Maddie Kirchner leads Ocean with 8 goals

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Brooke Todd (21), a sophomore at Ocean had two goals in the 16-13 loss to Colts Neck.

It was an exciting lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon at Ocean Township High School as the lady Spartans hosted Colts Neck in a nondivisional Shore Conference game. The Cougars of Colts Neck eventually won the game 16-13, but it was a battle.

The first quarter was tight as Colts Neck took a 4-3 advantage. The second quarter was all Colts Neck as they outscored the Spartans 6-2 and took a 10-5 lead into the halftime break. Makenzie Staffordsmith, head coach of the Spartans, had a great halftime talk with her squad as they were completely different in the second half.

“A lot of what we have been working on in practice started to come together which was amazing to see,” said Staffordsmith.

In the third quarter the Spartans outscored the Cougars 6-2 going into the final quarter of action down 12-11. In those final minutes, Colts Neck had a 4-2 advantage over Ocean and took the 16-13 victory.

“The girls were really trusting each other and working together. We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole at the beginning of the game but my team never gave up,” said Staffordsmith. Ocean was very determined to start the second half. However, this week was spring break for the Spartans and they were missing some players as they only had one sub on the sidelines and that was another goalie. “Everyone was working hard doing what they could to help us be successful and it was working in the third quarter.”

Leading the Spartans with eight goals and two assists was sophomore Maddie Kirchner. “Maddie stepped up big with those eight goals on the day and our goalie Maggie Guzauskas had a career-high 10 saves. Unfortunately, the outcome wasn’t what we wanted but it proved that we as a team will never give up. I’m beyond proud of this team for coming back after being down at halftime putting ourselves in a position to get back into the game,” added Staffordsmith.

Brooke Todd, sophomore, also had a big game getting two goals and picking up three ground balls. Unfortunately, she received two cards and was ejected from the game in the final quarter. That had the Spartans playing with one less player. But she was not the only Spartan ejected, as Kirchner also received two cards and was sidelined with four minutes to play. Julia Wagner, also a sophomore, had the other two goals for Ocean.

“Maddie is an outstanding player. As a sophomore she has really stepped up as a leader of our team. Maddie is always working with her teammates to help them if they need it. Her love and passion for the game is shown at practice and in games,” said Staffordsmith. All 13 goals in the loss to Colts Neck were scored by sophomores at Ocean Township High School.

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