Chatham Boys' Lacrosse Survives Late Scare to Stop Rival Madison

The Chatham boys' lacrosse team, led by tough defense and timely goals, stopped a strong Madison Dodgers team, 8-7, on Tuesday at Madison High School.

The win, the team's second straight, gives the team a boost of confidence heading into a tough matchup against Summit on Saturday.

With the score tied up, 3-3, in the second quarter, Chatham jumped ahead with two unanswered goals, giving the Cougars a two-goal lead heading into halftime.

That lead would prove to be very important as the game neared its end.

In the second half, both teams continued testing each other, but sturdy defense on both ends made life very difficult for the opposition.

"I thought it was a great game," Head Coach Anthony Calandra said. "Our offense stalled a little bit in the second half and, credit to Madison, they picked their intensity up."

With no scoring for the first six minutes of the third quarter, Madison Captain Charlie Oldendorp got Madison within one goal with a shot from just outside the crease that flew by Chatham goaltender Mac Nestler.

Not to be outdone, Chatham junior Sean Whiteman scored with the help of a terrific pass via Andy McLeod just two minutes later, putting Chatham ahead by two goals yet again.

Chatham attacker Robert Guida would find the net 11 seconds later, giving the Cougars a three-goal lead.

A goal from Madison junior attacker Chad Smith would send Chatham into the fourth quarter with a 7-5 lead. And in the fourth quarter, Chatham jumped out to an 8-5 lead with a goal from Jack Beattie and it seemed that its defense might be able to hold off the a late Madison charge.

"Their goalie made a bunch of nice saves on one-on-one opportunities and we got a little tight when we saw the game getting close," Calandra said.

That "tight" play from Chatham would result in a late scare from Madison which came in the form of two goals from captains Charlie Oldendorp and Austen Lein. The goals would bring Madison within one, 8-7, with just one minute to play.

Madison would control the ball for most of the final minute but was unable to find the net, ultimately getting stopped by the strong Chatham defense.

"We just got a nice lead and hung on," Calandra said.