Davies' Goal Lifts Madison Girls Lax Over W. Morris

LONG VALLEY–It's been a frustrating couple of weeks for the Madison girls lacrosse team. The Dodgers have pushed state powers Chatham and Mendham to the limit, and have ended up on the wrong side of a few one-goal games.

That frustration appears to be over.

Chelsea Davies scored on a free-position goal with 2:01 to play, and Shannon Sweeney stopped 16 shots to lead Madison to a 9-8 win at West Morris in the Morris County Tournament quarterfinals Saturday.

It was Madison's first win in six games this season decided by three goals or less. And the win puts the sixth-seeded Dodgers right back where they were a season ago - one game away from the MCT final.

"It feels great," Davies said. "We've been so close. Finally we could be on the winning side of a game like this."

Twin seniors Ali and Evan Foulsham combined for six goals for Madison (7-5), including back-to-back goals - first by Evan, then Ali - which put Madison ahead, 8-7, with 6:20 to play.

The Dodgers will get a rematch with No. 2 seed Chatham in the semifinals next Saturday in Chatham. The Cougars escaped with a 17-14 victory over Madison April 22.

Saturday against the third-seeded Wolfpack, Madison withstood a poor first half thanks to a dynamite effort from Sweeney - who stopped nine of the 13 shots she faced in the opening stanza. It was the junior keeper's second clutch effort in goal in 48 hours, after her 18-save performance against Mendham.

"She was great," said Madison coach Carole Rawding. "She's stepping up for us. The goalie is a major part of our team's success. She's doing her job ... her clears were very good, and when she makes a save, the girls get pumped up."

"I think I do better against the big teams, like Mendham and West Morris," Sweeney said. "I want to play against those teams, to make the saves."

With the game still close, Madison controlled the first 10 minutes of the second half, and had enough left to pull ahead over the final 10 minutes.

"We knew we could play with this team," Davies said. "We came out of halftime ready to go and we played our game."

Carly Shello scored with 4:40 left to tie the game at 8-8. The Wolfpack had a great chance to break the tie 90 seconds later, when Shello fired a point-blank shot, but Sweeney made a spectaular save with her stick handle and the Madison keeper controlled the rebound.

On the Dodgers' resulting possession, Davies was fouled and given an eight-meter shot. Madison had early success in the second half firing low, bouncing shots against West Morris goalie Chrissa Baffuto.

"We had been shooting the ball low, and she was starting to recognize that," Davies said. "I wanted to shoot high, change it up."

And she did, firing a medium-high shot inside the left post to put Madison back in front with two minutes left.

West Morris won the ensuing draw, but Rachel Misko put a perfect check on Maggie Underdahl to take possession back. Unlike Thursday's near-victory against Mendham, the Dodgers were able to run out the clock successfully, ending the game behind the West Morris cage, in no danger of allowing the tying goal.

"It's so important to know what it's like to be in the lead, and to keep the lead," Rawding said.

Madison trailed, 4-2, at halftime, forcing their offense and taking very tentative shots. West Morris' defense did an excellent job of turning the Dodgers over, playing an up-and-down pace that seemed to favor the Wolfpack.

"We forced, forced, forced in the first half," Rawding said. "We can't do that. Their goalie is good, their defense is good. We needed to play our game, and take time around their cage. Once we started finally finding the open girl, we did OK for ourselves."

But the script flipped, and the Dodgers dominated possession early in the second half. They won five of the first six draws, and turned that into four goals in the first 6:29 of the second period.

Kayla Fennelley scored on a free-position goal at the 23:27 mark, and Ali Foulsham tied the game at 4-4 90 seconds later after an interception by Madison defender Lexi Greene and a great feed from Kathleen Matthews.

Matthews put the Dodgers ahead for the first time in the second half, 6-5, with a low bouncer off the worn-down dirt patch around the Wolfpack goal.

Momentum shifted back to West Morris, with Baffuto adjusting to Madison's low-shot selection, and the Wolfpack's shooters finally figuring out Sweeney, even if for a brief moment.

Murphy Moroney put West Morris ahead, 7-6, with 11:59 to go. But Evan Foulsham re-tied it with a left-handed shot made possible by Amelia Murcott's rebound of a missed shot seconds earlier.

West Morris had won nine in a row. Madison has won three of its last four since ending a four-game losing streak Saturday.

NEXT UP
Madison will begin an important three-game week Tuesday afternoon when the Dodgers host Kinnelon (7-6, 4-0 NJAC-Freedom) at Madison High School.

The Colts, one of three remaining Freedom Division teams unbeaten in league play (along with Madison and Mountain Lakes), put up a strong fight against Chatham in Saturday's MCT quarterfinals before coming up short, 12-10.

BOX SCORE
Madison             2  7  -  9
West Morris    4  4  -  8

GOALS
MAD- Evan Foulsham 3, Ali Foulsham 3, Kathleen Matthews 1, Kayla Fennelly 1, Chelsea Davies 1
WMC- Murphy Moroney 3, Carly Shello 2, Michaela Domaratzky 2, Amy Einst 1

ASSISTS
MAD- Kathleen Matthews 1
WMC- Amy Einst 1, Murphy Morone 1, Carly Shello 1

SHOTS ON GOAL
Madison              7  17  -  24
West Morris    13  11  -  24

SAVES
MAD- Shannon Sweeney 16
WMC- Chrissa Baffuto 15