The Montclair Kimberley girls lacrosse team went through a couple of weather delays in its game against Madison, but in the end that worked to their advantage.
The second delay came with 12 minutes remaining in the game with the Cougars down, 10-9, at home on Thursday, April 14.
But for MKA head coach Chelsea Intrabartola it was a perfect time to go over what the team had to do to win.
“During the second delay we had a really great breakdown of how the game was going so far,” Intrabartola said. “We talked out exactly what we needed to fix, mainly slowing down Madison’s fast breaks and staying tight on cutters defensively, getting our entire offense involved in each play, and overall just picking up our pace and making the game faster on our end.”
Her charges took it to heart, as they dominated Madison in the last 12 minutes to score three goals, one each by sophomores Maddie Polanskyj, Maria Caggiano and Aeryn Curren, for a come-from-behind 12-10 victory in the New Jersey Interscholastic Girls Lacrosse League contest. With the win, the Cougars raised their record to 3-2.
The victory was a nice rebound after the team lost an 8-7 overtime heartbreaker at Kent Place on April 13.
“This win was huge for us in so many ways,” Intrabartola said. “The Kent Place game was a long and aggressive game, and to turn around and play another tough game with two delays the next day is really a testament to their grit and heart.
“I am so proud of the entire team for bouncing back the way they did and for how they never let up, even when things didn’t go our way.”
In the Madison game senior Patricia Columbia-Walsh led the Cougars offense with four goals and two assists, all of that with Madison’s defense trying to shut her down.
“Patricia was getting early doubles out onto her, and she did a really great job of keeping her composure and getting passes to her teammates, setting picks and doing a lot of off-ball work to help get them open,” the coach said. “She has really grown into such an incredible and selfless leader and player, I’m really proud of her.”
In addition, Curren, Caggiano and Polanskyj each notched a pair of goals to help the MKA cause.
The Cougars were down most of the game, including a 9-5 deficit before tying the match at nine with 14 minutes remaining. Madison then scored before the second weather delay.
“The win was absolutely a team effort, and getting all players involved in the offense was the key to the win,” Intrabartola said. “Every single person was getting good touches on the ball and creating things off the ball, and we had some of our newer players step up and make big plays when we needed it most.”
In the loss to Kent Place, Montclair Kimberley stayed step-to-step with its opponent, but came up just short. Curren had a big game with four goals, while Columbia-Walsh added two goals and two assists.