By Joey Bachich
Staff Writer
It was senior day in Ewing on April 20, and the Lions recognized seven seniors and three graduate students before their game against New Jersey Athletic Conference opponent Montclair State. The game itself was quickly out of hand from the start, seeing the Lions go up 8-1 after the first quarter. Sophomore Marissa Lucca and senior Ally Tobler both had three goals each in the quarter, along with sophomore Veronica Campbell and senior Natalie Berry getting on the board as well.
The rest of the game was out of reach and showed a dominant display from the Lions who are still the top of the class in the NJAC, breezing by conference play so far. Lucca had a career high eight points along with her sophomore class partner Campbell, who had a career high in goals with three. Tobler had five points along with Berry having four, and freshman CJ Kole with three.
Senior Spotlight
Natalie Berry (Attack)
Natalie Berry, a nursing major, has been a staple in the Lions offense for three years, starting 21 games. Almost scoring a goal per game, Berry is a born scorer of the ball and the Lions will miss her on the attack line. This season, she has had her most accurate year to date shooting .586, and out of 29 shots, 28 have been on goal. Berry is also slated to beat her own assist totals, needing two more to grab her career high in a season.
Julia Charest (Goalie)
Julia Charest, a special education and iSTEM major, gives this team energy and is a spark plug for the entire stadium. If you are on the sideline of a game, Charest will be the loudest by far on the field. Clutch saves, distribution and communication on the field are just a few things that Charest brings to the table as the Lions goalie. Charest has been the starting goalie since her sophomore year and has racked up 326 saves, a .473 save percentage and 42 wins during her tenure as a Lion. She has racked up awards like first team All-NJAC in 2022 and 2023, NJAC Goaltender of the Year in 2023 and Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association second team All-American in 2023. The Lions will miss not only her play but her on field energy as well.
When asked about her favorite memory, she said, “My favorite memory has to be winning against Salisbury to get to the Final Four.”
When asked about her passion on the field she said, “I think sometimes it just comes naturally to be loud and maybe a little bit crazy. Honestly, I feel like I try to feed off things going on in the game, trying to give the attack some energy to score goals or when the defense comes up big with caused turnovers.”
Sarah Maggion (Defense)
Sarah Maggion, a business management major, has broken into the starting lineup a few times in her final year. She has been a piece in the deep defensive core for the Lions over the past three years, and has seen her role increase as the season has gone on. Starting four games this season, Maggion has four ground balls and three caused turnovers along with playing in 12 of the possible 14 games this season.
Kira Sides (Midfielder)
Kira Sides, a special education and elementary education major, has had an interesting two seasons with the Lions, finding her way into the starting lineup and creating her own role on the team. In her junior season, she saw little time on the field playing in eight games, but produced six points in those games. This season, she has been one of the most important players on this Lions team, filling the role of the do-it-all midfielder. She has started in 12 games this season and has the most complete stat sheet of the team. She has 21 goals, 11 assists and 19 caused turnovers this season, which is second among the whole team. Sides has had an amazing run, and what a way to cap off a great career with her best season yet.
Morgan Vaccaro (Attack)
Morgan Vaccaro, a nursing major, has been a force on the offense the past two seasons. Over the past two years she has 56 points, and over the past year has added 24 draw controls to her stat line, which is third best on the team. She has been recognized on the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll in 2023 and NJAC All-Academic Team in 2023. Vaccaro has been a mainstay on the Lions attack line over two years and she has been a reliant point producer every game.
Madison Wernick (Defense)
Madison Wernick, a nursing major, has been the glue for the Lions defense for three years now. An athletic yet powerful dual threat defender, she has found her versatile groove this season. She has set her career high in goals and assists, running through the midfield on clears. Starting all but one game since her sophomore year, she has grown year to year obtaining more defensive responsibility and has become a leader for the team. She has led the team this season in caused turnovers with 25 and is one of the best on-ball defenders in the country. She is tied for seventh all time in caused turnovers in Lions history with 73 and counting. If the Lions want to make a run to the national championship this season, they will do so on the defensive lead of Wernick.
Ally Tobler (Midfielder/Attack)
Ally Tobler, a secondary education major, has been one the Lions’ best players of all time. She has a career goal total of 214, which is third all time, and tied the record for most goals in a single season with 86 in 2022. The offense over the past three seasons has run through Tobler, who is a quick scorer of the ball and is always looking for assist opportunities. This season, she has produced multiple points in every game and has only scored less than three goals at a game once this year. She leads the team in draw controls with 72 and has been relied on to be the go-to option on the team. She is a player who never lets the moment become too big and has had her best games against the best opponents. Tobler has 22 points against five ranked opponents this season and is leaving a huge hole for the Lions to fill with such a legendary career.
When asked about something lacrosse has given to her, she said, “My wonderful teammates who are now my lifelong friends and help me on and off the field. Also, it has instilled incredible time management skills in me because of the balance between the sport and my classes!”
