Girls Soccer Secures Spot in States with Win vs. Chatham

The Madison High School girls soccer team's 4-1 win over Chatham High School (8-5-2) on Tuesday was not only significant because of the schools' close proximity to each other, but because this win guarantees the Dodgers (6-4-4) a spot in the state tournament.

Madison has seen a turnaround in its production since the start of the season, as the Dodgers are currently riding a three-game winning streak. In all three of those games, Madison has scored four or more goals.

The common denominator in those three wins has been Madison's leading goal scorer, junior Catherine Zimmerman.

After scoring three goals against Hanover Park last week, Zimmerman recorded a goal and an assist in the Dodgers' 5-0 win over St. Elizabeth on Monday.

On Tuesday, the junior again put the team on her back as she scored two goals against Chatham, which included an equalizing goal in the first half as well as an amazing shot from outside the box that flew to the top right corner of the goal late in the second half, giving Madison a 3-1 lead.

"That's a goal you see at the top level and as I said the other day, it just shows how good she really is," Madison head coach Kevin Lynott said of Zimmerman's second goal. "That's the best goal I've probably seen in six years of high school and 13 years in the country coaching. It's just an unbelievable strike."

"We've definitely picked it up from the beginning of the season," Zimmerman said. "Today was a really big game for us because we beat one of the powerhouses in our conference and everyone is just really excited and happy to make it to the state tournament."

Zimmerman, who also barely missed two free kicks (one of which bounced off of the cross bar), has been an integral part of this team and her coach is very aware of her importance on the pitch.  

"She is that good," Lynott said. "When you have a person on your team that has the magical ability to do something like that, it inspires the rest of the team. That goal went in and you just saw (Chatham) deflate."

But before Zimmerman shocked the crowd, sophomore Katie McCarter started off the second half by lofting a free kick from the left sideline that found its way past the Chatham goalie, putting the Dodgers ahead for the first time in the contest.

"You get an early goal in the second half and it gives you that little bit of confidence and today we went and built on it," Lynott explained.

Senior Sam Cicconi agrees with her coach, explaining how important those goals were to the team.

"We were really determined and after (Zimmerman and McCarter's goals)," she said. "We just really picked it up and we were really determined to go out there and beat them."

Cicconi would add to the Madison lead with 15 minutes remaining as she snuck a shot between the Chatham goalkeeper and the right post, giving the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.

"I thought this game might have been one of the best games we've had this season, maybe in years," Cicconi said. "We've never beaten Chatham by this much and after losing to them a horrible loss at their place, this feels really good."

Not only does this game send Madison to the state tournament, but Lynott believes that it proves that his squad can compete with any team in the state.

"We've been waiting to really beat a signature team like Chatham and it's a big win for us because it shows that we can beat the good teams," he said. "It's an important win and I'm very impressed with the whole performance."