Girls Lax Comeback Falls Short in Sectional Finals

CHATHAM–After a disappointing 2-3 start to the season, the Summit girls lacrosse team rallied back to win 14 consecutive games and reach the North II Sectional Finals. On Monday afternoon, the team's dream run came to an end when the Chatham Cougars defeated the Hilltoppers 8-5 in the sectional championship.

"I'm proud of my girls," Summit head coach Rob Grella said. "They played hard and never gave up. Hats off to Chatham. They're a very good team."

Chatham controlled the game's opening draw and sophomore Jaclyn Leto scored just over a minute later to give her team the early 1-0 lead.

Although Chatham won the following draw, Summit's Caroline Cordrey intercepted a Cougar pass to give her team possession. Less than a minute later, Hilltopper Kate Martino outran her defender and fired a shot past Chatham's goalie to tie the game, 1-1.

In the next minute of play, the exact opposite occurred: Summit won the draw but a strong check by a Chatham defender gave the Cougars possession. Chatham then scored in transition off a goal by Cat McCutcheon. The goal gave Chatham a 2-1 lead with 21:07 remaining in the first half.

Chatham controlled the following draw, but good defense by Summit held the Cougars scoreless for the next 15 minutes of play. Summit defenders Kylie McKenna, Katie Stuke, Faith Tully, and Kristyn Hartwyk were backed by senior goalie Sarah Weber, who made multiple first half saves.

After several minutes of scoreless action, Chatham's Kelsey Perselay scored off of a penalty. Three minutes later, Leto netted her second goal of the game in a similar fashion. At the half, Summit trailed 4-1.

Whatever Summit coach Rob Grella said during his halftime pep talk seemed to re-energize and motivate his squad; the Hilltoppers looked like a different team in the first seven minutes of the second half.

Summit's Cordrey won the second half's opening draw and the Hilltoppers quickly capitalized on the possession when Martino assisted Megan Paytas for the score. Summit won the following draw and, after three minutes of patience on offense, Paytas found the back of the net once again to cut Chatham's lead to 4-3 with 20:52 remaining in the game.

Summit's sudden boost of energy and confidence forced Chatham coach Deb Marriott to call a timeout to regroup. At this point, however, nothing could stop the Hilltoppers. Less than three minutes after Chatham's timeout, Summit struck again when Kelly Osmulski found Paytas for her third goal of the half. The game was now tied, 4-4.

"We came out fired up and ready to play in the second half," Grella said. "Three goals in a row."

With 17:06 remaining in the game, Chatham halted Summit's three-goal run when senior Courtney Landolfe scored off of a penalty. Landolfe scored two more goals for her team over the next six minutes of play to boost Chatham's lead to 7-4 with 10:26 remaining in the game.

Although Summit continued to control much of the possession, the Hilltoppers had difficulty getting a shot past Chatham's freshman goalie, Hannah Reader. When Chatham controlled possession, the team made a conscious effort to hold onto the ball and run some time off the clock.

"We could have done a better job in the last six minutes, getting out and pressuring the ball," Grella said. "We gave them too much time with the ball and that really hurt us in the end."

With 1:30 remaining in the game, Chatham's offensive patience resulted in their eighth goal of the game when Landolfe assisted Kathryn Maiorano for the 8-4 lead.

To their credit, the Hilltoppers continued to fight for every ground ball. Their hustle and determination resulted in one more second half goal when Martino netted a shot with 46 seconds left in the game. Chatham won the following draw and held possession for the final seconds to preserve their 8-5 victory as North II Champions.

The loss ends Summit's season with a record of 16-4.

"We've made it to back-to-back finals," Grella said. "There's not much more you could ask for. It'd be nice to win it of course, but it's not all about winning. It's about the journey to get there."