Sports
Last-Second Goal Ousts Chatham Boys Lacrosse
Cougars fall in the final seconds to Mountain Lakes in the Morris County Tournament semifinals.
The boys lacrosse team dropped a Morris County Tournament semifinal round heartbreaker to Mountain Lakes, 8-7, on a last-second goal on Saturday afternoon at Madison High School.
It was a back-and-forth affair from the opening faceoff, but the Lakers made the final statement when, with just five seconds remaining, Jeff Celniker sprinted down the field and fed a pass to Jon Broome who flung a shot from 18-feet out past Chatham goalie Corey Fritts for the game-winner.
“We were trying to get a shot with about 10 second to go, which we did and their kid made a great play, quick changeover,” Chatham head coach Anthony Calandra said. “[Broome] took a spin-around shot from about 18 yards out.”
Chatham carried a two-goal lead after the first quarter, but after being outscored 3-1 by Mountain Lakes in the second quarter, the two teams headed into halftime tied, 4-4.
While the outcome obviously wasn't what Chatham came into the game hoping for, the Cougars had a chance to advance to Tuesday night's MCT final as Shawn Whiteman’s three goals and Matt Proto’s two goals helped Chatham to a 6-4 lead early in the third quarter.
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But Mountain Lakes answered with three goals in the third, sending both teams into the final frame tied at 7, leading to the last-second game-winner from Broome.
“It was pretty chaotic the last minute of the game, but I knew once Jeff Celniker got the ball and was coming down the field that we’d have a nice transition play to score,” Broome said. “He drew my man and I got the shot away as quick as possible.”
