'Halfway there': Chatham girls lacrosse defeats Morristown, defends Morris County Tournament title

Jane Havsy, Morristown Daily Record

May 14, 2022 at 11:15 PM·3 min read

The Chatham girls lacrosse team celebrates after defeating Morristown, 11-8, to defend its Morris County Tournament title on May 14, 2022 at Mount Olive High School.

MOUNT OLIVE — While waiting to receive the Morris County Tournament plaque, the Chatham girls lacrosse team had time for a chorus of Bon Jovi. They started with, "Woah, we're halfway there. Woah, living on a prayer."

That's a new motto for the Cougars, who upended Morristown, 11-8, on Saturday night to defend their MCT title. Like the back of Chatham's T-shirts say, the players have "unfinished business," but what it is keeps changing.

For the MCT, it was to avenge Stars & Stripes South regular-season losses to Mountain Lakes and Morristown. No. 3 Chatham did exactly that en route to the title, toppling the Lakers in a semifinal and top-seeded Morristown in the championship game.

Next up is the NJSIAA Tournament, which will be seeded on Monday. The Cougars reached the Group 3 final last year, losing to Moorestown – who remains squarely in their sights.

"We figured out a way to play hard, and redeemed two losses from the regular season," said Chatham coach Helen McCutcheon Oliver, who is due to give birth to her second child on June 6 – the day after the last possible Group final.

"It's a new season, but they're just as feisty and they wanted it so badly. You can't teach that. You can't coach that. That's what makes being a coach at Chatham so awesome."

Girls lacrosse: Morris County Tournament bracket, scores

Boys lacrosse: Morris County Tournament scores, schedule

Senior Amanda Chupak gave Morristown an early lead, but Chatham senior Kayleigh Coughlin erased it with the first of her three goals just over a minute later. Junior Ashley Kiernan put the Cougars up, but Colonials sophomore Elizabeth Rivetti tied things 50 seconds later.

"They're so well coordinated with each other," said Liz Tuttle, grandmother of Morristown senior defender Caitlin Tuttle. "They're a cohesive team."

The Colonials built a three-goal lead with 7:12 to go, and Oliver called timeout. That was the start of the Cougars' comeback, according to Coughlin – and it was eerily similar to the MCT final year ago.

But in that game, Chatham was the top seed trying to come from behind against Mendham, a team the girls had beaten during the regular season. On Saturday, the Cougars finished the first half with four unanswered goals – capped by senior Carly Frohnapfel with 4.8 seconds left – to take a 7-6 lead they would not relinquish.

Ashley Kiernan of Chatham is defended by Sophia Cardella of Mendham during the NJSIAA Group 3 North girls lacrosse final. Thursday, June 10, 2021

Kiernan added four goals for Chatham. Frohnapfel led the Cougars' draw with five, while Coughlin added four.

Chupak and junior Braeden Siverson scored twice each for Morristown.

On April 6, Siverson and senior Lizzie Bozza each scored two first-half goals as the Colonials built a five-goal halftime lead, eventually winning 15-6. Morristown has only been held to single digits in losses: against division leaders Summit and Oak Knoll, and now Chatham in the MCT final.

"It takes some sort of threat to get the adrenaline in us," said Coughlin, who finished with three goals and two assists and was named the MCT MVP.

"We're just getting started. This is counties, and we're ready for states. We're still going. We're not done yet."

Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.

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Email: JHavsy@gannett.com Twitter: @dailyrecordspts

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Chatham (NJ) girls lacrosse beats Morristown, defends MCT title

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