Boys Lax: Mendham 9, Jefferson 6 (4-9-07)

Ahto rallies Mendham past Jefferson

By Coach Carchietta for MorrisCountyVaristy.net

Mendham, NJ - Jefferson held a two goal advantage late in the fourth quarter. Down a man and looking to stymie the Mendham advantage, Jefferson’s head coach Harry Shortway bellowed words of encouragement for his team … “Pride!” … “Be strong!” Maybe the Mendham players overheard and took his advice, because what happened next was a series of events that stripped any momentum from Jefferson. All because one talented sophomore decided that enough was enough. Four different scorers accounted for the nine Mendham goals. Seniors JP Fullam and Sean Antoniewicz scored two a piece and junior Connor Tinquist added a goal and two assists. Mendham came out attacking in first two minutes of the game, but were denied three times by Marini. Not to be outdone, Mendham’s Pat McNerney robbed Dean Combos off a great feed from George Warburton, keeping it scoreless midway through the 1st. A few minutes later, Kevin Murphy fed Combos to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead with 2:59 left in the 1st. The Minutemen evened it up at one as JP Fullam converted off of an unforced, midfield turnover. With the score tied at two and only 11 seconds left till half, Fullam notched his second goal giving Mendham a goal advantage going into the break.Combos gave Jefferson the lead back scoring 2 goals in 37 seconds. The goals coming with just about 6 minutes left in the third. As play became tougher and every pass and attack was feverously contested, Tinquist found the back of the next to tie it at four. As the fourth began, Jefferson’s Mark McConnell was left open off the whistle. McConnell gave the Falcons a quick 5-4 lead. Combos followed with his fifth goal about 4 minutes later. The 6-4 lead looked comfortable on a day where defense and great net minder were the norm.A man up and training 6-4 with 5:24 left, sophomore Attacker Brad Ahto set up Sean Antoniewicz, as Mendham cut the lead to 6-5. The sophomore then made the final 5 minutes a one man scoring show. Just 19 seconds later Ahto beat Jefferson Keeper, Ned Marini one on one. Despite Marini having a stellar day and halting many Minuteman attacks early on, Ahto was sniping out the back of the net. Ahto then scored the next three goals to boot. Marini and Warren Erdmann combined for 17 saves for the Falcons. This was Jefferson first loss. The Falcons fell to 2-1. Mendham improved to 3-1.

Mendham 9, Jefferson 6

Mendham Goals: Fullam (2); Tinquest; Antoniewicz (2); Ahto (4)Mendham Assists: Tinquest (2); Antoniewicz; AhtoJefferson Goals: Combos (5); McConnellJefferson Assists: Murphy; Becker; Koontz (3), McConnell