McCarthy Provided Offensive Spark for Westfield

Just minutes into the team’s game against Union County foe Governor Livingston High School, a shock wave was sent through the Westfield girls lacrosse team.

 Senior Liz McCarthy, the team’s leading scorer, was hit with two yellow cards in the opening five minutes. She would be lost for the entire game, leading to a collective gasp from her teammates.

“It just tore the team apart,” junior attack wing Val Hoffman said. “Without her in the lineup we just didn’t have the strength we usually had.”

The team rallied with 10 minutes left but the gaping loss was too difficult to overcome. The Highlanders upset Westfield, 13-9, on Apr. 27.

McCarthy proved to be instant offense for the Blue Devils this season. The senior piled up 58 goals and 22 assists to lead the team in scoring. McCarthy, who scored or assisted on 47-percent of her team's goals, picked apart her opponents with relative ease, maneuvering behind the net and then attacking with a crease roll. Even when the opening wasn’t there, she’d pass off or make another attempt until she connected for the score.

“Liz was just so smooth,” Westfield coach Brendan Hickey said. “She moved around with the ball so easily. She’d just isolate the defender and score. She was so patient out there.”

Teams tried everything to foil the determined McCarthy, throwing double and triple teams at her, but the persistent senior fought through the defensive pressure. When the 5-foot-4 lefty was face-guarded by Summit earlier this season and still connected for a pair of goals, McCarthy knew she arrived.

“At that point, I knew I was a legitimate player,” said McCarthy, who had eight goals against Montclair Kimberly and seven tallies against North Brunswick. “It was frustrating, but I kind of took it as a compliment.”

In the postseason, McCarthy continued to be a marked player but still came up with four goals and an assist to down Old Bridge, 11-8, and lift Westfield to a spot in the second round of the state tournament for the first time since 2002. During the victory, McCarthy netted her 100th career goal—a mark achieved by three other players in the 12-year history of the program.

McCarthy’s cousins, Denis, Patrick and Kathleen O’Keefe, who played lacrosse for Chatham, introduced McCarthy to the sport. As a middle school player, she was selected for a tournament where she got to battle Kathleen, a goalie for Chatham, for the first time in competitive play.

“I thought it was pretty cool,” McCarthy said. “I always played offense and enjoyed running up the field and scoring goals.”

McCarthy, who carries three Advanced Placement classes and a 3.75 grade point average, tries to lend her hand with the youth program, coaching the Blue Devils Lacrosse Club for third through eighth graders.

“It’s nice to be able to help out a program that’s helped me so much,” she said. “I’d love to see an improvement in the capabilities of the team.”

McCarthy said it wasn’t a one-person team this season, crediting solid defensive play and a more than capable supporting cast for the team’s 8-8 season.

“Our defense was tremendous, especially near the end of the season,” she said. “As the season was progressing, we were all getting on the right page and it was helping us win games.”

Another player that was glad to get on the same page with McCarthy is fellow attack wing Hoffman. The duo needed a few weeks before they connected on the field, combining for 121 points. Hoffman is expected to follow in McCarthy's footsteps as a possible offensive leader next season.

“I loved working with her,” Hoffman said. “We just knew where each other was on the field, and we fed off each other as the season went on.”

McCarthy, who also competed for the school’s cross country team, will continue her lacrosse career at The College of New Jersey and build from the lessons learned at Westfield.

“You shouldn’t just settle for OK,” she said. “You have to strive for greatness. Like our coach (Hickey) told us, ‘You should want to be more than mediocre and be the best you can be.’”