By Bob Badders
- Staff Writer, 6/5/07:
Shore's girls lacrosse team saw
its season come to an end on
Tuesday after it suffered a
12-11 loss to West
Morris-Mendham in the semifinals
of the NJSIAA Tournament of
Champions. Sophomore attacker
Megan Kelly scored with 48.7
seconds remaining in regulation
to send the Minutemen into their
first state final, where they
will face Moorestown. Junior
midfielder Kelly Draper (at
right in white) led the Blue
Devils with five goals while
senior midfielder Liz Ferraro
added four goals, three of which
came in the second half. Shore
finishes the season at 23-2,
with its only losses coming to
the two teams that will play for
the state title on Saturday at
Rutgers.
WEST LONG BRANCH " Riding
a 15-game winning streak heading into Tuesday, it looked like the only
thing that could slow down Shore's girls lacrosse team would be itself,
or in this case, a team that is a mirror image.
With
just as much speed, tenacity and talent as Shore, West Morris-Mendham
used a 19-6 advantage on eight-meter shots and a goal from sophomore
attacker Megan Kelly with 48.7 seconds left to defeat the Blue Devils,
12-11, in the semifinals of the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions at
Monmouth University's Kessler Field. Kelly Draper scored five times and
Liz Ferraro added four goals, but the Minutemen rode senior Lauren
Dykstra and her game-high six goals to advance to their first state
final. They will face seven-time defending champion Moorestown, which
routed Lenape, 19-2, in the other semifinal game.
"It
was a great game against a tough team," Shore head coach Chris Raichle
said. "We ran into a team just like us. That came could have gone
either way."
Mendham
scored four straight goals to close out the first half and take a 7-5
lead. They led until 11:02 remained in regulation when Ferraro gave the
Blue Devils an 11-10 lead with her third consecutive goal. Dykstra tied
the game with her sixth goal at 10:27 and then the game really slowed
down. Each team had equal possession over the final 10 minutes; however
it was the Minutemen who received plenty of calls down the stretch,
including a couple that led to Kelly's goal off a high shot through a
screen to end Shore's season.
"Unfortunately
the refs called it 19-6 on eight-meter shots," Raichle said. "Certainly
we don't blame the game on the refs, but in a tight game 19-6 on
eight-meter shots is going to make the difference. It's a shame that it
takes away from two great teams battling it out."
There
does not seem to be an explanation as to why the eight-meter shots went
in such drastic favor to Mendham, but it was easy to see why there were
a combined 25 penalty shots awarded. The Minutemen entered with the
reputation of being a physical team and Shore can play that style if
need be. Factor in the equal speed of both teams and you get a lot of
talented players battling for precious shooting space.
"We
knew they were a physical, aggressive team and so are we, so we
expected a battle and that's what we got," Raichle said. "We thought it
would be a close game and unfortunately they pulled it out at the end.
But that's a credit to them."
One
of the things Shore had been trying to avoid in the playoffs was
falling behind in the first half. Just 2:26 in, it looked like the Blue
Devils (23-2) had solved the problem as they took a 3-0 lead on goals
by Ferraro and Leah Wasserman, and a break-away goal after a steal by
Ali Houlis. Junior goalie Rebecca Lotito (15 saves) made the lead stand
during a six-minute stretch where the Minutemen did not leave the
offensive zone.
"Those
first eight minutes she was on fire," Raichle said. "They had the ball,
we kept giving it back and we had an amazing run there to not let them
score. But their athleticism caught up to us midway through the first
half."
Senior
midfielder Kaitlyn Messinger scored twice " both off shots from the
eight-meter line " to cut the lead to 3-2. Draper, who finished with 23
goals and seven assists in five state playoff games, scored two goals
off one-on-one power moves to bookend a goal by Dykstra for a 5-3 lead.
That's when Mendham made its move. Maggie Smith made it 5-4 at 8:59
before Dykstra rattled off three straight goals, the last coming off an
interception with 38.7 seconds left.
Draper
started Shore's comeback when she hit just 34 seconds into the second
half. Messinger responded with two quick goals before the Blue Devils
found their scoring touch by using some quick passing plays. Wasserman
set up Draper for a one-timer to make it 9-7, and after Dykstra scored,
the duo hooked up again to start a four-goal spree that gave the Blue
Devils their first lead since the 10-minute mark of the first half.
"Kelly's
a big-time player and she always steps up in these big games," Raichle
said. "We have another year of her and you can only imagine how good
she will be coming back."
After
Draper's goal, Houlis set up Ferraro with a quick pass just outside the
crease. Ferraro then scored off an eight-meter shot before taking a
pass from Wasserman and flicking it past Kyla Dambach.
After
Kelly scored to give Mendham its 12-11 lead, Cori Murray stole a pass
and broke down the right side with 16 seconds left. She made her way
around the net and got off a jumping shot, but Dambach snared it and
held on as time ran down.
The
Blue Devils finished their season with a 23-2 record. Their only losses
came to Moorestown and Mendham, the two teams that will play for the
state title on Saturday at Rutgers University. They captured their
third straight Shore Conference Tournament title and also won the Class
A Central division. Shore will lose starting defenders Leslie Barham
and Rachel Buriani, talented two-way midfielders Ferraro and Tiffany
Newenhouse and dynamic scorer Wasserman. However, the Blue Devils have
proven the do not have to rebuild. They just reload.
"We're
proud of everything we've done," Raichle said. "It's tough to lose by
one goal but you have to live with it and move on. Hopefully we learn
something from this."
"Obviously
we have very good players coming back, but to me it's always about how
the younger players come along. You can never predict the next season
but we certainly have the base to build on."
E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com |