THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
West Essex Regional High School Athletics

The road to the top might not have been the same, but West Essex finds itself on the peak of the mountain once again. After running into the seemingly impenetrable wall that was the Point Pleasant Boro defense, Adelaide Minnella finally broke through. Her goal on a penalty stroke with 7:32 left in the fourth quarter sparked West Essex, No. 2 in the NJ.com Top 20, to its seventh consecutive Group 2 state title with a 2-0 win over No. 6 Point Pleasant Boro in Bordentown. “I’m lucky enough that I have teammates that earn that stroke,” Minnella said. “Abby Agostini earned that stroke, the one that shoved it into the back of the cage and earned it. And then Kate (Colello) hit it, a great, beautiful ball in for that second goal. And I owe it, really, all of my teammates. It’s West Essex’s 23rd state title, which is one behind Eastern for the most all-time. It also marked the fourth consecutive year West Essex has beaten Point Pleasant Boro. The win also marked the 600th in the stellar coaching career of Jill Cosse. Cosse first started at West Essex in 1997 and joined Shore’s Nancy Williams (839), Madison’s Ann Marie Davies (632) and Millville’s Claudia McCarthy (610) as the only coaches to reach 600 victories. “I don’t feel like I’m in that group yet, even though the wins reflect that. As a kid growing up in the Shore (Conference) and playing against Nancy (while I played at) Wall, I just see the job ahead of me and I just do that first job,” Cosse said. ALSO: Check out the Three Stars of the Game “If the things fall in place, authentically, and my heart’s in it then I know I’ve done a good job. At the end of the day, it’s not going to be the win-loss record that should be defining me. It should be our relationship.” She also recorded her 900th coaching win between field hockey and girls lacrosse on Saturday. In both games, Minnella, her daughter, scored the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter. “It’s so special, and I feel like it just implements the kind of role model she is into my life,” Minnella said. “She’s always been a great coach and a mom, and it’s a unique experience in both of those (wins).” West Essex controlled play in the first half but strong corner defense from Point Pleasant Boro and timely stops by Claire Pausz kept the game scoreless for the opening 52:28. Minnella, who had over 100 points this season and over 400 in her career, had to deal with sophomore Emma Forsythe the entire way. Wherever Minnella went inside the 25, Forsythe was right next to her. “She was amazing,” Minnella said. “I mean, her defensive marking was really good. If anybody needs to work on defensive marking, definitely watch film on her. She’s really great. She’s always talking and Haley Fox right in front of us. She’s one of my really great friends from feel hockey too, but she’s incredible. And like their defensive play today was amazing.” Fox is one of several players that stepped up after Point Pleasant Boro lost Codi Damerau in the sectional semifinals to an injury. Pausz also ramped up her game and finished Saturday’s final with 10 saves. West Essex also held a 15-1 advantage on corners. Just 2:37 after her penalty stroke goal, Minnella struck again on a deflection to make it a 2-0 game with 4:55 to play in the fourth. While West Essex ending a season with a state championship isn’t new, it is rarity that Minnella is the lone senior. This year’s team featured a strong junior class, including Alex Agostini, Jillian Breslin and Katie Moran. “I feel like sometimes leadership is hard to balance on one person. Coaches feel it all the time in their coaching staff, but on the team, you have kind of a different perspective of it and a different perspective of leadership,” Minnella said. “But I was way more stressed in August, and then within the first two weeks, I kind of took a deep breath and I said, I don’t need to be stressed. My junior class is stepping up phenomenally, and they’re doing it because they know that I need that help.” The strength of that junior class gives this program hope that this run isn’t going to stop in 2026. 1 2 3 4 FINAL West Essex 0 0 0 2 2 Point Pleasant Boro 0 0 0 0 0

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
West Essex Regional High School Athletics

NO. 2 WEST ESSEX WINS 7TH STATE TITLE IN A ROW, COSSE HITS 600 WINS

BRIAN BOBAL

NJ.com | 11/18/2025

PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Miller