Addy Fitzgerald scored four times for New Providence, which improved to 7-2 on the season with a 12-8 win over Ramapo on Tuesday afternoon.

NEW PROVIDENCE – For all the offensive sets that can be gone over in practice, all the shooting drills that are put in place to help a team become more lethal offensively, they all become moot if not the for the most important part of lacrosse. Possession of the ball is paramount to a team finding the net and ultimately finding success.

The best way for a team to gain possession is through draw control. When a team dominates on the draws, getting into an offensive rhythm happens naturally. However, it can be a very long game when it goes the other way. Something that Ramapo unfortunately has found out the hard way.

New Providence senior middie Megan McPoland dominated draw controls all game long, especially in the second quarter as the Pioneers broke open the game on their way to a 12-8 win over Ramapo at New Providence High School on Tuesday afternoon.

The Green Raiders grabbed some momentum late in the first quarter with a scoop-shot goal by Kirsten Seyffer followed by a goal in the final minute from Alex Bachardy to cut the Pioneers’ lead to 3-2. But the next time that a Ramapo player had the ball on her stick, the deficit had grown significantly.

McPoland secured the opening draw of the second quarter and took it in herself for the goal. She won the ensuing draw and fed freshman Addy Fitzgerald for a goal. In the first 3:30 of the period, the Pioneers scored four times to take a 7-2 lead without Ramapo ever touching the ball. Seyffer netted two in a row to cut the lead to three. Another standout freshman for New Providence, Libby Knight, responded. She was fouled in the act of scoring, meaning the Pioneers would retain possession following the goal. It was the second time in the period that happened and both times Knight cashed in with a goal on the extra possession. The latter of which gave the Pioneers a 9-4 halftime lead.

Kirsten Seyffer tops Ramapo with four goals.

“On draws, I make a point to tracking the ball and being aggressive in going for the ball,” said McPoland. “We have a lot of young players and we’re working hard at practice to learn how to work together. No matter what our team is going to keep playing to the whistle. A key to start each quarter 0-0 regardless of what’s on the scoreboard. Leave the mistakes behind and focus on what’s ahead of us.”

Ramapo’s best period of the game came after halftime with a spirited third quarter. The effort was highlighted by the goal of the game, a no-look flip over her shoulder by Maddie Heffernan. Leah Chamberlin scored with two seconds left in the period to trim the lead to 11-7.

That momentum did not carry over into the fourth quarter. The Pioneers held possession for nearly the entire period as time eventually ran out on the Green Raiders’ hopes for a comeback.

Knight tallied a career-high six goals for New Providence (7-2). Fitzgerald found the back of the net four times. Stephie Hughes also was a factor offensively with a goal and three assists. Seyffer led the way for Ramapo (2-5) with four goals.

The loss was a tough one for the Green Raiders to take. Not that they lost, but how they lost. There is plenty of talent on the Ramapo roster, but some soul-searching needs to be done before the season starts to slip away from them.

“This game comes down to possession and we didn’t have enough of that to create any momentum,” said Christi Mulder, who is in her first season as Ramapo’s head coach. “I thought we played really smart offensively when we did have the ball. We have to win more draws and want it more than we did. Today we played a reactive game and (New Providence) dictated the flow of the game. If it’s not now, it’s not going to be ever. We have to turn things around and we have the talent to do it. It’s about coming together as a team and figuring out our identity, that’s what will get us going in the right direction.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT PLEASE CLICK HERE. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY PLEASE VISIT 4-FeetGrafix.com.