Shore Stuns Rumson to Win Girls SCT Lacrosse Title

Shore Regional’s girls lacrosse team entered Wednesday’s Shore Conference Tournament in an unfamiliar position and exited it with a familiar feeling.

Despite having lost twice during the regular season to top-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven, the second-seeded Blue Devils stunned the rival Bulldogs, 9-7, on the artificial turf at Monmouth University’s Kessler Field to win their eighth SCT title in school history in the 14-year history of the tournament and their sixth in the last seven seasons.

Shore is nearly unbeatable when it reaches the championship game, as it ran its record to 8-1 in SCT finals. Rumson dropped to 1-4 in SCT finals, with all four losses coming to Shore.

Head coach Chris Raichle has been at the helm for all eight titles, but this one was the most meaningful because it was not supposed to happen for a team that rarely plays the role of underdog. Shore had also lost to Rumson in last year’s SCT final, and just when it looked like the Bulldogs were cementing themselves as the conference’s top team, the Blue Devils took back the No. 1 spot.

“This was the most satisfying because nobody expected us to win,’’ Raichle said. “We were huge underdogs, and as athletic and gifted as they are, nobody expected us to win. To win this game is a huge, huge accomplishment.’’

Junior midfielder Chelsea Henderson had four goals, senior midfielder Jackie Bradley and junior midfielder Molly Arnette each had two goals, and senior goalie Tori DeScenza added 12 saves to spearhead the effort.

“It’s really awesome to see that we came out and took Rumson down when it counted,’’ DeScenza said.

The two biggest keys to turning the tables on Rumson, which had beaten Shore 11-6 and 9-5 during the regular season, were a last-minute defensive adjustment and winning the draws.

Literally minutes before the game, Raichle scrapped his defensive gameplan of playing man-to-man and faceguarding, which Shore worked on for three hours at practice on Tuesday. He decided to go with a zone look and pressure the ball.

“I just had a feeling we should come in and play zone against them because they’re just too athletic to play man-to-man,’’ he said. “Call it a hunch, I don’t know what, but I told them we were changing the defense, and they looked at me like I was crazy.’’

“We played the zone on Monday against Toms River North, and it really shut them down too, so I guess it works,’’ Henderson said before smiling.

The game hinged on being able to win the draws, which is where Henderson and seniors Andrea Adams and Alyson Chwatek were crucial. The Blue Devils won 90 percent of the draws in the game, including six of eight in the second half. That helped negate Rumson’s speed and also put a charge into Shore’s offense, as the Blue Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never trailed by more than one goal at any point.

“The draws were the key to the whole game,’’ Raichle said. “We had to win the draw because with their speed, we knew if they got the ball off the draw, they would just pound away with fast breaks. You’ve got to slow their game down because they’re too athletic.’’

“Today we outhustled them and we won the draws, and that made the difference in the game,’’ Henderson said. “Our coach told us that the first four draws will set the tone, and if you get those and get an early lead, we’ll get in their heads and show we’re here to fight.’’

Eight-meter shots by Henderson and Bradley gave Shore a 2-0 advantage just 3:41 into the game, but Rumson responded with two goals by Emily Volker and one by Charlotte Brodsky to seize a 3-2 lead with 9:28 left in the first half.

The Blue Devils came right back with a goal by Arnette that tied it at three, and then Henderson split two defenders and whipped a shot into the upper part of the net for a 4-3 advantage with 4:31 remaining. An 8-meter shot by Chrissy Lushefski tied it for Rumson, and then Shore’s Claudia LaBarca scored her only goal of the game for a 5-4 halftime advantage against a team that has rarely trailed at halftime all season.

Shore won the opening draw of the second half, leading to Henderson’s third goal of the game, which gave the Blue Devils a 6-4 lead with 23:03 remaining. The lead grew to three goals when Arnette scored with 5:09 to go for a 9-6 advantage.

Rumson could never tie the game from there, although it did make the Blue Devils sweat a little when Mary Scarrone scored with 2:09 left in the game to cut the lead to two goals.

“The feeling wasn’t good,’’ Raichle said before grinning. “They’re explosive, so they can score five goals in two minutes.’’

DeScenza withstood several shots in the final 40 seconds, saving one and watching two more fly by the goal, and the defense held to give the Blue Devils their most satisfying title in their reign atop the Shore Conference. DeScenza also was happy to be a part of it, as she tore her ACL last year but has made a full recovery to again become one of the conference’s top goalies.

“Coming back from injury is never easy, but it’s a blessing to be back on the field and not giving up on what I love,’’ she said.

Just when it looked like the balance of power in the Shore Conference had shifted to Rumson, the young Blue Devils showed that Shore should not be counted out just yet.

“I think we proved to everyone that we’re a force to reckon with,’’ Henderson said.

“It was all about the heart coming into it and we weren’t going to let them stop us this time,’’ Chwatek said. “We’re bringing (the title) back to Shore. We’ve got it next year, too.’’

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