Spring Sports Previews: Chatham Girls' Lacrosse Looks to Get Back its 2008 State Title

After an upsetting loss to Shore Regional High School in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 1 semifinals last season at home, the Chatham High School girls' lacrosse team is looking to make it back to that stage again.

"Last year, a lot of our returning players who are seniors this year felt that we could have done a lot better," Head Coach Deb Marriott said. "We let a couple of big games slip away from us in the last five minutes of the game — just didn't play until the final whistle blew. I know it's given my seniors a resolve to better what happened last year."

With that in mind, Marriott said the Cougars are just looking to take it one game at a time and play the best that they are capable of playing.

The team finished the season with a 15-4 record and ranked No. 17 in the Star-Ledger's Top 20 and No. 5 in Group 1 last year. With a strong lineup that returns nine, including five starters, Marriott said the Cougars have developed a noticeable chemistry that will help them make a push come playoff time.

"They're very unified this year," she said. "They're kind of a close-knit bunch. They're all friends, they're very unified and they're pushing each other, which is good."

Having joined the New Jersey Interscholastic Girls Lacrosse League, the New Jersey Athletic Conference's new league, the Cougars will no longer play in the Iron Hills Conference. The new super conference features 69 teams from throughout the state. Marriott said that while there are more teams in the new conference, it is not as competitive as the Iron Hills Conference, so Chatham will fill its schedule with as many independent games as possible for that added competition.

Marriott said some of the team's toughest opponents this year will be Mountain Lakes, Mendham, West Essex, Summit and Ridgewood.

Despite graduating key players in Katie Leto, Sara Cox and Kathleen O'Keefe, who have all gone on to play lacrosse in college and earned all-Morris honors last season, the team is confident that its new leaders will guide the team in the right direction. Chatham's captains and seniors Meg Murray, Emma Ehler and Kathrine Maiorano are looking to lead the team back to a state and county championship — both of which the Cougars won in 2008 when the three captains were sophomores.

Murray received All-American honors last season as she picked up 72 goals and 30 assists on the year. The four-year varsity player also earned all-Morris, all-state and all-Iron Hills Hills Division honors.

Other key returners for the Cougars include juniors Catherine McCutchen and Lindsay Ford. Ford missed last season after tearing her ACL, but Marriott said she is excited to see her back in action.

"We really felt her loss not having her with us last season," Marriott said. "She is back on the field and adding a spark in the defensive midfield that we need."

Marriott said the team's freshman and sophomore classes are also going to help strengthen the program down the road.

"Our sophomores—it's a very strong grade and they are really stepping it up," she said. "The freshman class—23 girls have come out for lacrosse. There are some girls that will be part of the JV squad that are very good. Hopefully the future will continue to be competitive for Chatham girls' lacrosse."