The Lakeland Regional High School varsity girls soccer team finished their thrilling 2019 season with overall contentment. By earning a record above .500 and achieving several other goals along the way, the Lady Lancers have everything to smile about this season.

Many significant triumphs stood out this year. Senior captain Chloe Sudell told The Ledger that one of the team’s main goals was to do well in the Passaic County tournament. Evidently, this was accomplished.

Going into the tournament as the sixth seed out of 14 teams, the girls weren’t the slightest bit discouraged. In the first round of the tournament, they crushed Passaic Valley, with eight of their players scoring an exemplary total of ten goals. The competition intensified from there.

For the quarter finals, Lakeland was pitted against their decades long rival and third seed in the tournament, West Milford. The intense, low-scoring game was won by the Lancers in a shootout. This critical win advanced them to semifinals. Wayne Valley, the second seed, was one of the most difficult teams the girls had faced during the regular season. But for the semis, the girls turned it around, and with another low-scoring game, victoriously defeated them.

“The girls stepped up when it mattered most,” Coach Louise Marlow commented. Clearly this is true. Although the team didn’t get the seed they initially strived for in the tournament, they still advanced all the way to county finals. All of their hard work, perseverance, and talent surely paid off.

In addition to the team’s accomplishments, individual players had their own success. Senior captain Devyn Tanajewski, a four year varsity starting midfielder, received first team All-County and first team All-Conference. Also, junior Katie Mullin, a skilled defensive player, received second team All-Conference and second team All-County. Another talented defender, senior captain Erin Huebner, received honorable mention All-County. Junior Kaitlyn Collins, accomplished mid, received this same award. Junior forwards Alie Barna and Teresa Centourione, as well as freshman goalie Shannon Harnett, all earned second team All-Conference. Sudell, another mid, received honorable mention All-County.

“We all connected as a team and were able to overcome a lot of obstacles,” Sudell reflected.

After this season, which had a great emphasis on teamwork, it’s difficult to see such a skilled senior class go. Captains Rylee Johnson, Tanajewski, Huebner, and Sudell, and seniors Julia Slaman, Julia Kurzyna, and Nikol Jimenez all worked hard and persevered throughout their successful Lakeland soccer careers.

For next year, juniors Barna, Centurione and Collins, key attacking players, and juniors Mullin, Sam Gurrieri, and Jessie Adams, skilled defensive players, are sure to lead the team to triumph once more.