Chatham Boys' Lacrosse Falls to Summit in MSG Game of the Week

SUMMIT – Before a lively crowd and Madison Square Garden television cameras, the Chatham boys lacrosse team took on the Summit Hilltoppers at Metro Homes Field on Saturday afternoon. The weather was hot, and so were the Hilltoppers as they defeated the Cougars 7-2 to improve their record to 12-0 on the season.

"We prepared for this game like we would for any other," Chatham Head Coach Anthony Calandra said. "We knew they would be good, and we knew they'd possess the ball. Unfortunately, we didn't have the ball as much as we wanted. But defensively we played very well, and Mac Nestler did a great job in the goal."

As expected, the game began with aggressive, physical play from both teams. Summit's Bobby Lawrence drew a penalty off the opening face off, but Chatham goalie Mac Nestler made a man-down save 20 seconds later, and the Cougars escaped from the penalty unscathed.

Two minutes into the game, however, Summit's Danny Feeney ran hard down the right wing and fired a quick shot into the back of the net to give the Hilltoppers a 1-0 lead.

Summit controlled every face off and much of the possession in the first quarter, but Nestler and teammates Mac Ahsler, Chris Conroy, Andy McLeod and Kyle McDonough did a nice job of curtailing the Hilltoppers' pressure.

After four minutes of strong Cougar defense, Summit's Johnny Scioscia dodged his way past a Chatham defender, curled around the goal, and slotted a nice shot into the back of the net to give Summit a 2-0 lead with 3:57 remaining in the first. One minute later, Summit's Nolan Prinzen scored a left-handed goal, putting the Hilltoppers ahead 3-0.

The second quarter started out with sloppy play by both teams. Midway through the quarter, Summit was able to settle into their offense and score when Michael Ford ran from behind the goal to sneak a quick shot past Nestler.

Summit won the following face off and controlled possession for the next four minutes. The Hilltoppers took six shots during that time but were unable to find the back of the net. Chatham's Nestler made three second-quarter saves to hold Summit to just one goal in the quarter. At halftime, Summit led 4-0.

Chatham came out with more firepower in the third quarter. After a great save by Summit goalie Brian Feeney and another reaction save by Chatham's Nestler, Cougar attacker Rob Guida put his team on the board with an unassisted goal at the 6:16 mark.

"I thought our effort was great today," Calandra said. "I don't know if our kids thought they could play at that high of a level when the game started. But in the second half, we played very well. And now, we realize we can play at that level."

"Chatham is a good team and Rob Guida is a great player, so we just tried to stop him when we could, especially in the midfield," Summit defender Ryan Troy said.

Summit won the following face off, but Nestler prevented two more Hilltopper shots from entering the goal. With 3:29 remaining in the quarter, however, the Hilltoppers forced a Chatham turnover and capitalized in transition when Scioscia hit sophomore Nick Kilkowski for the goal. Kilkowski scored again two minutes later off of a Ford assist to give his team a 6-1 lead entering the game's final quarter.

Both defenses continued to play aggressively in the final quarter. With 7:03 remaining in the game, Chatham's Jack Beattie found Nick Guida for the sidearm goal, cutting Summit's lead to 6-2.

Summit won the following face off and remained patient on offense. With 1:13 remaining in the game, Summit's Kilkowski assisted Ford for his second goal of the game. Summit held onto the lead, and defeated Chatham by a final score of 7-2.

Chatham goalie Mac Nestler had 14 saves on the afternoon.

"We came up a little short today, but in the bigger picture, we still have our county and state aspirations ahead of us," Calandra said.

Chatham hosts Roxbury in the Morris County Tournament Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.