Rumson-Fair Haven Girls Lacrosse Capture NJSIAA South Group II Title

Photo above: Team shot of 2015 NJSIAA South Group II champions

RUMSON – Top-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven beat second-seeded Red Bank Catholic 14-5 to reclaim the NJSIAA South Group II title Wednesday at Rumson’s Borden Stadium.

It’s their first state sectional title since 2011 and third overall in program history. It also marked their third-straight appearance in a sectional final after losing to Summit 13-6 in last season’s North Group II final and to Allentown 13-12 in the 2013 South Group II final.

Including their victory Wednesday, the Bulldogs (23-1) have reeled off 22-consecutive wins including going 17-0 versus Shore Conference teams. They’re ranked No.5 in the state and first in the Shore Conference and earlier this month Rumson won their third-straight Shore Conference Tournament title easily outing Shore Regional 17-5.

The juggernaut Bulldogs steamrolled their way through NJSIAA South Group II bracket, outscoring their four opponents by a combined score of 64-14 and appear destined to add another program first by winning their first-ever state group title.

There’s not a hotter team in the state than Bulldogs and they appear to be clicking on all cylinders at just the right time and seem to be taking on an aura of invincibility.

It’s hard to pinpoint one facet of the game that makes this team so good because they excel in all phases of the game.

In Wednesday’s win, the defense, led by sophomore Caitie Clark, junior Madison Maquire and seniors Olivia Rosenberg and Kathleen Scarrone completely bottled up a very potent Red Bank Catholic offense. They held the Shore Conference’s second-leading goal-scorer Cameron Lynch (86 goals) to a mere two goals, and 52 goal scorer Olivia Farrington to only one.

“I’ve been really proud of my defense this year,” Bulldog head coach Amy O’Keefe said. “We’ve been able to keep the scores down pretty well. They’ve really stepped up huge for us.”

Rumson’s unheralded star, junior midfielder Morgan Steinhacker, had another monster game for the Bulldogs from the draw circle. The Bucknell-bound Steinhacker won 18-of-20 draws including 10-of-11 in the first half and 8-of-9 in the second giving Rumson possession for lengthy periods of time for what seemed like the entire game. She also had two goals, scoring the first goal of the second half that gave the Bulldogs a 9-2 lead and essentially ended any prayer of a comeback by the Caseys.

“Morgan’s been amazing on the draw,” O’Keefe said. “Without her I don’t think the games would’ve been nearly as marginal. So there might’ve been a change in our record for sure. The effort she puts into it is amazing.”

“It’s taken time, I kind off taught myself in seventh and eighth grades and from there progressed on,” Steinhacker said. “It feels amazing; we worked so hard for this. We come to practice every day working for this; it’s awesome.”

The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and led 8-1 with 20 seconds left in the first half when the Caseys Ariana Mancini worked her way into close range to score her 38th goal of the season. However, any momentum the Caseys gained by Mancini’s last-second goal was lost after Steinhacker’s first goal of the second half, four minutes into it.

The two teams traded goals after that before the Bulldogs ran off three in a row to take a 13-4 lead with 4:36 remaining in the game. RBC’s Amanda Murphy scored a meaningless goal with 29.2 seconds left and Rumson’s junior midfielder Alexandra Geiger put the finishing touches on the game netting her 17th goal of the year at the final buzzer.

Sophomore attackers Brittany Bruno and Elizabeth Scarrone and Villanova-bound Jillian Swikart all had three goals to their credit with Scarrone, who has committed to Vanderbilt, adding an assist as did Bruno.

Ohio State-bound Emily Schissler potted her 25th goal of the season along with three assists and Villanova recruit Maggie Jennings netted her 46th of the year.

The Bulldogs get the chance to avenge their loss to Summit in last season’s sectional final as they will face the No.3 ranked Hilltoppers (18-4) in Saturday’s NJSIAA Group II final at Kean University with the winner advancing into the Tournament of Champions.

“Summit is definitely a tough team,” Steinhacker said. “We’re going to have to play our best against them but we definitely have a chance and the team has worked hard enough to get there.”

“We’ve come so close,” O’Keefe said. “We feel we have a really good shot to get to that T.O.C. (Tournament of Champions) and I think this team can do it. We have a lot of people saying we have a chance, so hopefully we can.”

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