Boys Lacrosse: Madison rallies to beat Bernards

MADISON – Trailing by three in the fourth quarter, the Madison High School boys lacrosse team needed a string of goals to keep its NJSIAA Tournament dreams alive and got just that.

The top-seeded Dodgers (14-6) scored three goals in three minutes, including a Ryan Schmitz game-tying goal with less than two minutes to play, to send the game to overtime. With just under one minute left in overtime, senior Justin Dalena ripped a shot past the goalie to capture their first South Group I sectional title in school history with a 6-5 victory over second-seeded Bernards on Saturday.

Madison will face Mountain Lakes in the Group I final, which defeated Caldwell 13-7 in the North Group I final.

The stingy Madison defense kept Bernards (15-8) from scoring in the fourth quarter and regained possession for the offense with under two minutes left in overtime. Madison coach Ace Apel called a timeout to draw up a play

“I came to the sideline and saw the play and Coach asks me, ‘Do you want it, Captain?’ and I said, 'Of course,’” Dalena said. “There was nothing else I wanted more as a senior leader of the offense. I got a step of room and thought if there’s any time, it might as well be now. It’s my senior year, so I either go out on top or go out trying.”

Pat Grahling started the fourth quarter rally with a goal, and Will Anton scored quickly afterwards to cut the deficit to 5-4. After Schmitz tied the game 5-5, the Dodgers swung the momentum back in their favor and gained unfaltering confidence.

“After Schmitz put it in the net and the game went to overtime, we knew there was no way we were going to lose this game,” Dalena said. “We had all the confidence in the world after that.”

The Madison offense was inefficient with its shots early in the game, taking many low and off-target shots. Apel reminded his team of what they wanted to do coming into the game.

“We had to settle down and run our sets,” Apel said. “Our scouting report was to shoot the ball high, and we were shooting it low. We just reiterated that, and our last three goals were high.”

James Fitzsimmons scored three goals for Bernards while Jack Warren scored twice. Bernards seemed to be the better team through the first three quarters, but could not hold on to the lead in the fourth.

“We felt like we gave them their offense and opportunities,” Bernards coach Dave Brothers said. “In the heat of the moment they tried to win, but in the heat of the moment they didn’t get it, but they tried.”

After losing in the semifinals last season, it’s another disappointing end for the Mountaineers, but the progress made is evident.

“We came in expecting to win, so it hurts right now,” Brothers said. “We knew both teams were dead even on paper, so we figured the team with the most possessions and fewest mistakes would win a close one, and that’s how it worked out.”

Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice: dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.