Noji leads Shore past Holmdel

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.
Before the 2013 girls lacrosse season started the Blue Devils of Shore Regional received the number four spot in the preseason rankings. In first position was Red Bank Catholic followed by Rumson-Fair Haven and Manasquan as the top three.

Red Bank Regional followed Shore in fifth with Ocean, Colts Neck, Freehold Township, Central and Toms River North rounding out the top 10 teams in the Shore Conference.

The Blue Devils of Shore Regional have a new old face on the sidelines. Doug Blanchard, who retired from the West Long Branch High School several years ago, took the field as head coach of a team that finished 15-6 last season. The past few years Blanchard was the assistant coach at Georgian Court University.
As of press time for this story the Blue Devils are currently the third ranked team in the Shore Conference, and the second place team in the Class A Central. Red Bank Catholic is the top-ranked team at 7-0 and Rumson-Fair Haven is number two at 4-3 overall and 4-0 in the Class A Central.
Last week the Blue Devils hosted the Hornets of Holmdel in a divisional contest. Shore completely dominated the game shutting out Holmdel 14-0. Most of the Devils’ goals occurred during the first half where they took a 10-0 lead.
Jen Noji, one of the key newcomers on the Blue Devils squad this season, led all Shore Regional players with three goals. Claudia LaMarca had two goals and three assists, while teammates Lauren Britton also had two goals and two assists, while Emily Reiser finished with two goals. Nikki DeScenza and Jordan Hayes each had a goal and Christina Shannon had an assist.
With that win the Blue Devils improved to 4-2 overall and are 3-1 in division games. In the goal for Shore was Taylor Caldwell who had three saves. A few days after that win the Blue Devils beat St. Rose 10-3 in another divisional game.