Sininsky’s Late Heroics Carry No. 6 Southern Past No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven

RUMSON — To beat the defending champions, you have to knock them out. Throughout Southern’s history, the Rams had never landed the knockout blow against Rumson-Fair Haven. It took more than four quarters, and the Rams had to rise from the canvas late in the game, but in a rematch from last year’s Shore Conference Tournament title game, No. 6 Southern defeated No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven, 6-5, removing a long-standing roadblock.

Southern blew a 4-2 lead in the fourth quarter and found themselves trailing 5-4 with under two minutes to go. Sophomore midfielder Mackenzie Sininsky, the Rams’ leading scorer, was fouled with five seconds left. On the free position, Sininsky sniped a low shot to tie the game and force overtime.

In overtime, Southern’s defense stood firm. They denied the Bulldogs’ chance and forced a turnover. The Rams gave the ball to their star sophomore again. Sininsky drove right and fired in the game-winner, sealing a long-awaited victory over the Shore Conference’s most dominant program.

Southern head coach Lori Johnson became emotional, fighting back tears, as she discussed her star player’s performance.

“Mack’s a quiet leader. As a coach, you don’t get too many Mackenzie Sininsky’s,” Johnson said. “She’s only a sophomore, but the girls look up to her. She’s a phenomenal player who’s all over the place.”

Her goalie, senior Adyson Griffin, echoed the same sentiment about Sininsky.

“She’s like a little sister to me; it’s the most amazing feeling to watch her grow and thrive as a player,” said Griffin.

Sininsky finished the game with five goals, giving her 22 on the season. The prospect of playing against top-tier talent at Rumson-Fair Haven drove the sophomore to work even harder in the last week.

​“After I played Barnegat, where I missed about eight shots at 8 meters, my brother and I went shooting after the game. It helped me today,” said Sininsky. “It motivated me to play against players as good as Kelly and Goldsmith. I want to be at their level one day.”

It was a game that, until the fourth quarter, was dominated by both defenses. The Bulldogs started fast. Just 39 seconds in, they led on a goal from senior midfielder Chase Memmott. After that, Southern settled in. They did not allow a goal to end the quarter. Sininsky beat the Bulldogs twice, both times ripping a shot as she drove to the right, giving the Rams a 2-1 advantage after the first.

The second quarter was much of the same for the Rams, who did not allow a goal. Griffin’s play in net, aided by strong defense, consistently stopped the Bulldogs. With 8:02 left in the second, senior defender Emily Buczynski scored off a feed, putting the Rams up 3-1. Sininsky added another with 1:19 remaining in the half, completing a hat trick and giving the Rams a 4-1 lead.

​Rumson-Fair Haven woke up in the second half and showed its championship pedigree. Junior attacker Chloe Kelly cut the Rams’ lead to two by driving up the middle and ripping a low shot. The game stayed at that score until 5:30 in the fourth, when junior attacker Reese Lydon scored to cut the Rams’ lead to just one. Kelly then won a draw control and came down to score, tying the game at four. In a near repeat of the boys’ game the night before, junior attacker Emma Kroll gave the Bulldogs the lead with under two minutes to play. Thanks to the late-game heroics from Sininsky, the Rams forced overtime and left Borden Stadium with a win.

Griffin was outstanding in net, stopping many strong Bulldog chances and finishing with 15 saves on 20 shots. That performance did not go unnoticed.

“Ady played out of her mind tonight. She made amazing save after amazing save. Our defense fed off her and continued to work hard,” said Coach Johnson.

Southern, who has three consecutive wins against ranked teams, will look to build off the historical win on Monday when they host Wall.

Rumson-Fair Haven will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Bridgewater-Raritan on Saturday.