The Chatham High School (N.J.) Girl’s lacrosse team came out of the gate on fire, scoring the first three goals of the contest in the first two minutes of action against Randolph (9-11).
The Cougars (15-6) road that undeniable momentum to a 16-7 lopsided victory over the Rams in the North Jersey, Group 3 sectional semifinal game Monday afternoon at Hass Field at Chatham Middle School.
Chatham head coach Helen McCutcheon Oliver credited the triumph to a strong offensive first half and pure, determined grit the rest of the way.
“Offensively, we hit the mark in the first half,” Oliver said. “We didn’t shoot particularly great in the second half, but we hustled hard. They (Randolph) played a really aggressive, physical game. We were just glad to be on the other end of it (as far as coming out on top). Now, we can move onto that next round and extend our season.”
In the second quarter, the Cougars did not permit Randolph to breath, as junior Grace Hallahan tallied two more markers, five in all in the contest, to help stake the team to a 10-3 lead with 1:05 to go in the first half.
Hallahan attributed Chatham’s successful afternoon to effective, quick ball distribution, leaving her open for several unobstructive shots.
“We were just doing a really good job of moving the ball fast and getting the skip passes,” Hallahan, who now has 49 goals and eight assists, explained. “So, I was wide open in the middle and able to drive through and score.”
Back-to-back goals from Annie Irish swelled the Cougars’ advantage to 12-3 with 10:44 remaining in the third quarter. After the Rams found the back of the net, Irish responded with tally of her own to give Chatham a nine-goal comfortable lead with 7:09 to go in the third period.
Senior Lily Keane and sophomore Leah Tapper added markers, sandwiched in between a Randolph goal, for 15-5 commanding advantage with 0.24 left in the third quarter.
From there, the Cougars’ defense went into lockdown mode in the fourth period to easily secure the big win.
Senior and Princenton commit Addison Barrett had two tallies, while Ashlyn Carpenter and Tapper scored two and three goals, respectively. Senior goalie Elizabeth Sherman stopped eight of 14 shots and junior backup Annie Alden turned aside two attempts.
Chatham will host Morris Knolls Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in the NJ, Group 3 sectional finals.
— Jerry Del Priore
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 