Moorestown girls’ lacrosse wins season in Colleen Hancox’ coaching debut

They were perfect at times, crisp in their passing, smooth in their movements, accurate in their shots.

There were other moments, as well.

“There’s going to be growing pains,” Colleen Hancox said after her first game as Moorestown’s new girls’ lacrosse coach. “I didn’t expect perfection.”

In the end, Moorestown walked off its famous field after the first game of a new era with a 19-11 victory over Ocean City on a non-league clash in Wednesday afternoon’s season opener.

Senior Ashley Nutt scored four goals and senior Kayla Frank added three goals with two assists for the Quakers, who build a 13-3 halftime lead on a sunny, cool afternoon.

The game marked the debut of Hancox, a former Moorestown star who has replaced the legendary Deanna Knobloch as the coach of one of the most successful programs in South Jersey sports history.

The new coach, a 2002 Moorestown graduate who played collegiately at William & Mary and also spent eight years as a coach in England, was a study in calm on the sideline, never raising her voice or showing much emotion.

She vowed to hold the players to the same high standards established by Knobloch, who went 580-46-4 in 27 seasons, leading the Quakers to 15 outright state titles, as well as winning streak of 228 games against New Jersey opponents.

Moorestown won the Tournament of Champions last season.

“In terms of standards and expectations, those would be similar from Deanna to myself,” Hancox said. “In terms of style on the settled ends, things would be different, and that’s the things that we are working on and holding ourselves accountable for.”

Moorestown senior defender Julia Dalmass, a team captain, said the Quakers see this season as an opportunity to start a new period in program history in a manner that echoes past success.

“Our whole theme this year is, ‘New era but same tribe, traditions, team,’ ” Dalmass said.

Hancox said she anticipates some rough patches early in the season as part of the transition from such an established style of play under Knobloch and her husband, K.C., the program’s top assistant coach.

“Moorestown has such a great reputation that it’s very difficult to come in after a legend and put your own stamp on things that are going to be different when for some many years things have been the same,” Hancox said.

Hancox said she saw many of the same inconsistencies against Ocean City that she had seen during the team’s scrimmages.

At times, Moorestown looked like Moorestown, with swift ball movement, sharp shot-making, and sturdy defense.

At other times – and some credit belongs to a talented team from Ocean City – the Quakers looked like a team adjusting to a new coach and implementing some new strategic approaches.

“The areas we’ve been working on, we’re seeing that in the game,” Hancox said. “But we haven’t put it all together, and my first game of my first season, I didn’t really expect an execution of everything we’re working on.”

Ocean City was led by seniors Anna Devlin and Emily DiMartino, both of whom scored three goals, as well as senior Danielle Donoghue, who generated two goals with three assists.

The Red Raiders’ junior goalie, Abbey Fenton, played a strong game with 11 saves.

Frank, who wears the iconic No. 51 jersey given to the team’s top player, sparked the Quakers on the field and in draw controls, while Dalmass and senior Delaney Lawler led the defense.

“It’s been great,” Dalmass said of the adjustment to the new coaching staff. “Obviously, it’s different, but we’re going to get used to it.”

Ocean City 3 8 -- 11

Moorestown 13 6 – 19

Goals: OC-Anna Devlin 3, Emily DiMarino 3, Danielle Donoghue 2, Ali Hendricks, Ashley Devlin, Ava Auwarter. M-Ashley Nutt 4, Kayla Frank 3, Avery Jaffe 2, Janey Galski 2, Dylan Silar 2, Katie Buck 2, Isabel Arvelo, Sophia McHugh, Rylee Brown, Kerry O’Sullivan.

Saves: OC-Abbey Fenton, 11; M-Maddie Lucidi, 4.