Matthews Tallies 10 Points, Madison Girls Lax Dominates

When things are going well for the Madison girls lacrosse team, senior attacker Kathleen Matthews is the facilitator. Like a point guard in basketball, she has a knack for getting the ball to the right spot at the right time, balanced with just the right amount of selfishness when a scoring opportunity presents itself.

Tuesday afternoon at Madison High School, Matthews put together a masterful effort, scoring four goals and adding six assists to power Madison to a 20-9 win over Kinnelon in an NJAC-Freedom game.

"We've been working very hard," Matthews said. "We're seeing each other improve every game, and every game we're playing tougher and tougher opponents."

"Kathleen had some excellent assists," said Madison coach Carole Rawding. "She was in control of the attack, dead on with her feeds, and the girls she passed to finished. She's a very vocal leader for us. I'm very pleased with her play today."

The senior attacker's 10 points were the gaudiest numbers in a very balanced effort for Madison; fellow seniors Evan and Ali Foulsham added five and four goals, respectively, while junior Emily Rutland added a hat trick. Carly Eskenazi and Heidi Annaheim each scored three for Kinnelon.

It appeared as if Tuesday's game would be quite the challenge for Madison. Kinnelon was seeded only one spot lower than the Dodgers in the Morris County Tournament; the Colts had taken No. 2 Chatham to the limit in Saturday's MCT quarterfinals; and Kinnelon came into Tuesday's game unbeaten in NJAC-Freedom Division play.

But on this day, they were no match for the red-hot Dodgers, who have won four of five. Alli Helwig scored 17 seconds into the game and Madison never looked back. The Dodgers led by nine goals with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, grabbed its first double-digit lead 64 seconds into the second half, and Kinnelon never pulled closer than nine in the second half. The 20-goal output was Madison's largest this season, eclipsing a 19-goal effort against St. Elizabeth on April 9.

"Our attack really came together today," said Madison coach Carole Rawding. "We wanted to come out strong, to let them know that we play hard.  Kathleen and Ali did a very nice job. They work together so well, and they attack the cage confidently."

The Dodgers did it in large part thanks to Matthews, who either scored or assisted on the Dodgers' first seven goals. She had assists on five of Madison's 13 first-half goals, as the Dodgers' attack controlled possession and kept the action mostly in the Kinnelon defensive half.

"I just try to keep moving," Matthews said. "I keep my head up every time, looking for the open girl, and just do my best to find her."

Madison won the game's first three draws, and scored on all three possessions. Eskenazi pulled one back for Kinnelon at 21:17, but the Colts could never gain enough possession to slow down the Madison attack. Matthews scored her first, unassisted, at 18:32. She also scored the Dodgers' next two, assisted by Chelsea Davies and Kayla Fennelly, kicking off a 6-0 Madison run that made it 11-2 with 10:05 to play.

The end of a brief, intense rainstorm coincided with the end of Madison's deluge of goals. But Kinnelon's brief hopes for a comeback - Marissa Micciche and Annaheim scored goals within 12 seconds of each other to pull within seven - were washed away on free position goals by Evan and Ali Foulsham in the final three minutes of the first half.

Matthews picked up her ninth point with a goal following a skillful feed from Rutland just over a minute into the second half, making it 14-4. She reached double-digits with an assist in the final minute of the second half, her pass leading to Madison's 20th goal, scored by the freshman Fennelly.

Madison goalie Shannon Sweeney just missed out on three straight games of saving 10 or more shots; over the last three games - including games against state powers Mendham and Chatham - the junior has stopped 35 of 65 shots she's faced (53.9 percent).

The Dodgers played much of the game without Helwig, who injured her ankle at the 22;40 mark of the first half and left to have it x-rayed, and Davies, who was sent off with a pair of arguable yellow cards with 9:28 remaining in the first period.


NEXT UP
Madison will look to pick up its first win in the New Jersey Girls Lacrosse League Thursday evening when they host Oak Knoll. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m., following the junior varsity game.

The Dodgers are 0-5 in the hypercompetitive Central-A division of the NJGLL, but have lost those five games - to Summit, Columbia, Kent Place, Chatham and Mendham - by a combined eight goals.

The opposition Thursday, Oak Knoll (7-6), is 2-4 in league play, beating Summit and Kent Place, but losing to Mendham, Chatham, West Essex and Columbia.

The Royals eliminated Madison from last year's South Jersey, Group I state tournament, winning 9-8 in the sectional quarterfinals.


BOX SCORE
Kinnelon       4   5  -   9
Madison      13  7  -  20

GOALS
KINN- Carly Eskenazi 3, Heidi Annaheim 3, Marissa Micciche 1, Toni-anne Conklin 1, Kara Crampton 1
MAD- Evan Foulsham 5, Ali Foulsham 4, Kathleen Matthews 4, Emily Rutland 3, Alli Helwig 2, Kayla Fennelly 2

ASSISTS
KINN- Toni-anne Conklin 2, Marissa Micciche 2, Kara Crampton 1, Carly Eskenazi 1
MAD- Kathleen Matthews 6, Kayla Fennelly 2, Emily Rutland 1, Chelsea Davies 1, Rachel Misko 1, Ali Foulsham 1

SHOTS ON GOAL
Kinnelon    9    9  -  18 
Madison   19  11  -  30

SAVES
KINN- Maya Stawnychy 20
MAD- Shannon Sweeney 9