Chatham Girls Lacrosse Ranked Among State's Best

It was another test in what has been a season full of tests for the girls lacrosse team.

In a Friday match against Mendham, the Cougars squandered a 5-2 first half lead to arguably their biggest Morris County rival. Faced with a tied game going into the second half, the Cougars had to adjust their tactics and redouble their efforts under pressure.

“We had to bring it just as hard if not harder in the second half,’’ said Chatham senior Kallan Murray. (Our halftime talk) was a group pump-up. Everyone got fired up and we took it to them.’’

Murray became part of the answer by scoring three goals to start the second half in what became a 10-7 win on Friday. Even though the Cougars are a veteran team with aspirations that include winning the Morris County Tournament and state titles, there are times that they still have to be reminded of the obstacles they face and the perils that opponents with similar goals will present to them.

“We knew we were going to be the biggest game on everybody’s schedule and every game we were going to have to work for it,’’ Murray said. “We’ve had some times that we have forgotten that and we had to pull out games that we shouldn’t have had to win at the last second so were definitely learning not to take anything for granted.’’

Chatham went into their Saturday contest against Manhasset with a 4-2 record, but the team is much better than its record indicates. Their only losses have been to unbeaten teams, defending state champion Ridgewood (in overtime) and St. Anthony’s of Long Island. They are currently ranked second in the state of New Jersey according to the LaxPower.com rankings, just under Ridgewood.

After Chatham's 14-7 victory over Manhasset, the team's record rises to 5-2 on the season. Jaclyn Leto scored five goals and three assists as the Cougars felled the Indians.

The Cougars have the tools to be a great team. They are missing only two starters from last season’s 20-5 team that went to the Tournament of Champions semifinals and one of them, Lindsay Ford, missed most of last season due to injury. That means many of the Chatham players were learning on the varsity level as juniors against some of the best teams in the state.

One Chatham player on the way to another magnificent year is the All-American Leto. By now, everyone has heard of the Cougars prolific scorer who finished with 91 goals and 41 assists last year and is on her way to scoring a career and school lacrosse record of 200 goals.

Leto has seen a host of defenses designed to stop her and as a result her teammates have to create offense and be ready for her passes. The Mendham game was a clear example.

“I really worked off Jaclyn a lot,’’ Murray said. “I noticed in the first half when they were coming -- when they were face guarding her -- I ran right off her back and got open. I think Jaclyn saw that and she did everything she could do for us to get open.’’

When it’s time for others to step, center Mary Kate O’Neill believes creating offense is a very simple matter. Kate Murphy, Lauren Maiorano, Kelsey Perselay and many others have to be ready for the ball when they get in good scoring position.

 “You just have to see the space, take the space when you have it and when it is your time to drive and time to feed -- relax and stay composed,’’ O’Neill said.

Gaining possession of the ball is another matter and part of that is determined by the draws that O’Neill makes. It’s often her job to direct the ball to Chatham players who are intent on pushing the ball in transition and creating scoring opportunities.

“We try and get it to a direction,’’ O’Neill said. “When we have the majority of our girls (in one area) you try to get the ball there. It’s all about wanting the ball.’’

And players like Leto and Liz Hyde are not only superior players when it comes to getting possession of the ball but they can push the ball quickly to an opposing team’s goal. 

Chatham has proven to be an efficient offensive team. The Cougars average 13 goals a game which is more than enough because of their superior defense. They have some shut down defenders. Most notable against Mendham was junior Kit Whiteman who had the unenviable task of slowing down Mendham’s All-American Ally Messinger. The North Carolina-bound midfielder was limited to two goals. 

“Kit Whiteman worked really hard and it set us all on fire,’’ Murray said.

It helps that midfield players like Leto and Hyde are also solid defenders. Chatham, which surrenders an average of nine goals a contest, also has a very good deep defense. Brittany Marriott, Callie Farmakis, Whiteman, Ashley Perselay are wonderful positional defenders which is important. The changes in the checking rules have forced defenders to move their feet and anticipate an opponents moves even quicker than in the past. They also have to be greedy when it comes to picking up ground balls.

Finally, experienced goalkeeper Hannah Reader seems to know how to come up big when the time is right.

“We love her,’’ O’Neill said. “She always knows what to do.’’

There are many games left in the season for the Cougars but they are on the right track. They have learned from their defeats and even in games like Oak Knoll, which was a narrow victory, they have been tested and have found a way to emerge with a victory. If the Cougars can keep it going like they did against Mendham, a banner year is possible.

“It really came from our heart,’’ O’Neill said of the second-half effort and eventual win over Mendham. “We knew coming into this game it was going to be a real tough one. We all wanted it so bad especially since we were just coming through a couple of really tough games the past week. We wanted to get this and keep the momentum going.’’