Whitehouse’s Winner Lifts No. 2 Rumson-Fair Haven Past No. 3 Southern

RUMSON — On a day when the weather was abnormally hot, the only thing hotter than the temperature might have been the offenses.

After four quarters of back-and-forth play, Rumson-Fair Haven senior Joseph Whitehouse found an opening and fired a shot past Southern’s junior goalie Nick Hughes, giving the Bulldogs a lead with 1:55 remaining. The Bulldogs still faced danger as Southern gained a man advantage for the last 1:06 after a penalty, but they dug in, defended well, and secured a crucial 12-11 win in a wild contest.

The Rams threw the first punch early, when with 9:35 to play in the opening quarter, junior LSM Lucas Iorio ran down the middle of the field and rocketed a shot into the net to give Southern the early advantage.

The Bulldogs did not take long to respond. Less than a minute later, sophomore Liam Haggerty, playing in his first game of the season after missing the first six, scored his first goal of the year to tie the game at one. He was far from done. Haggerty picked up another goal with 4:35 to play in the first, giving the Bulldogs their first lead. Sophomore Teddy Whitehouse found the net a minute and seven seconds later. By the end of the first, it was 4-2 Bulldogs.

​Haggerty struck again to open the scoring in the second quarter. The Rams responded with back-to-back goals from senior Braedyn Gialanella, playing in only his second game after transferring from Lacey, to make the score 5-4. Both teams soon added another goal. The Bulldogs got one via sophomore Kevin Collard, who ripped a shot past Hughes. Junior Kyle Sininsky then answered for Southern, bouncing one past junior goalie Peter Kessler.

The Rams trailed by only one at the half despite the fact that the Bulldogs were dominating on face-offs, thanks to sophomore FOGO Jaden Cavise. He rightfully earned the nickname “Money” from his teammates as he routinely won possession for the Bulldogs all night long.

Southern struck first in the third quarter. With 7:05 remaining, junior Cash McVey tied the game with a goal. Again, the Bulldogs showed their resilience. Joseph Whitehouse scored on a nice-looking goal. The Rams answered as Sininsky raced down the field and tied the game at 7, his shot narrowly squeaking past Kessler. Continuing the back-and-forth action, the Bulldogs responded. Senior Luke Lydon unleashed an acrobatic goal to put the Bulldogs back in front, 8-7. A minute later, they added to their lead when Haggerty, already with a hat trick, bounced another shot into the net. The score was 9-7 after three quarters, and the real fun was just beginning.

​Collard scored his second goal 49 seconds into the fourth quarter. This gave the Bulldogs some breathing room, putting them up 10-7.

Southern was unwilling to yield. Junior Gavin Nascimento cut the lead to two with 9:40 to play, bouncing a shot in the net. Fifty-one seconds later, junior Shea O’Donnell cut the lead to one with a goal. With 6:47 left, sophomore Niko Illescu tied the game.

The game would not stay tied for long. The Bulldogs answered when freshman midfielder Chris Paik scored off a turnover with 5:25 remaining.

O’Donnell answered with 3:11 to play, as Southern once again tied the game, this time at 11. This set the stage for Whitehouse’s game-winner and the Bulldogs’ final defensive stand.

“ It was tremendous, the best defense we played the whole game,” said Rumson-Fair Haven head coach Marc Moreau. “This was a testament to the guys and how hard they work and how much this means to them. Today was a culmination of being 1-5 and learning to execute when it mattered most”.

The Bulldogs showed tremendous resilience against a very tough Southern team that refused to quit. Cavise was a prime example, continually battling for possession after every goal.

“We fight, we dog it out, we win games, it’s what we do,” said Cavise.

On a team with numerous scoring threats, the ball found Whitehouse, who delivered with the game on the line. The senior believes that the shot could have come from any of his teammates.

​“ I trust all my teammates, that could have been anyone’s goal,” said Whitehouse.

After a 1-5 start facing a daunting early schedule—including two out-of-state powers and several teams ranked in NJ Advance Media’s top 20—Rumson-Fair Haven is reminding the Shore Conference why they are the defending tournament champion.

“We joked to ourselves that we were the best 1-5 team in the country,” said Whitehouse.

Rumson-Fair Haven (3-5, 3-1) finishes the week at No. 5 Manasquan on Saturday, a rematch of last year’s Shore Conference final.

Despite the loss, Southern (7-1, 3-1) showed they belong with Rumson-Fair Haven, which lost by one goal to top-ranked CBA. The Rams aim to bounce back Friday at home against No. 9 Toms River East.