After a shaky 0-3 start to the season, the Pascack Valley Boys Lacrosse team has won six of its last seven games, improving to 7-4 on the year and 4-1 in league play. A large part of the team’s success has been due to the play of Owen Dargan, who is the Valley Echo’s Boys Athlete of the Month for March and April.
The senior forward knows what it means to be on varsity, as this is his third year with the team, and he has also taken on a leadership role. He’s been an integral part of an offense that lost a lot of firepower from last year.
Dargan has 32 goals and 16 assists so far on the year, totaling 48 points so far this season. He’s played key roles in big wins this season, including wins over Tenafly, Wayne Valley, and most recently, a 19-7 win over Wayne Hills.
After a 0-3 start to the season, the team’s rest of the season looked in jeopardy. However, Dargan explained how the team was able to rally and come together to get through the difficult stretch.
“We just needed a couple of games to get us going, I mean, the goals will come, the offense will come…we have a young team, and we had some new pieces, so we just needed to come together as a team,” Dargan stated.
As one of five captains on the team, Dargan understands the importance of his role, especially as the team has a lot of newcomers in the mix.
“I think we [the captains] have played a huge role. I think the other kids look up to us, so they see what we’re doing, our physicality, toughness, trying hard, diving for balls, and they’re going to do the same thing now,” said Dargan.
The bond and chemistry amongst high school students is one of the most memorable and important attributes for a team to have, and no one exemplifies this better than the boys lacrosse team.
“We hang out on the weekends together, every practice, and we’re with each other hours at a time,” said Dargan. “Lacrosse is different; we just build this sort of bond like a family where we stick with each other and support each other.”
Dargan is looking forward to the playoffs and hoping to build a strong resume for the state tournament, hoping to get at least a first-round home game in the process.
Pascack Valley Softball’s Caliana Dembowski (Sr.) has led her team to a remarkable start to their season. The team currently has a record of 12-2, and is 7-0 in the Big North.
Dembowski has been a leader and a true bright spot for her team so far this season. She has tallied 14 extra-base hits across only 14 games this season, while batting an incredible .560% from the plate and also catching every single game. Therefore, Caliana Dembowski has earned Valley Echo’s Girls Athlete of the Month honor for the months of March and April.
Dembowski has truly stepped up for Valley in some of the biggest games this season.
In a big team win over Bergen Tech earlier this season, Dembowski went 3 for 4 from the plate, which came along with 5 RBIs in a 10-3 victory. She also went 2 for 4 with 2 extra base hits, 2 RBIs, and 2 runs scored in a rivalry game against Pascack Hills High School.
“I’m always making sure everybody is there for each other, picking each other up. We are a very loud team, and we are always cheering for each other, no matter what the score is. I think that is very helpful and a big part of our success, to make sure everybody is involved,” Dembowski stated.
When asked about her expectations for the rest of the season, Dembowski said, “This year, I think we have that element of team chemistry. I think we have done a great job this year, and especially with that big win over Old Tappan, I think we have a good chance to go pretty far if we can just keep our offense hot.”
The Pascack Valley Softball team has been preparing for a league matchup with Old Tappan, which is happening today, while also preparing for the upcoming county and state tournament games.
Dembowski will not be going to college for softball, so she is planning to leave it all on the table to cap off her last season.
