Bulldogs Defeat Caseys for 2nd Straight SCT Girls Lacrosse Title

Senior midfielder Bridget Curran scored six goals and assisted on another in Rumson-Fair Haven’s 11-7 victory over arch rival Red Bank Catholic in Thursday’s Shore Conference Tournament final at Monmouth University’s Kessler Field.

Curran, a University of North Carolina commit, helped the Bulldogs win their second consecutive SCT championship for the first time in school history.

For the top-seeded Bulldogs, ranked No.7 in the Star Ledger top 20, it was their seventh trip to the SCT finals and third win overall, all under 11-year head coach Amy O’Keefe.

“We know it’s always going to be a battle when we play Red Bank Catholic,” O’Keefe said. “We kind of knew what to expect offensively, we know what Grace (Fallon), Maeve (Cowley) and Amanda (Casten) do, but my defense was all over the field. They’ve been doing an amazing job all season, so we just trusted that and Anna (Babiak) made some huge saves for us.”

“We have a great defensive unit led by top senior Courtney Dunphy,” Curran said. “Our juniors have been huge and everyone works really hard. We put a lot of emphasis on defense; defense wins games.”

Curran got the Bulldogs on the board quickly, scoring an unassisted goal a minute and twenty seconds into the game to set the tone. Lehigh-bound attacker Nicolette Dunphy followed with an overhead shot for the score off a perfect pass from sophomore midfielder Morgan Steinhacker for a 2-0 lead.

That lead was erased 25-seconds later when the Cowley maneuvered inside and bounced a shot past RFH goalie Anna Babiak for an unassisted goal. A little over two minutes later, Cowley scored again from about ten yards out, putting it over Babiak's left shoulder at 15:09. 2013 Asbury Park Press Player of the Year Grace Fallon worked the ball into Cowley for the assist.

Curran again handed the Bulldogs a two-goal lead scoring two goals in the next four minutes. Dunphy found Curran from behind the net for the first one and Curran scored unassisted on the next, working it inside with her back to the goalie before she spun and flipped it past the goalie.

“Our game plan coming in was to maintain composure, hold the ball, be efficient and work on our transitions,” Curran said. “We made some mistakes but I think the most important thing was we regrouped after we messed up not allowing them to capitalize on our mistakes. Our attack has a really great re-defend and that’s huge for us getting the ball back quickly.”

The first half ended with RFH up by two, 5-3, and second half began the same way as the first, with Curran and Dunphy scoring the first two goals of the half for a 7-3 lead. 

Senior attacker Mary Scarrone, who will play for Davidson College next season, worked the ball from behind the net spotting an open Curran right in front for the first score and sophomore midfielder Jillian Swikart assisted on Dunphy’s goal.

Once again, though, the Caseys responded with two goals of their own to pull to within two, 7-5. Junior attacker Jacquelyn Mauro scored with an assist from Fallon and Fallon, working with a man advantage, scored unassisted just as the Rumson penalty expired.

Although the Caseys were again only two-goals behind with just under 14 minutes to play, the game never felt as though it was out of the Bulldogs hands or that it was as close as the scoreboard indicated. You expected Rumson to come right back and score a couple goals, and that’s exactly what they did.

And when you have a star player the caliber of Bridget Curran playing in one of the biggest games of her career in her final season, you’d expect her to step up and take control of the game at this point; Curran did just that.

Looking for some open space outside the slot about ten yards to the right of RBC goalie Sabrina Arbes, Curran turned and fired a shot over Arbes’ left shoulder for a no-doubt goal. Arbes didn’t have a chance for the save as it was past her before she had a chance to react.

A minute and a half later at the 9:53 mark, positioned in the same spot but about ten yards further out, Curran again launched a shot that easily beat Arbes in the upper far corner of the net.

“Those two shots Bridget made down here were totally the changing points,” O’Keefe said. “I felt like they kind of secured the game for us. Those two goals were unbelievable; I was waiting for that to happen. That’s what she needed to do and she did it.”

After Fallon got one back for the Caseys the Bulldogs held the ball to control the clock and worked it to perfection. With RBC coach Lisa Caprioni pleading with her team to block the passing lanes, the Caseys were helpless against Rumson’s uncanny passing attack.

The Bulldogs ran the clock down to the 2:07 mark when Curran and Dunphy struck again. This time it was Curran setting up Dunphy for an unsurmountable 10-6 lead.

The Curran – Dunphy combination had a hand in nine of the Bulldogs 11 goals.

“I knew I had to step up more offensively this game,” Curran said. “I noticed their goalie was coming out far, and we’re used to wrapping it around the crease and getting assists from behind the net. We weren’t able to get those shots off with the goalie coming out, so I just took the chances when I was open up top.”

“Bridget read the goalie really well and realized she should rip it out further,” Scarrone said. “I went in a few times and she blocked me because I was shooting to close.”

“We’ve been playing together since we were little, so we see each other all the time all over the field,” Dunphy said. “We have a great connection on the field, and it’s going to be sad not playing with her next year.”

Swikart added the 11th goal with an assist from sophomore midfielder Madison Maguire for the final.

“The Shore Conference is just one of our goals,” Curran added. “This is just one step for us. We want to go all the way, hopefully win the states and get into the Tournament of Champions.”

The Bulldogs beat No.15 seeded Pope John 20-3 in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey Group II Tournament, and will host No.7 seeded Mahwah Monday, May 19.

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