Sparta girls lacrosse falls to Mendham in sectional final

The second-seeded Lady Spartans saw their successful 2026 campaign - and 13-game winning streak - come to an end in a 17-6 loss to top-seeded Mendham in the championship game of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 2 tournament on Monday, June 9, in Mendham.

The loss was just the third of the season for Sparta, which finished this spring with a stellar 16-3 record under head coach Jack Bushey. Sparta entered the game ranked No. 13 in the state while Mendham was ranked No. 12.

Sparta was seeking its second straight sectional title and fourth overall. Mendham captured its ninth sectional crown and first since 2019. The Lady Spartans had defeated Mendham, 8-4, in winning last year’s sectional championship.

In this year’s title game, Mendham got off to a fast start, taking an 8-1 lead after the first quarter and extended its advantage to 13-3 at the half.

“After the game I told them that sometimes it just doesn’t go your way,” Bushey. “But in no way does this game diminish everything they accomplished this season.

“This team worked very hard and we had an incredible year.”

The Lady Spartans were led offensively in the sectional final by Joey Roque (three goals), Moira Sweeney (two goals) and Emma Muller (one goal).

Sparta’s two other losses this season were to Mendham (18-8 on April 7) and No. 6 Morristown (9-7 on April 11).

Despite the setback in the sectional final, Sparta had plenty to celebrate this season as it captured the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament for the first time since its only other title in 2018.

The Lady Spartans defeated Hunterdon Central, 8-5, for the title, denying its foe its seventh straight tri-county title. It also defeated Glen Ridge, which won the overall Group 1 state title, 11-9, on May 13.

Sparta lost last year’s New Jersey State Player of the Year, Uma Kowalski (109 goals, 42 assists), to graduation but didn’t miss a beat this spring, recovering from an early 3-2 start to win its next 13 contests.

Sweeney, a senior, ended her career with 161 goals, 54 assists, 107 ground balls, 126 draw controls and 35 forced turnovers. Roque, a junior, will enter her senior season with 104 goals, 58 assists and 46 ground balls.

“Moira was incredible for us,” Bushey said. “For the second straight year she was voted as captain by her teammates. Very few players are as versatile as she is. And Joey missed the first four games with an injury and was just a workhorse for us when she returned.

“We will graduate a lot of talent this year, just like last year but have a lot returning, hopefully including (sophomore) Emmy Ku, who was out all season with an injury.”

Bushey, a 2016 Sparta graduate, is now 48-14 in three seasons at the helm.

“We want this to be the standard here and become a state powerhouse,” Bushey added. “We want to keep stacking wins and seasons like this.”