Todd and Wagner lead Spartans to first win in 2026

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Scoring six goals in the win over St. John Vianney was a personal best for Julia Wagner (23), a senior at Ocean.

Brooke Todd and Julia Wagner are both seniors on the Ocean Township High School varsity lacrosse team. Saturday, April 11, they each scored six goals in the 14-9 win over visiting St. John Vianney. That victory was the first for the Spartans in five games.

Ocean has six seniors on their roster and they were hoping for a big season, as co-captain Maddie Kirchner, who is one of the leading scores in the state had scored 125 goals as a junior and everyone was expecting bigger numbers this year. However, she only played in one game this season scoring five goals, then suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Without the leading scorer on the field, the rest of the team needed to find a new chemistry and others to step up into leading roles. Ocean also had changes in the coaching staff, as Alyssa Talavera has taken over as head coach. She is also the Spartans field hockey coach.

Saturday the Lancers of St. John Vianney were in town and had a 1-4 overall record and were 1-2 in the Freedom division of the Shore Conference. Ocean, which plays in the Constitution division, entered the game winless at 0-4.

It seems that the Spartans have found the right combination of players and chemistry as they completely dominated the Lancers. Ocean played the game with confidence and poise, they didn’t rush their offensive game plan. They used crisp passes, and cutting players across the Lancers goal to create open shots.

But it all started on the draw, and whoever wins the draw has the offensive advantage. For Ocean, Addison Delia, an up and coming freshman, won 11 draws while Todd won seven. As for the scorning, Todd finished with six goals and two assists for a total of eight personal points. She also scooped up three ground balls. To date, Todd has 116 goals, 69 assists, 270 ground balls and 248 draw controls.

Wagner also finished with six goals in the win over the Lancers. As a sophomore she scored four goals twice during the 2023-2024 season. Last year as a junior she had one game where she netted four goals. So, the six in the win over St. John Vianney was a personal best. On her four-year career stats, she has 55 goals, 19 assists, 84 ground balls and 30 draw controls.

The only other Spartan to score in the win over the Lancers was Delia, who had three goals and one assist. On her young career as a Spartan she has six goals. Playing goalkeeper for the first time for the Spartans was Landon Clark, also a freshman. In her debut game she made five saves.

Ocean will host Toms River South on April 13, with a 7:00 p.m. start. It is a divisional game, and Toms River South has a 1-3 record. In their last head-to-head game on 4-29-25, Ocean won 15-12. Before that, they faced each other on 5-11-2015, which Toms River South won 10-9.

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