Matchup with Ridgewood Provides No 'Momentum' for Chatham Boys Lacrosse Heading into State Tournament Wednesday vs. Fair Lawn

RIDGEWOOD, NJ -- The goal was to battle a very good Ridgewood team, ranked No. 2 in the state, and bring some momentum into the 2024 NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 3 boys lacrosse tournament.

That idea wilted in the mid-80s temperatures at Ridgewood High on Tuesday afternoon when the Maroons scored the first seven goals of the game and won nearly every faceoff on their way to a 16-5 win vs. Chatham.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

"We wanted to build some momentum," J.P. Lagunowich , Chatham's All-American senior middie, said. "We didn't come out fast, we didn't come out firing. Against a good team with a good faceoff kid, it's just tough to come back from that."

Top-seeded Chatham (9-7), the defending NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 3 champion, will start with a clean slate in the state tournament on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. when No. 16 seed Fair Lawn (14-4) visits Cougar Field for the opening round.

Ridgewood (14-3) is the defending NJSIAA Group 4 state champion and the top seed in North Jersey, Group 4 for the 2024 state tournament. It's no shame to lose to a team with those credentials, but Chatham hardly got a chance to show off its offense since the Maroons won 22 of 25 faceoffs in the game. The Cougars didn't have their first offensive possession until the seventh minute of action.

After defensive middie Alex McWilliams forced a turnover, Lagunowich scored with 27.8 seconds left in the first quarter (see below) to make it 7-1 before Ridgewood's senior FOGO Matt Hogan won the faceoff, leading to a Ridgewood goal just seven seconds into the second quarter for an 8-1 lead.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

Ridgewood took a 9-2 lead into the halftime break and extended its lead to 12-2 with 4:01 left in the third period when senior goalie Matthew Roughgarden made a save and carried it the length of the field to score an unassisted goal, the first of his career.

"I was looking to make a pass, but our clear got messed up," Roughgarden said. "As soon as I got over the midfield line, there was a wide-open lane, so I just went."

In the fourth quarter, a McWilliams ground ball on the faceoff gave Chatham the possession that led to senior Cole Polemeni's downhill run off of Lagunowich's pick and an overhand finish for his second goal of the game (see below).

Colin Manitta scored off a pass from Shep Boyd and Charlie Lowe scored an unassisted goal for Chatham, which received 12 saves from senior goalie Henry Davenport .

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net