Chatham Girls' Lacrosse Remains Undefeated After Strong Defensive Effort

The Chatham girls' lacrosse team followed up its dominant offensive performance on Tuesday with an exceptional defensive effort against Columbia High School, winning by a final score of 14-2 at Haas Field on Thursday. The win improves the Cougars' record to 3-0 on the season.

The game's first few minutes were a defensive struggle for both teams. Chatham had a number of scoring opportunities but simply could not drive the ball home.

"We were not hitting the goal and forcing shots," said Chatham Head Coach Deb Marriott. "Their goalie is very good, so we didn't have the [scoring] percentage we usually have."

But a shot from sophomore Jaclyn Leto broke the scoreless tie and the Cougars were off to the races. Seniors Meghan Murray and Emma Ehler would chime in with goals to make the score 3-0 before Columbia took a timeout to slow the game down. Unfortunately for Columbia, that timeout would only act as a water break for the Cougars, who added five more goals before Columbia would get on the board.

The second half yielded more of the same for the Cougars, who controlled possession and added six more goals to pad their lead. Murray, junior Cat McCutcheon and Leto would add goals of their own in the second half, putting the game further out of reach for Columbia. Murray was Chatham's tops on the scoresheet, tallying five points on three goals and two assists, while McCutcheon would end up with four points on three goals and an assist. Ehler also produced a strong game, with one goal and four assists.

"They practiced hard yesterday and it showed," said Marriott.

Defense has been a major focus for the Cougar's during the opening games of the season, and it showed during Thursday's game.

"Our defense today was phenomenal," said Murray. "Historically, Columbia has been a solid offensive team, and to hold them to two goals is great."

When a Columbia scorer earned a shooting lane, junior goaltender Kelsey Fritts was up to the task, turning aside numerous Columbia shots in the first half. Fritts had started the season in an open competition for the starting goalie position with two other players, but was eventually given the starting nod by Marriott. 

She blanked the Columbia offense for over twenty minutes before being scored upon. 

"At the beginning of the year we weren't sure who would be the starter—she's really stepping it up," said Murray.                

The Cougars' next game is on Saturday at Summit at 3 p.m. where the team looks to remain undefeated against a tough Hilltopper team.

"It's going to be a good game," said Murray.