Sparta boys, girls lacrosse teams sweep H/W/S tournament championships

You can call it Super Saturday.

The Sparta High girls and boys lacrosse squads each captured the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament championships at Warren Hills High in Washington Township on Saturday afternoon.

Girls Lacrosse

Reagan Cina totaled three goals, an assist and two ground balls, Moira Sweeney collected two goals, three ground balls and four draw controls, and Isabella Van Winkle also connected twice to lead top-seeded Sparta to an 8-5 victory over second-seeded Hunterdon Central in the championship final.

The tri-county title is the second overall and first since 2018 for the Lady Spartans, which are ranked No. 16 in the state. Hunterdon Central (11-4) was seeking its seventh straight H/W/S title and 11th overall.

Sparta (10-2) only trailed once, at 2-1, late in the first period. The Lady Spartans recovered to take a 3-2 lead after the opening 12 minutes.

Sweeney’s goal with 8:16 remaining in the second period gave Sparta a 4-2 edge followed by a strike by Cina that pushed the lead to 5-2 with 3:37 left in the half. Van Vinkle then scored a minute later to provide Sparta with a four-goal cushion. Joey Roque (one goal, one assist), Kaitlyn Peters (three ground balls), Adriana Dolinski (three ground balls) Grace Johnson (two ground balls, three draw controls) and Callie Maines (two saves) aided the decision.

Sweeney, a senior who now leads the team in scoring with 34 goals and 10 assists, was named the MVP.

Roque, a junior, scored a career-high seven goals along with two assists, Cina added three goals, one assist and Sweeney added two goals, two assists, two ground balls and four draw controls and Van Winkle had three goals and three assists keyed a 16-5 win over fourth-seeded North Hunterdon in the semifinal round of the tournament on May 4. in Sparta.

The Lady Spartans host Montclair Kimberley on Saturday, May 16, at 10 a.m.

Boys Lacrosse

Tournament MVP Eddie Brown collected four goals and two assists, Jace Stansen connected three times, Marco Aquino added two goals and two assists, Luke Spelman had a goal and four assists and Michael Pandiscia totaled two goals and an assist to power the top-seeded Spartans to a 14-4 championship game victory over third-seeded Warren Hills.

The title is the second in three seasons for the Spartans and third overall in the 16-year history of the tri-county tournament.

Steven Palmer (one goal), Gage Stiansen (one goal), Eric McCall (seven ground balls), Stone Herbison (five ground balls) Johnny Palmer (15 ground balls, won 18-of-22 face-offs) and goalies Jake Alliegro (12 saves) and Quinn Hagler aided the decision.

Brown, a senior attackman, now has 33 goals and 13 assists to lead the Spartans in scoring and is followed by Pandiscia (17 goals, 24 assists), Spelman (12 goals, 26 assists), Aquino (18 goals, 14 assists) and Jace Stiansen (25 goals, one assist).

Sparta (9-5) will host Roxbury on Thursday, May 14, at 4 p.m.