Mendham Grads Show Off LAX Skills at Collegiate, Pro Levels

Peas and carrots. New Jersey and taxes. Mendham High School and lacrosse.

All three have the same theme: You can’t have one without the other.

March has been a banner month for the latter, as former Mendham High School lacrosse players made headlines for their post-high school playing spots. 

Aly Messinger, a 2012 graduate of MHS, helped her No. 1 ranked Tar Heels at the University of North Carolina beat No. 4 ranked Boston College with the game-winning goal.

Messinger, now a sophomore, found the back of the net with :28 seconds left for the 14-13 win, according to laxmagazine.com. The high school All-American wasn’t quiet until then, however, scoring a total of five goals in the contest and propelling her team to an undefeated 10-0 start to the season.

One of Messinger’s Minutemen teammates also had a strong week, as 2013 graduate Abigail Witczak was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) women’s lacrosse Player of the Week for the Marist Red Foxes, according to goredfoxes.com.

It was Witczak’s second player of the week honor this season. The true freshman spends her time minding the net, and helped Marist to a 4-2 start with a solid eight-save game against Bucknell to grab the honor.

Before graduating MHS in 2009, Anthony Santomo captained football, hockey, and lacrosse. He had his choice of which sport to pursue, and it seems he made the right decision.

After playing four years of lacrosse as a defender at the University of Pennsylvania, Santomo was selected in the Major League Lacrosse supplemental draft in December 2013. With the season kicking off in late April, Santomo is currently on the roster for the league’s Chesapeake Bayhawks.

The team’s first game is scheduled for Sunday, April 27 at 1 p.m. in Boston against the Cannons.