Hard Work and Team Effort Promises Good Things for Girls Lacrosse

After going 21-4 last season, the Chatham girls varsity lacrosse team is primed for another season starting Friday when the girls take on Mountain Lakes at home at 4 p.m.

Overview

The Cougars return from an extremely successful 2010 season primed for a repeat performance this year. With only three seniors on the roster, Head Coach Deb Marriott is optimistic that the experienced junior and sophomore classes are more than suited to step up and produce against a very competitive 2011 schedule.

Last Season's Results

Chatham was a force in 2010 rallying to a 21-4 record and capturing a Morris County Tournament championship as well as a Group 2 state championship.

Keep Your Eye On

• Cat McCutcheon, Low Attacker (Sr.)– The senior captain was an offensive wiz in 2010 and will facilitate the Chatham offense this season.
• Lindsay Ford, Defensive Midfielder (Sr.) – A team captain in 2011, Marriott described Ford as “the quarterback of the defense” this season. Expect big things from this Chatham senior.
• Kelsey Perselay, Attack (Jr.) – Perselay was one of a number of Chatham underclassmen to log varsity minutes in 2010. Look for the junior to step up into an even bigger role this year.

They'll Miss

• Meghan Murray – The leader of the Cougar offense in 2010, Murray was a goal-scoring machine. Her offensive presence will be missed in 2011.
• Courtney Landolfe – An offensive presence last season, Landolfe’s role is one that Marriott and the Cougars must replace this year.
• Kathryn Maiorano – Last season Maiorano was one of many to step up for the team in high-pressure county and state games.

Coach’s Take

“My expectations is for us to take it one game at a time. We’re young, we only have three seniors and the rest of the lineup is juniors and sophomores. A lot of the juniors this year played in big games last season so there’s good experience there, but we are going to be going up against some teams with some great seniors. At this point we’re cautiously confident and cautiously optimistic. They’re a great group of very, very hard working girls and they’ve been supporting each other, which is great.”- Marriott

They said it

“I expect to be the best that we can be. We have a lot of good players and a lot of good talent, but there’s also a lot of good talent [around the league] so it should be a really great season if we play as best we can.” –Ford

“We’re great. We mesh really well and we “click” for the first time. We’ve got a really great transition game and a really great settled attack. Defense is working really hard and is focused, so I’m excited for the season.”- McCutcheon