Grace Hallahan Powers Chatham to Triumph Over Summit in Girl’s Lacrosse Tilt; Snaps Losing Skid to Rival

The old sports adage says that the cream always rising to the top when it matters most.

For Chatham High School (N.J.) lacrosse team, senior standout Grace Hallahan did just that, as she scored three goals and added two assists in leading the Cougars to a 5-3 victory over rival Summit (3-2) Thursday evening at home.

Hallahan’s hat trick pushes her high school career goals to 101.

Chatham (5-0) has not beat the Hilltoppers since 2019 until today, head coach Helen McCutcheon-Oliver noted.

“Our girls joked that is was curse because our seniors have been that team yet, McCutcheon-Oliver said. “And so, yeah, it really felt good. We see them every season, but they weren’t in our state group (last year). Now, they’re in our state group, so we have the potential to see them again.”

Determined to come out victorious, McCutcheon-Oliver said the team was hell bent on leaving the field not disappointed.

“I said to them that we are coming to play from the first whistle,” she said. “We’re not playing catch up, we’re coming with tenacity. We’re getting that first draw control. We’re setting the tone. This was a huge team win. We played great on both sides of the field.”

Hallahan opened up the scoring on a free position shot 0.47 seconds into the game.

But Summit tied it up, 1-1, after senior Parker Febo, who is committed to George Washington, stole the ball and found the back of net off a bounce shot with 2:15 remaining in the first quarter.

Then, Febo scored again to make it 2-1 with 0.46 to go in the first period.

After a defensive battle in the second quarter, senior Cougar goalie Annie Alden, who saved six shots, turned aside Febo to keep the game at one goal.

However, on the other end of the field, junior Peyton Furst would not be denied, as she beat junior Hilltopper goalie Katherine Hicks to knot the tilt at two all with 1:35 left in the first half.

In the third period, true to her warrior form, Hallahan rattled the cage again for another marker and a 3-2 Chatham lead with 9:30 remaining in the quarter.

But, as well as she played, Hallahan was modest in her impressive performance and deflected the praise to her teammates.

“I think, yes, I had the goals,” Hallahan, who is committed to Richmond, said. “Two were eight meters, which, as a player, should be automatic. I think, the reason for those eight meters were my teammates. This is a really, really a special team, and I’m really excited for the rest of the season.”

Senior Ashlyn Carpenter and Hallahan both recorded tallies to widen the Cougars’ advantage to two goals (5-2) with 0.04 to go in the third period.

Refusing to throw in the towel, Summit scored a goal on a player advantage that sliced the Chatham advantage to 5-3 with 7:30 left in the tilt.

But the Cougar defense locked down and shot the door on the Hilltoppers the rest of the way.

Chatham hosts Connecticut’s Scared Heart Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

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— Jerry Del Priore