The Conference and County tournaments are mostly complete and only Somerset, Middlesex, and Monmouth county tournaments are still finishing up for Girls Lacrosse and now the attention will turn to the State Playoffs with very interesting races underway for power points. These power points will help to determine seeding for the NJSIAA State Tournaments for all of the groups, which are primarily based on Laxnumbers.com rankings.

Here are some of the most competitive races for the respective sections:

North Group 1:

Glen Rock is the #1 team in the group, currently with 303 points, they have an exorbitant amount of offense and are on the precipice of clinching the #1 seed. Four of the top five teams in the group are all in Bergen County and have played each other well including the #2 seed Westwood. The real battle for positioning is between the #3, #4, and #5 teams, Rutherford, Waldwick, and Pompton Lakes. All three of these teams are only separated by 13 points and it is a huge battle for home-field advantage in the playoffs. Kinnelon and Lakeland are also battling to stay in playoff position with Pascack Hills and Lenape Valley, trying to get into the playoffs.

North Group 2:

Summit has been a power for Group 2, the defending champions are far away the top team in the section, but there is more drama that sits below the surface in the race for the playoffs. Sparta is the #2 seed but they are only eight points ahead of young Bergen county power Pascack Valley and arch-rivals Mendham and West Morris Central bring up the rear at the fourth and fifth spots, and those two are only separated by three points. The middle of the pack is also going to be an interesting race. Once you get behind the top 10 with teams like Wayne Hills,  the new champion of Passaic County West Milford, as well as Demarest and the Voorhees Vikings, a team that finished in the top four of the HWS tournament. All of those teams are only separated by 13 points and it will be quite intriguing to see where they all end up on May 20.

North Group 3:

Mount Olive sits atop the group with 273 points. Montgomery is a fast young team with one of the best turnarounds in a single season and has catapulted to the second seed. There doesn’t seem to be as much of a challenge for the third and fourth seats as well, as they look to be stapled in as Red Bank Regional and the defending champions Chatham. The rest of the top 10 is all up for grabs, there’s a big race between schools like Princeton, Middletown South, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, North Hunterdon, Roxbury, and Northern Highlands, with the former being a team that won their division last year and went to the semi-finals in the Bergen County tournament. Those five teams are only separated by 30 points and it is a fine line between hosting two playoff games or being on the road for the rest of the tournament. Colts Neck and Millburn are the final teams holding playoff spots, but a young feisty Morris Knolls team and a division winner from last season in Morris Hills, are on the outside, trying to sneak in.

North Group 4:

North Group 4 is the tale of three top seeds. There is so much drama between these three teams and where they can end up and how much hardware could be collected by the start of June. Morristown is the #1 seed and has had a magical season going 13–0 to start the year and only recording one loss to perennial power Summit. They also won the Morris County tournament. The number two seed is Hunterdon Central who ironically lost in the group for North Quarterfinals last year to Morristown and has had an even stronger year after going 15-0, following their first two games being losses to titanic Pingry and Group 4 rival Ridgewood. They also won their HWS tournament, cementing a legacy of 8 tournament wins in 10 years. Speaking of Ridgewood, they are the #3 seed and the defending champions of Group 4. They also went to their county tournament title game but ended up losing by a goal to Immaculate Heart. Hillsborough, West Orange, and Montclair have solid teams as well, and they are right outside the top three but the race picks up at the other side of the bracket. The #14 seed is Sayreville and they have 162 points but are only four points ahead of the two final teams in playoff spots, Edison and Bergen Technology, and are only 15 points ahead of two schools on the outside, looking in, Clifton and Passaic County Technical Institute.

South Group 1:

The 1 seed is unequivocally Rumson- Fair Haven with 339 points, they are in the Top 20 of the state, they are the defending champions, and have been on the top for a while. Shore and Haddon Township are within 10 points of each other and are the two and three seats respectively. There is also a huge battle between the 5,6 and 7 seeds between Bernards, Glen Ridge, and Lower Cape May as the three are separated by only six points and feature young players who have adjusted well to primetime. New Providence and Maple Shade are at the very end of the playoff bracket and look to be locks to just make it, but Madison is making a surge to qualify for the playoffs.

South Group 2:

Allentown has been looked at by many, including myself, as one of the really good young talented teams looking to make a break this season and they absolutely have. Allentown has 357 points, with a 15-5 record, and looks to have the number one seed for themselves. Last year’s section champion, Haddonfield has 318 points in 2nd place but is only 20 points ahead of the team in fourth place, Manasquan, and only 18 points ahead of Barnegat. There is also a huge battle with points between Seneca and Wall who are in the middle of the pack separated by six points and Monmouth and Triton doing their best to stave off the late attempt by Oakcrest to qualify for the playoffs. 

South Group 3:

There is a battle like no other for the top seed in this group as two teams, Moorestown and Ocean City are tied for the top spot with 363 points. Ocean City has one more game left to claim that number one seed and Moorestown has no more games scheduled before the cut-off. Clearview, Toms River East, Lacey, and Timber Creek are all very close in the middle of this group only separated by 21 points. Brick Township is holding onto the final playoff spot but is only seven points ahead of Hamilton West and this will be a fun race for the final playoff position.

South Group 4:

Manalapan has a definitive chance to get the number one seed at 300 points, but they are only 12 points ahead of Old Bridge who is in the two spot. It is a three-way race as well to that top-seeded because Kingsway is only 15 points behind Manalapan for that number one spot. Southern and Egg Harbor also are vying for a couple of home games and this is a very competitive section. Eastern is in the final playoff spot, but they are only two points ahead of Cherokee and 16 points ahead of Millville for the final position in the playoffs.

Non-Public A:

Oak Knoll is in the #1 seed for Non-Public A. The Royals have had an electric season, including a huge win in the regular season over Summit. They are 12 points ahead of Trinity Hall for the number one spot. Mount St. Mary, who is still in the Somerset County tournament right now is in the #6 spot but only 3 points ahead of Paul VI and 15 ahead of Notre Dame. The final teams in the playoffs are pretty much concluded, but there is a chance that Union Catholic could move up to the 14th spot held by Red Bank Catholic, or the 15th spot held by Donovan Catholic, who is only one point ahead of Union Catholic.

Non-Public B:

This is another group with a torrent race towards the finish. DePaul Catholic has 303 points for first place in the section, but are only three points ahead of Holy Spirit who sits directly behind them. Montclair Kimberley Academy, the number one seed in the prep tournament, is 21 points behind Holy Spirit and they are trying to jockey for as many home games as possible. Holy Cross, Moorestown Friends, and St. Rose are in the 10, 11, and 12 spots and are only separated by 10 points. Morristown-Beard and Villa Walsh are in the final spots and only 15 and 20 points respectively ahead of Newark Academy and Rutgers Prep trying to last in their spots for the final few days. In fact, Villa Walsh has just made a surge with a couple of wins to get into a playoff spot for the first time in weeks. By next week, we will see if the Vikings have accomplished their goal. 

Power points close on May 18th and seeds will be finalized on May 20th. We will keep you posted on the seeds and brackets for the sectional and group tournaments when they become available.

And be sure to catch all the NJ Girls Lacrosse action on Big State Sports on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BigStateSports and follow us on Instagram @BigStateSports.