Haley Mario (left) and Bella Ferraro (right), both of Orange, competed together on the Italian Women’s National Team at the 2026 D2 Women’s Lacrosse World Cup in Poland in August. Teammate Fran Gionfriddo is also pictured in the center. Photo courtesy of Catherine Ferraro.
By Catherine Ferraro
Two Amity Regional High School lacrosse players who graduated almost a decade apart found themselves sharing the field this summer – not in Orange, but thousands of miles away in Wrocław, Poland.
Haley Mario, an Amity graduate from 2025, and Isabella “Bella” Ferraro, who graduated from Amity in 2016, both represented the Italian Women’s National Team at the 2026 D2 Women’s Lacrosse World Cup. For the two Orange natives, the opportunity to compete together on an international stage created a unique connection between their shared hometown and high school roots.
Mario and Ferraro quickly found themselves developing chemistry on the field. Both played a variety of positions throughout the tournament, but they had the opportunity to get significant reps together in the midfield.
They even joked that they had developed a special “Orange/Amity connection.”
Whenever the two were on the draw circle together, things seemed to click. Ferraro would take the draw, and Mario would often come away with possession, seemingly as if the ball had gone straight into her stick.
“It was almost like we knew exactly what the other person was going to do,” Ferraro said. “It was really fun to have that connection with someone who came from the same place and played for the same program.”
The tournament itself provided plenty of memorable moments. Italy faced Mexico in pool play and suffered a 9-6 loss, but the team had the opportunity to meet Mexico again in the gold medal game.
This time, Italy responded with an outstanding team defensive effort, holding a Mexican attack that had averaged 10.8 goals per game throughout the tournament to just four. Mexico battled back to make the score 5-4 late in the third quarter, but Italy took control in the fourth, scoring six goals to pull away for an 11-4 victory and the gold medal.
For Mario and Ferraro, the championship was the culmination of an experience that extended far beyond the lacrosse field. They had the chance to compete alongside players from different countries, represent Italy on a world stage and, perhaps most uniquely, share the experience with someone who came from the same hometown and high school program.
Ferraro, who has spent the last five years as a collegiate women’s lacrosse coach, was excited to get back on the field as a player nearly a decade after graduating from Amity, and after a four-year playing career at NCAA D3 Smith College.
For Mario, a 2025 graduate beginning her NCAA Division 1 collegiate career at the University of Cincinnati, the experience offered an early opportunity to compete at the highest level of international lacrosse.
For both players, one of the most memorable parts of the summer was having someone from Orange beside them.
From the fields of Amity to a World Cup in Poland, Mario and Ferraro discovered that their shared lacrosse roots were able to bring them together – even halfway around the world.
Catherine Ferraro is an Orange resident and the mother of Isabella Ferraro.