West Orange High School Lacrosse Wins 2015 Avis Cup

The West Orange High School Mountaineers lacrosse team finished the season above. 500 and took home some hardware in the process.

The Mountaineers concluded their regular season on May 14 as Avis Cup champions, after defeating North Brunswick 18-10. This win followed an 8-7 triple overtime victory over Wayne Hills on Senior Night, May 6, which gave West Orange a record of 10-8 on the season, according to school district officials.

The Avis Cup was created by Union City High School head coach Craig LaPierre to give opportunities for newer lacrosse teams, school district officials said. The Avis Cup has matched eight lacrosse teams typically ranked below No. 165 in New Jersey. The goal of the Avis Cup is to provide each team, which would not have made any other tournament, three competitive matchups.

“I thought our team played well in the beginning and put the game away in the fourth quarter,” West Orange head coach Mike Velez said in a release from the school district. “The players worked hard and deserved to win that game.”

Senior Alex Elliott was third on the Mountaineers in goals scored with 30, trailing Marshal Lipsey and Andrew DiPalma, both with 34, but led the team with 42 assists. Junior goaltender and co-captain Brian Crann tallied 168 saves on the season.

2015 was the first season in which the West Orange Mountaineers lacrosse team finished the season with more wins than losses and took home the Avis Cup. The program, established 10 years ago by high school students, is still a relatively young sport at the high school.

(Photo courtesy of West Orange Public Schools)