Saturday,
May 3, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Izzy McMahon scored a game-high 6 goals for Saddle River Day, which won its first ever game in the Bergen County Tournament, 11-9, over Old Tappan on Friday afternoon. |
SADDLE RIVER - Saddle River Day has been one of the biggest surprise girls lacrosse stories in Bergen County after rattling off nine straight wins to start off the season behind high-scoring sophomore Daniella McMahon. But after suffering its first loss of the season against Morris Catholic on Thursday, the questions that were proverbial elephants in the room were, how would this team handle adversity after a defeat and who would pick up the scoring slack when Dani McMahon was double and triple-team by the opposition? Both questions were answered in what also what was also the biggest game to date in the history of the Lady Rebels' two-year old program.
They did not even have to go outside the McMahon household to find the answer as senior Izzy McMahon scored six goals and seventh-seeded Saddle River Day held on late for an 11-9 victory over No. 10 seed Northern Valley/Old Tappan in the first round of the Bergen County Tournament on Friday in Saddle River.
"They took it to us at the beginning and there was definitely some concern, but we knew they would come out strong and we had to keep playing our game," said Saddle River Day head coach Karen McMahon, the mother of both Izzy and Dani. "They were winning every draw and every ground ball in the beginning. If we were going to come back, we had to reverse that trend."
Old Tappan never fully got on track in its regular-season meeting with the Rebels in losing 15-9. It was a different story this time around as the Golden Knights got off to a fast start by winning draws and moving the ball around for the perfect shot. Haley Symons, Jamie Foley, Hayley Mulliken, and Dana Li scored on the Golden Knights first four shots to give them a 4-0 lead six minutes in before the Rebels had even possessed the ball.
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Haley Symons scored a team-high 4 goals for Old Tappan. |
The lead was 5-2 when a turnover turned into a goal by Hawley Moore that got the Rebels within striking distance. Izzy McMahon used both her straight-line speed and her blinding quickness on a scintillating run from behind her own net and went the length of the field before scoring to give the Rebels their first lead.
Old Tappan countered by slowing the pace to a crawl before Mulliken knifed her way between two defenders and bounced a shot home while falling to the ground to tie the score at 6 heading into halftime.
"We felt pretty confident after getting off to a great start and getting that goal right before halftime, but we couldn't sustain it," said Northern Valley/Old Tappan head coach Kosta Panayotof. "We started to lose our way in picking up ground balls and winning draws. It's disappointing because it was close and we had an opportunity to take this game. But this team has gotten better with each game and we'll learn from the mistakes we made in this game to make us a better team."
The Rebels took the lead for good when the McMahon sisters scored 14 seconds apart just over a minute into the second half to make it 8-6. Symons cut the lead to a single goal twice before Izzy McMahon made the biggest play of the game. She blocked an attempt to clear the zone, scooped the ball up and raced in for the score to make it 10-8 with 8:04 remaining.
Li made a long run and a nifty shot to cut the lead back to 10-9 with 1:24 to play. The Golden Knights looked like they had the ensuing draw won and would have a chance to tie, but the Rebels' Kelly Hannigan was able to knock the ball loose and Dani McMahon picked it up. From there they were able to run out the clock until Izzy McMahon put the finishing touches on the game on a goal with two seconds left.
"I think we were a little too pumped up at times, but once we settled down we were fine," said Izzy McMahon, who will play basketball at Army next fall. "I saw that Daniella was getting triple-teamed alot and I just moved without the ball and played off of her to get some good looks at the net."
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Dani McMahon and Saddle River Day will get a shot at second seeded IHA in the quarterfinals. |
Izzy and Dani (four goals) combined to score 10 of the team's 11 goals for Saddle River Day (10-1). Zoe Fava finished with three saves in net.
Symons led the way for Old Tappan (11-5) with four goals. Milliken and Li added two goals apiece.
After winning the first Bergen County Tournament game in just the second year as a varsity program, Saddle River Day moves onto Tuesday's quarterfinal showdown with No. 2 seed Immaculate Heart Academy. Beating a team that has advanced to six straight county finals is a tough ask for the Rebels, many of whom had never picked up a stick in their lives before the start of last season. But with a wave of confidence and a chance to score one of the biggest upsets in Bergen County tournament history, the Rebels are excited to see how they stack up against one of the best.
"We're definitely pumped up to play IHA because after getting the first county win in school history we go there with nothing to lose," said Izzy McMahon. "If we get off to a rough start like we did today, it will be a long day. In a big game, every possession counts just like it did today. IHA is number two in the county for a reason and they will be a very tough competitor. We have to mentally and physically prepare to play the best game we have all season and see what happens."
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