Madison Girls Lax Stunned In Final Seconds By Unbeaten Mendham

Madison girls lacrosse coach Carole Rawding beamed with delight when she spoke of the effort her players gave against unbeaten Mendham Thursday afternoon. She grinned when she spoke of goalie Shannon Sweeney's star-making performance, or the play of defenders Rachel Misko, Chelsea Davies, Lexi Greene and Cecelia Matthews.

But as proud as Rawding was, she was equally upset with the way Thursday's game ended.

Mendham took advantage of two free position shots in the final 25 seconds of regulation to complete a stunning comeback, and Madison fell in heartbreaking, controversial fashion, 9-8, at Mendham High School.

"The officials called an intense number of eight-meter shots," Rawding said. "They were in charge, and they controlled the game. We're very frustrated with how this game turned out, even though I'm very proud of the way our kids played today."

Sweeney stopped 18 of the 27 shots she faced against Mendham (12-0), who entered the game ranked No. 1 in New Jersey according to the LaxPower.com computer rankings. Ali Foulsham scored three goals for the Dodgers (6-5), who are 0-3 in games decided by one goal this season.

Nicole Graziano and Meade Brewster each scored hat tricks for the Minutemen; Brewster's free-position goal broke an 8-8 tie with 9.5 seconds to play.

Goals by Foulsham and Alli Helwig put Madison ahead, 8-6, with 9:46 to play. That lead was 8-7 in the final minute, when Mendham's Jessie Smith was awarded an eight-meter shot with 25.3 seconds remaining. Smith beat Sweeney with a low shot to tie the game. Mendham controlled the ensuing draw, and, after setting up a final play, Brewster was fouled and awarded a free position. Brewster shot high, and her aim was true.

Madison couldn't get a shot off in the limited time remaining, and the Minutemen escaped with a win in a contentious game featuring an exceptionally high level of lacrosse.

But it was a less-than-satisfying conclusion for the Dodgers, who played a near-perfect game to take a two-goal lead  at the 10-minute mark of the second half. Mendham had won each of its previous 11 games by at least six goals, but they had a tough go of things against an inspired Madison defense.

Mendham scored six of its nine goals off of free position shots, and Sweeney stopped a number of other attempts from eight meters out. The Dodgers' deft defense–led by the foursome of Misko, Davies, Greene and Matthews–managed to keep themselves in between the Minutemen attackers and goal, clogging the area.

"They work so very well together," Rawding said. "They didn't give up anything. Mendham couldn't find an opening against them."

The strategy led to a number of fouls called near the net, but it prevented Mendham from getting in any sort of rhythm.

"There was no intention to push them around," Rawding said. "We had good, solid footwork, we moved well and kept our bodies in front of theirs. We drew charges that weren't called."

The two teams traded the lead back and forth during the first half, until Helwig's free-position goal tied the score at 4-4 with a minute to play.

It could've been much worse; Mendham outshot Madison in the first half, 16-6 (and 27-11 for the game). But Sweeney stepped up and made big stop after big stop to keep the Dodgers in it.

"Shannon had the game of her life," Rawding said. "She was amazing. She did what we need ... we're very happy to have her in the cage. She's played in the big games, and she's done very well against the big competition."

Graziano put Mendham ahead just 36 seconds into the second half on yet another free-position goal. But the underdog Dodgers didn't wilt, and Mendham would only score twice more until the game's final minute.

Madison took a 6-5 lead on Foulsham's goal, off a great feed from Kathleen Matthews, with 15:34 to play. After both teams traded goals, Helwig gave Madison a two-goal cushion with 9:46 to play, circling around net and firing a skilled left-handed shot to beat Mendham goalie Abby Witczak.

It didn't take long–all of two minutes, 23 seconds–for Mendham to pull closer, with Graziano scoring her fourth goal to cut it to 8-7.

From there, the tension mounted: Madison doing everything it could to hang on to possession, Mendham frantically working to strip the ball away.

Graziano put a perfect check on Helwig with 3:50 to play, and she got a decent look near the Madison cage, but she hit the post. Sweeney stopped an eight-meter shot by Aly Messinger a minute later.

It looked like Madison would be able to hang on, but they ran into trouble trying to run out the clock; Mendham forced a turnover with just over a minute left. In transition, Misko drew contact which lodged the ball loose with 60 seconds to play. Madison came up with the loose ball, but turned the ball over again to give Mendham another chance.

"We committed too many turnovers," Rawding said. "[Running out the clock with a lead] is a skill you have to practice. Mendham's ranked very high ... they were very angry that they were losing, and they played a very intense last three minutes."

Sweeney stopped a free-position shot by Brewster with 47 seconds to play, but Mendham came up wih the rebound. Twenty seconds later, Smith drove into the goal area, drawing contact and the first of the two foul calls that led to Mendham's victory.

"We had it, we could see it, and we're disappointed that we couldn't get it," Rawding said.

NEXT UP
The Dodgers return to action Saturday afternoon at 4:30, when they travel to West Morris High School for a Morris County Tournament quarterfinal.

Madison, the No. 6 seed, thrashed Villa Walsh 16-2 in last Saturday's first round game; the third-seeded Wolfpack defeated Roxbury, 18-4.

West Morris (10-2) has won nine straight games since opening the season with two losses in three games–one of which came at Mendham in the season-opener April 1.


BOX SCORE
Madison     4  4  -  8
Mendham   4  5  -  9

GOALS
MAD- Ali Foulsham 3, Alli Helwig 2, Evan Foulsham 1, Chelsea Davies 1, Emily Rutland 1
MEN- Nicole Graziano 3, Meade Brewster 3, Aly Messinger 1, Gia Padavano 1, Jessie Smith 1

SHOTS ON GOAL
Madison        6    5   -  11
Mendham   16  11  -  27

SAVES
MAD- Shannon Sweeney 18
MEN- Abby Witczak 3