Sports
Girls Lacrosse Drops Regular Season Finale to McMahon
The Tigers still qualified for the state tournament with a 7-9 record.
The Ridgefield High School girls' lacrosse team saw its three-game winning streak snapped, 11-9, at home against a gritty Brien McMahon squad on Wednesday afternoon.
The Senators made enough adjustments to overcome a five-goal deficit, steal a road win and slow the surging Tigers.
Despite the loss, Ridgefield (7-9) finished with a winning percentage above 40, which enabled the Tigers to clinch a spot in the state tournament after going 5-11 last season.
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The Tigers have been able to bounce back from setbacks all season and, through 30 minutes Wednesday, they played like a team on a mission. Ridgefield now awaits its first postseason game in two years and hopes to rebound from the loss of the regular-season finale.
Sarah Conte and Taylor Fischer accounted for five of Ridgefield's goals, with Fischer adding two assists on goals by Kathryn Cholko and Melissa Galione.
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McMahon's Deven Machette began the comeback with a goal against Tigers senior goaltender Emma Hopkinson and finished with a first-half hat trick.
Katie Hammer was the offensive star for the Senators, scoring four goals, including the tally that gave McMahon its first lead of the match at the 14:45 mark in the second half.
From there, the Senators leaned on their goalie, Kelly McFarlin, who outplayed the Ridgefield combo of Hopkinson and Maggie Philbin throughout most of the game, denying several Tiger opportunities.
Defense was the story in the second half, as McMahon clamped down and prevented an aggressive Ridgefield team from getting many quality scoring chances.
One goal the Tigers did sink was by Tigers substitute Lauren Eckstrom, who scored while being fouled and falling forward, tied the game 9-9 midway through the second period.
It was the last goal by either team in a 10-minute stretch until McMahon pulled away in the final two minutes.
The Tigers put shots on goal, but McFarlin was more than up for the challenge and was the difference between a close McMahon win and a runaway victory for Ridgefield.
This was a rebuilding year for the Senators, who graduated 11 seniors from a team that reached the FCIAC playoffs last season.
