Girls' Lacrosse Stomps Rumson-Fair Haven in Opener

Crisp passing and solid team play led to lots of Chatham goals in the girls' lacrosse team's 22-13 win over Rumson-Fairhaven in the season opener Thursday at Haas Field. And the team's unity was evident after the game, as players got together to nibble on chocolate brownies and describe how they beat a team ranked No. 11 in the Star-Ledger Top 20 last year.

"It means a lot to us," said senior Courtney Landolfe, who scored four goals and who Head Coach Deb Marriott praised after the game for her stellar effort. But her sentence was finished by sophomore Jaclyn Leto, who also scored four on the day.

"Because our team chemistry is strong," Leto said.

When teammates finish one another's sentences, the team they play for likely has good chemistry. The Cougars proved they are a team to be reckoned with in the game's first half, outplaying a team in a game that junior Kelsey Fritts said the team knew would be "a dogfight."

The score was tied 3-3 early on when Chatham went on a tear, appearing to score at will for the remainer of the first half. The Cougars scored five straight goals in very different fashions. Some were off nifty passes—Landolfe caught a throw from the corner and deposited the ball in the net to make the score 5-3—and others were the culmination of long breakaways. Leto scored one of the latter variety, streaking down the length of the field to make the score 7-3.

The Cougars finished the first half with a 14-6 lead after senior Meghan Murray scored a goal in the closing seconds.

"We knew they were going to be pretty tough, so we came out really strong," said sophomore Callen Murray.

But Rumson-Fair Haven mounted a quick comeback. The Bulldogs scored the first four goals of the second half after the two teams switched sides—forcing Chatham goaltender Kelsey Fritts to stare into the sun—and cut the lead to 14-10. The team was paced by Megan Douty, who scored seven goals.

"I think they played a great first half," said Marriott after the game. "In the second half, defensively, we broke down, and that's something we need to work on."

Chatham did right itself soon afterward. It scored the next two goals to take a 16-10 lead and the Cougars were off to the races. The Bulldogs would pull to within 17-12 soon afterward on a Douty goal, but Chatham—once again—went on a five goal tear to put the game away. Sophomore Kelsey Perselay scored three second half goals to give her five for the game.

The team will next face Pope John Paul XXIII on Monday at 11 a.m. in an away game.