Confidence is an amazing trait. When an athlete possesses it, teammates feed off it and opponents fear it. Gianna Azara is a player who has exuded confidence in the early going for the Hopewell Valley girls lacrosse team. But, it didn’t happen suddenly, coupled plenty of hard work and her love of the game the Bulldogs senior continues to grow as a player, a leader and a teammate. “Gianna has put in the hard physical work and we’re seeing the results of that,’’ said HV coach Sara Wagner. “She also has become very comfortable and confident with who she is, she simply loves playing the game of lacrosse. Game or practice, she is completely involved.’’ Azara had a breakout season in 2024 with 77 goals and this season she is off to a fast start with 21 goals and seven assists. Hopewell Valley is off to a 3-1 start and Azara’s confidence and leadership has shown with the younger players as she encourages them to be more aggressive. “Last year she encouraged the younger attack players to challenge to goal more,’’ said Wagner. “It took some time for that confidence to develop so she was usually the one going to goal. This year our attack as a unit is more confident so that’s eased some of the burden for her.’’ She has taken her game to a whole new level this year in every aspect — scoring, passing, ball movement, transition and defense. The Bulldogs first game of the season was a win over Immaculata and Azara surpassed the 100-goal mark and now has 117 in her career. Azara and Hopewell have Lawrence and Hightstown this week and they’ll be looking to continue their winning ways. “During the winter, they talked a lot about trust and trusting themselves and their teammates,’’ said Wagner. “That encompasses a lot, accountability and respect foremost.’’ It’s showing the way Hopewell Valley is chalking up the wins. Koch Saves the Day for Lawrenceville The Big Red have been a force in the prep ranks for a lot of years and Rumson-Fair Haven has been a three-time state champion in Group I, so when these two get together it’s going to be a great game. Well, it was, and Lawrenceville got an overtime goal from Harvard-bound Lexie Koch for a thrilling 14-13 win and has a 5-1 mark. Koch has been scoring in bunches for the Big Red with 13 goals in the last two games and she has 28 on the season. It was during the R-FH game that Koch went over the 200-goal mark and now has 208 in her amazing career. Dani Caldwell, a talented sophomore whose older brother is Hopewell Valley star Luke Caldwell, had a career high four goals in the win. But it has been a solid showing throughout the lineup for the Big Red. “I am most impressed by this team’s love for the sport,’’ said Aly Dowey, the Big Red’s first year coach. “They have so much joy in playing fast and together, and learning how their strengths can complement one another on the field.’’ Lawrenceville heads to Philly this week for a showdown with Notre Dame de Namur, which is always nationally ranked and 8-3 on the season. Allentown Falls to Hunterdon Central Over the last couple years Allentown coach Justin Schmid has adopted the policy that playing tough games in March and April may very well make for a much more enjoyable May and June. The Redbirds have played in Florida this season, played a tough Westfield team, Lawrenceville, Trinity Hall and on Saturday they headed up to unbeaten Hunterdon Central. It was a defensive battle as the Red Devils came away with a 9-6 win. Allentown (5-2) has a Colonial Valley Conference showdown this week as ND (3-0) visits Monmouth County on Wednesday. Then on Saturday the Redbirds head to the beach to face 4-0 Ocean City. Senior Mya Lourenco, who has been an assist machine since she was a freshman is three points shy of 300. The talented Lourenco 119 goals and 178 assists in her career. Free Position Shots — Congratulations to Hamilton West with a really nice win over Stuart as Ava Rogalinski tallied five goals. Rogalinski has 51 career goals and 65 points. — Nottingham gained its first win of the season with a 5-4 overtime win over Burlington City. Zuriela Pindo had two goals and Madison Lipman had 13 saves in the cage. — Congratulations to Steinert’s Gianna Ragazzo for being one of the scholarship winners honored at the Steinert Hall of Fame ceremonies. Ragazzo, who is headed to Villanova, has four goals and four assists this season for the Spartans. — When Notre Dame defeated Steinert on Friday Reese Parker, a junior, eclipsed the 100-goal plateau and she now has 102 in two years and three games. One of the joys of this season for Reese is playing with her sister Fallon, a sophomore. — Lexie Wersching had a career high six goals in Hightstown win over Princeton Day. The Rams have a challenging week with at Notre Dame and home to Hopewell Valley. — Stuart’s Allison Lee has a pair of seven goal games in the Tartans first two games of the season and it was in the opener that Lee went over the 300 point milestone. Now a senior, Lee has 268 goals and 43 assists. ...read more read less