Team of the Year

Mountain Lakes

After a surprising trip to the finals of the Tournament of Champions last year, Mountain Lakes had high hopes for this season. At times, the Lakers recaptured the form they flashed during the 2009 post-season, and were clearly the best team in the Jersey Sports Now area.

Ultimately, it proved a frustrating season for Mountain Lakes. A couple of bad performances proved devastating to their hopes of walking off with any hardware. The Lakers fell to Mendham in the Morris County semifinals. More painfully, they were stunned in the sectional quarterfinals by Madison in overtime.

While the Lakers must feel they could have done more, though, they did continue to establish themselves as one of the state's better programs. With a 16-5 record, and a number of talented young players returning, expect to see Mountain Lakes challenging for more titles in the future.

Player of the Year

Isabelle Kayal, Wayne Hills

Wayne Hills went 12-5 this year and claimed the inaugural Passaic County tournament title. Much of the Patriots' success can be credited to the senior attacker, who was one of New Jersey's leading scorers this year.

Kayal poured in 114 goals while also recording 43 assists. While she had several big games in routs, she also came through for the Patriots in close contests as well. In a contest against Holy Angels, she scored the tying goal in the final seconds of regulation and put home the game-winner in overtime. Other players faced more difficult competition, but no one locally was more important to her team.

Coach of the Year

Lindsay Lafferman, Pequannock

Building a lacrosse program is a challenge, but even more so when your school has a strong tradition in another spring sport. Pequannock High School is clearly softball (and baseball) country, so what Lafferman has managed to do in three years is fairly remarkable.

The Panthers went 10-8 this season, earning a share of the Central C division title. Only a tough late-season loss kept Pequannock from winning the division outright. The Panthers also showed how far they'd progressed when they played Kinnelon tough before losing by a single goal late in the season.

Pequannock still has a ways to go before it can contend with the upper echelon of lacrosse schools. But the Panthers appear to be on the right track, thanks to Lafferman, and perhaps someday Pequannock will be considered a softball and lacrosse school.

-- Paul Mencher for Jersey Sports Now