitcher Matt Nicholson, who struck out 11 and walked three.

Ryan Lombardi went the distance for West Milford, scattering eight hits while striking out seven and walking three.

West Milford (2-16) will play at Fair Lawn at 4:15 p.m. May 11.

Boys volleyball

West Milford earned the fourth seed for the PCT and was scheduled to host fifth-seeded Wayne Hills in a quarterfinal match at 11 a.m. May 13.

The PCT semifinal round is slated for Wednesday, May 17 at Clifton High School, with the championship set for Saturday, May 20 at Wayne Hills.

The Highlanders (7-5) defeated Wayne Hills, 25-23, 25-12, on April 19. They were led by Jayden Huber (18 assists, six digs, two blocks), Aiden Rosenberg (five kills, two blocks), Michael Paulison (five digs), Matthew Landoline (six kills, four digs), Sean McNally (six kills, six digs) and Kyle Arciniega (four kills, four digs).

Softball

West Milford, seeded ninth, suffered a 10-0 five-inning loss to top-seeded Passaic Valley in the PCT quarterfinal round May 5 in Little Falls.

The Highlanders fell to 4-12 with the loss and were slated to play at Paterson Kennedy at 4 p.m. Friday, May 12.