By Warren Rappleyea
North Brunswick Township High School’s Victoria Tucci has helped her team to two Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) girls lacrosse tournament titles in three seasons and is looking to add another as she prepares for her senior season next spring.
A speedy midfielder, Tucci has been a key cog for the Raiders since stepping into the lineup as a freshman, playing alongside North Brunswick’s powerful scoring duo of Tatum Altman and Samantha Mehalick. This fall, Tucci will play an even more prominent role.
“We have a lot of good players coming,” Tucci said. “I think our team will be very strong, and our goal is to win the conference again.”
Tucci is coming off her best season yet. She tallied 77 goals and added 64 assists. In North Brunswick’s 21-12 victory over Monroe Township High School in the GMC championship game, Tucci scored a pair of goals and posted five assists. She had four goals and two assists in the Raiders’ semifinals win against Old Bridge High School. Tucci scored three or more goals 18 times last season, including a hat trick in her team’s 12-7 win against North Hunterdon High School in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Group IV tournament.
Another highlight was playing at Watchung Hills Regional High School on that school’s senior night and coming away with a win.
“I think they picked up because we would be an easy win on their senior night,” Tucci said. “We didn’t want that to happen. Everyone on our team stepped up and did whatever they had to do. It was a satisfying win.”
While she knows where the offensive net is, Tucci is also a stellar defender. Head coach Danielle Bussiere often assigns the midfielder to mark the opposition’s top scorer, and it’s a job Tucci relishes. She noted that her goal is to hold the opponent under her scoring average.
“So often defense goes unnoticed, but defense wins games and Victoria is probably our best defensive player,” Bussiere said. “She works hard and has the endurance and speed to get to wherever she needs to be on the field.”
Tucci began playing lacrosse as a fourth-grader when her best friend mentioned her team needed players. It didn’t take long for Tucci to take to the sport, eventually playing at the club and middle school levels.
As a freshman, she made an immediate impact at North Brunswick, pumping in 35 goals to go with 13 assists as the Raiders won the GMC title for the first time. The following year, Tucci tallied 65 goals and added 33 assists, but her team was upset in the GMC finale by Old Bridge.
Along the way Tucci caught the eye of the coaching staff at Staten Island’s Wagner University and committed to the school last spring. Wagner’s close proximity to New York City and home — as well as a campus visit — sealed the deal.
With a strong returning cast, including attackers Sophia Galioto, Nicole Guiterrez and Ianna Sukhram; and juniors Elena Vargas, Cassie Oak, Katie Panitch and Rhica Austin — in addition to Tucci — the Raiders will be strong up front and in the middle. Junior Natalie Chapman anchors a quality defense that includes Angela Kassous and Rebecca Amoako.
“We only lost three players to graduation, and while Victoria is known as a tremendous player, she’ll have plenty of help,” Bussiere said.
Tucci agreed.
“I’m not focusing on myself; we’re a team,” she said. “It’s more important to me that we win anyway.”
Currently Tucci, who previously played soccer in the fall, is playing lacrosse at the club level while also getting ready for the upcoming cross-country and winter track campaigns, during which she hopes to make her mark as well.
