For the first half of the Bergen County Championship game, gave Ridgewood everything they could handle, going blow for blow with one of the top teams in the nation.
In the end it wasn’t quite enough, as Ridgewood used a big second half to take home the title, winning 21-8 at Mahwah High School.
The 2011 season has been a trying one for the Blue Eagles as they have lost their share of tough games, but they came into Sunday’s final with a tremendous show of tenacity and focus.
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The team was dealt a blow earlier in the week when Emily Doyle was forced to sit out the final after picking up two yellow cards, but they were not to be deterred.
Gabrielle McMahon put IHA on the board first, when she scored from a free position shot that came after a few minutes of hard fought defensive lacrosse.
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The Blue Eagles defenders were able to get into the Ridgewood passing lanes early on and stop the Maroons from getting shots from in close, with players crossing in front of the net.
K.C. Nunez was superb in goal, stopping 10 shots on the day, including some big early saves that kept IHA in the game early on.
IHA had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on the day and fought back to tie the contest up twice, once at 5-5 going into the half and then again at 6-6, with Isabel McMahon scoring early in the second half to knot it up.
From there, Ridgewood began to pull away, as senior Jess Miller (four goals) and junior Kelci Smesko (seven goals) led the way for the Lady Maroons.
Gabrielle McMahon paced the Blue Eagles with three goals and two assists and five other players tallied goals in the loss.
“I thought we played really well, especially in the first half,” said head coach Jason Schlereth. “We battled in the first half and we’ve had some adversity this year, so being here is a great experience for the kids.”
Though Ridgewood did pull away late to make the score lopsided, it was much closer than the final score would indicate for much of the game.
"Our kids battled for 50 minutes, they played their butts off and we’re really proud of them,” added Schlereth, who was pleased with his team’s performance, despite the loss.
Next up for IHA is the North, Group III playoffs, where the Blue Eagles received the number eight seed. They will host Westfield on Tuesday and should they win, they will most likely take on Ridgewood once again in the second round.
