To understand how significant and how downright wonderful the date of May 2, 2016 was for the Nottingham High girls’ lacrosse program, one has to look at what came before.
This history lesson isn’t to condemn the past—those players helped establish the program—but to put the present in perspective.
In the first five seasons of Nottingham girls’ lacrosse, the Northstars went 0-65. They played a complete game just eight times during that period, meaning they lost 57 games by 10 goals or more. Their closest losses were by three goals to Ewing and Steinert in 2012, when they had six losses of 10 goals or less.
In the laxpower.com New Jersey rankings, they finished third to last twice, second to last twice, and last once.
This year started with nine straight setbacks, bringing the losing streak to 74. But there was something a little different going on this time. The ‘Stars played their first-ever overtime game in an 11-10 loss at Paramus Catholic on April 2. On April 14, they dropped a tough, 8-6 decision at Burlington City.
Just 18 days later, the biggest day in program history unfolded when Nottingham reversed the outcome and defeated Burlington City, 10-8. Standout freshman Michaela Donnelly scored six goals, including the game’s final two to snap an 8-8 tie.
From that point, the clock seemed to be broken in the eyes of first-year coach Christie Fink.
“We were so close, but the last three minutes of the game felt like three hours; it was neverending,” Fink said. “I’ve been in a lot of sports for a lot of years, and it was one of the most stressful games to be a part of. We were down, we were up, we were tied at half. It was a lot of emotions. Just seeing that countdown of 30 seconds on the clock was the best feeling in the world.”
Fink has won some huge games as a soccer player. She was a part of sectional state championship teams at Steinert and played in New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament title games at Rowan University. So it’s not hard to see how important this lacrosse game was to her when she said, “This was one of the greatest wins I’ve ever been a part of.”
Not just for Fink, but for four-year seniors like Liz Pope, Daelin Scolnick and Casey Martin, and for all the other veteran players who wondered if they would ever walk off the field smiling during their high school careers.
Donnelly, one of the few players to ever come to Nottingham with club experience, enjoyed winning seasons with the Allentown Dragons recreation team and the Dew Lax Travel squad. She was cranky just going 0-9 before the win, and knew it had to be even worse for the upperclassmen.
“I hate losing, and I have not lost that many games,” Donnelly said. “I can’t even imagine what it felt like for them. It had to be the best feeling in the world.”
Donnelly’s arrival played a big part in Nottingham’s improvement, along with some other aggressive, enthusiastic underclassmen. Fink said their athleticism and work ethic heightened play in games and practices.
Fink is the first to point out she was the beneficiary of an influx of talent that former coach Kristin Bell never had. And while Bell was one field over helping coach the track team while the Northstars celebrated their first win, Fink felt she was with them in spirit.
“Kristin did an awesome job with the program,” the coach said. “She was really dedicated to it and committed to the girls, and she helped us a ton before the season, to get organized. She sent us all these e-mails and was very helpful. We’re still in constant communication. She’s one of my really good friends. She did a nice job with the girls. I have nothing but good things to say about her. It’s never fun to lose. She’s just as much a part of this win as we are.”
Fink also deserves credit for being able to take the slight bump up in talent and mold it into a more competitive team. The closest she had ever come to lacrosse came when her mom, Luddy, found a discarded lacrosse stick in the front yard of their home one day.
But, much like she did when she became the Northstars’ pole vault coach several years ago, Fink researched the sport and threw herself into it. She also praised the effort of first-year assistant Jen Cicale for being a big help.
“I met with some of my friends that have coached it and played it, I watched videos,” Fink said. “You just pick up on it. Once we were in the season, it was much easier to learn. I’m a visual learner. I need to see everything. So it was easier with the transition. And some of the soccer drills translate very well to lacrosse, so that was helpful. It was tough, and it was learning day by day, for sure.”
According to the players, Fink learned her lessons well. Donnelly said Fink even brought a referee to a practice to give the girls a more in-depth rules lesson.
“She put in a lot of effort toward this team,” Donnelly said. “She is one of the biggest reasons why we were able to get a win.”
Fink knew there were no shortcuts to shaking the losing attitude. She had to teach and, most importantly, bring a new level of confidence to a team that had none.
It was hard to enjoy practices and games, Martin said.
“I don’t think I would ever say I was ready to quit,” Martin said. “But definitely coming to practice would be very hard, trying to stay positive through everything. It was like, ‘OK, time to practice, it’ll be over soon.’”
That’s what comes with losing. That’s what Fink was up against.
“I just wanted to change their mindset and kind of make them want to be here and work hard,” she said. “It’s just knowing that they can do it. It’s just trying to motivate them. To try and get them to get the first win ever in lacrosse was very motivating for them, knowing that we possibly could do it this year.”
It nearly happened in the season’s second game when the Northstars took Paramus Catholic over the limit before falling in OT, 11-10.
“Our second game kind of started off the mindset,” said Martin, who reluctantly moved back into goal this year. “That’s when our girls started to realize this is going to be our year for our team.”
Then came the close loss to Burlington City, which gave Nottingham another taste of near victory.
Then came the big day in May.
“When we played Burlington City I told them to go back to that first game and go back to the feeling of being in a game like that,” Fink said. “They played like a different team. When we got the win their energy was different. It’s almost like they knew they could win that game.”
Granted, Nottingham lost its final two games to finish 1-11. But that is secondary to the improvement, and to the fact this is no longer a winless program.
The Northstars’ rating of 41.79 on laxpower.com was the highest they ever achieved, as was their standing of fifth from the bottom. Of course, it’s not great, but it’s improvement.
Donnelly, of course, made a huge impact.
“She’s a freshman but her skill level is awesome,” Fink said. “She’s a leader on and off the field. She’s always helping the girls and she’s the first person after the game to go get our goalie after a tough loss. She’s just a pleasure to be around and a very good person to have on the team for so many reasons. She’s very, very talented.”
She is also the kind of player who makes those around her better. Fink said Donnelly has been an asset as far as teaching her teammates the basics of the sport.
Donnelly admitted “it’s a little weird” giving advice to girls two and three years older than her, but she knew it had to be done and said, “They were all very responsive, they didn’t take offense to it. They were accepting of it.”
And with just three seniors graduating, Donnelly, who finished with a team-high 29 goals, feels this may only be the start.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to grow with a team that has a lot of potential,” she said. “During that Burlington City game, a lot of the freshmen were able to step up. It’s good for the future.”
Fink lauded other contributors as well, including Martin, who made a sacrifice by returning to goal after playing there early in her career.
Which was fortunate for the ‘Stars, as Fink said, “She stepped up, she had at least 15 saves a game. She was unbelievable. She kept us in so many games. She’s a huge part of why we won that game.”
Sophomores Rumisha Augustin and Amelia Duffy also played a part. Augustin came up from JV during the season and played well on varsity, while Duffy had two goals in the BC win. She also provides an aggressiveness going to goal. Freshman Maddie Lippincott “played with a lot of confidence,” added Fink.
“They really came together,” the coach said. “They literally love each other. We can’t get over it. They love being together and that helps as a team just having that team chemistry.”
Getting that first win doesn’t hurt either.
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