Shore girls want to climb to top of lacrosse mountain
Blue Devils went 22-2 last season, will be led by Draper and Houlis
BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent
Heading into last Saturday's girls lacrosse game against fourthranked Toms River North, Shore Regional head coach Chris Raichle was not altogether satisfied with what he's seen from his team this spring.

"We've got a lot of work to do," he said. "We need to be working on our skills before we can startworrying about any game-planning. Our stick skills are not what they've been [in recent years] up to this point."

Granted, the vast majority of coaches throughout the state would love to have the problems Raichle has right now. However, Shore Regional is held to a higher standard in girls lacrosse based on its recent success - three straight trips to the Tournament of Champions, two straight overall Group I championships and a Group B title two years ago, before the NJSIAA realigned its tournament.

"We've been to the TOC three years in a row now," Raichle said. "We lost in the semifinal toMendham last year, and in the final toMoorestown the year before. We have the talent to get back to that point, but it will depend on a lot of things, in terms of our development."

Shore graduated six players from last year's stellar 22-2 team, but also returns six starters, including two of the very best players in the state in senior midfielders Kelly Draper andAli Houlis, both of whom were honorable mention All-Americans a year ago.

Draper was the Shore Player of the Year last season, after leading the conference with 92 goals and 53 assists for 145 points. She is one of the most prolific scorers in Shore history, entering the season with 151 goals, 71 assists for 222 points.

Houlis hardly gets overshadowed, as she tallied 62 goals and 39 assists a year ago, and is every bit as important to the Blue Devils' success.

They are joined in the midfield by the talented senior trio of Julie Criscoulo, Anna Pierce and Devon Whalen, while sophomore sisters Alyssa and Chelsea Watts as well as junior K.C. Ivans help shore up what is the best midfield combination in the Shore.

"Our midfield is our strength, no question," Raichle said. "But our offense will be solid too."

On attack, the Blue Devils are led by two returning starters in junior attackers Corey Murray and Kaylee Miikolon. They are being joined this year by senior Lindsay Collins.

The Blue Devil defense returns just two varsity performers from a year ago in seniors Kaitlin Kuhlthau and SarahWalsh.

Among the newcomers who will cement the Shore defense are junior sisters Dana and NicoleMoutis along with junior Molly Brown.

The goalie position will be filled by either junior Bridgette McGrath or freshman Tori Descenza.

"Our defense will be the key to our success this year," Raichle said.

"We're going to have an inexperienced goalie, so we're going to need to help her out while she gets comfortable back there.

"Everything is going to depend on how these younger kids can gel with the six absolutely fabulous players we have coming back. If the other players can fill in the gaps, we should be very good." Very good is exactly what the Blue Devils were on Saturday against a Toms River North team that was hoping to make a statement against the topranked team in the Shore. However, it didn't take long for the Blue Devils to show they are in another class once again.

With Houlis leading the way with five of her game-high six goals in the first half, Shore jumped ahead early and poured it on against the Mariners, passing their first big test of the year with flying colors, posting a 19-0 win.

On April 22, the Blue Devils will host Moorestown in another game that should indicate whether Shore is ready to challenge for a TOC title once again this year.

"Moorestown is No. 1 in the state and in usually in the top three in the country, so that game is a great barometer for us," Raichle said. "When you play teams like Moorestown, you have to be better with the fundamentals of the game than we've been [in the early going]."

The question at hand is, is this the year that Shore breaks through and topples the state's best team?

"Talent-wise, yes, we can play with anyone," Raichle admitted. "But it's yet to be determined how we're going to play as a team.Alot will depend on how hard they want to work this year."