Madison Girls Lax One Win Away From State Title After OT Thriller

MOUNTAIN LAKES–Just before the beginning of overtime, Madison girls lacrosse coach Carole Rawding had a simple message for senior attacker Ali Foulsham.

"Be confident."

Confidence and talent are a dangerous combination. The former inspired Foulsham to take a tough shot from off-side hip at a tough angle seconds into the second overtime period. The latter helped her put the ball in the top right corner of the net for the go-ahead goal with 2:42 to play.

The two combined lifted No. 3 Madison to a dramatic 7-6 victory over Mountain Lakes in the North, Group I semifinals Friday afternoon at Mountain Lakes High School.

"It was a risk shooting that shot," Foulsham said. "There's not much room to put the ball. It's tough to save, but there was a high percentage that I'd miss."

"We know she has the ability to do that," Rawding said. "She's been such a big player for four years, and these are the games you need to come through. And she did."

Foulsham scored two goals, while five other players scored for the Dodgers (11-8). Ingrid Hermanson scored a hat trick for the No. 2 -seeded Lakers.

Defensively, Shannon Sweeney stopped 14 shots, while Rachel Misko came up with a huge check in the final minute of overtime to preserve the win.

Madison will play at top-seeded Glen Ridge for the state sectional championship Monday at 4 p.m. The Ridgers (18-2) dispatched No. 4 Bernards, 14-11, Friday.

Winning a state title Monday will be no easy task, but nothing the Dodgers have done this season has been easy.

Entering Friday's game, Madison had been involved in eight games decided by two goals or less this season, winning just twice. That made the win over the Lakers–who thrashed Madison, 14-8 on May 10 to win the NJAC-Freedom regular-season title–extra sweet.

"All those close losses brought us to this point," Misko said. "They didn't matter. They were early on. These are the games we want to win."

Mountain Lakes (16-5) had a shot to tie at the end of the second overtime period, when Alex Mintz intercepted a pass with 59 seconds remaining and advanced it inside the 30-meter line. But she dipped her stick for just a moment while in transition, and Misko swiped at it, dislodging the ball.

"We just needed to get back on defense," Misko said. "I said 'That ball is not going in the net'. We weren't going to give up another late goal. Not again."

Misko picked it up, ran back towards the Lakers' cage, and passed to Kathleen Matthews, who ran out the final 30 seconds before the Dodgers stormed the field in celebration.

The Lakers also had several chances to win the game late in regulation and in the first overtime period.

Erin Turkot won a free-position with 10 seconds to play in the second half with the game tied at 6-6. But her shot bounced off the crossbar and right to Foulsham, who ran the remaining time off the clock.

The Lakers had the ball for most of the first three-minute overtime period, but their one shot attempt was saved by Sweeney.

In the second overtime, Emily Rutland won the opening draw control and moved the ball to Amelia Murcott behind the cage. The sophomore found Foulsham cutting on the right side of the cage. She fired a sidearm shot to give Madison a 7-6 lead, but there was still plenty of time on the clock.

Rutland won the ensuing draw, the conclusion of an enormous day inside the circle. In the teams' first meeting, Mountain Lakes won the draw battle 15-9 and dominated possession.

Thanks in large part to the junior midfielder, Madison won 12 of the 17 draw balls, and all three in overtime. Rutland's control of the ball after Foulsham's goal let the Dodgers run down the clock inside the final minute.

"Kathleen worked her tail off to keep that ball," Rawding said. "You need to have good decision making when you're trying to run the clock out."

Madison got off to a much better start than they did in the regular-season game, when Mountain Lakes outshot Madison 20-6 in the first half.

Goals from Ali Jago, Evan Foulsham and Matthews put the Dodgers ahead, 4-3, with 7:55 to play in the first half.

"It's all about possession," Ali Foulsham said. "We fought for every ground ball much harder than last time. We never gave up."

Margot Fitzgerald and Hermanson responded with a pair of free position goals, one before halftime and one right after to give Mountain Lakes a 5-4 lead with 23:17 left.

It would take 13 minutes for Madison to equalize, Ali Foulsham scoring to stop Lakes goalie Carly Gniewek's run of six straight saves.

Chelsea Davies put the Dodgers back in front with 8:28 to go in the second half when Evan Foulsham won a ground ball behind the cage. She passed it to sister Ali on the right side, who found a waiting, open Davies on the opposite side.

Hermanson tied it up less than 90 seconds later with a spectacular spin-and-shoot goal. The Lakers re-took possession with about three minutes to play and ran off most of the clock before setting up the final shot, which turned into Turkot's nearly-made 8-meter shot.

Madison played the game without standout attacker Alli Helwig, who was attending her sister's wedding. She will be available for Monday's sectional final.

BOX SCORE
Madison         4  2  1  -  7
Mtn. Lakes    4  2  0  -  6

GOALS
MAD- Ali Foulsham 2, Amelia Murcott 1, Ali Jago 1, Evan Foulsham 1, Kathleen Matthews 1, Chelsea Davies 1
ML- Ingrid Hermanson 3, Margot Fitzgerald 2, Casey Drollinger 1

ASSISTS
MAD- Kathleen Matthews 1, Ali Foulsham 1, Amelia Murcott 1
ML- Hallie Walker 1

SHOTS ON GOAL
Madison          7  9  1  -  17
Mtn. Lakes   11  8  1  -  20

SAVES
MAD- Shannon Sweeney 14
ML- Carly Gniewek 10