“Winning never gets old!” Rumson-Fair Haven defeats Southern to win third straight Shore Conference Tournament

Every team has tradition. For Rumson-Fair Haven’s girls lacrosse program, winning championships is the backbone of their tradition. Senior Rachel James scored 5 goals, and sophomore Chloe Kelly added 4, as the Bulldogs defeated the Rams by a score of 17-7 to capture the 2025 Girls Lacrosse Shore Conference Tournament Championship. This is Rumson’s third SCT title in a row and their 11th out of the last 12 SCT’s played (in 2020 there was no SCT due to Covid). The only SCT championship loss to occur during the historic RFH championship run was in 2021 to Trinity Hall.

Southern senior Avery Smith opened the scoring with a goal at the 10:23 mark in the first quarter.  Rumson answered with a goal by senior Mia Milklowski with 8:01 left in the first, and took the lead for good on a goal by James with 6:42 remaining in the first. RFH took a 6-3 lead into the second period after sophomore Kelly beat the buzzer to end the first.  Kelly netted the first two goals of the second quarter as RFH expanded their lead to 12-4 at halftime. RFH’s first half goals were scored by James (3) Kelly (4) Daisen Iwan (2) Aly Megaw (2) and Milkowski. Southern’s first half scorers were Smith (2), Delaney Falk, and Mackenzie Sininski.

James opened the scoring after halftime, which was answered quickly by Falk.  Back-to-back RFH goals by Kendall Carcaterra and Milkowski made the score 15-5.  Southern’s Kai Angelozzi scored with :36 left in the third to end the period with RFH up 15-6.  Iwan and James added forth period goals by RFH before Southern’s Meri Cassidy closed out the scoring with :12 left in the game.

“The loss to Shore a few weeks ago really lit a fire under the team,” said Rachel James, a Loyola Maryland commit. “We had such a hard schedule during the season. There were a few speed bumps, but I think that showed us like, oh my gosh, lets turn this around and flip the switch, and we did that. We have such a special senior class. On and off the field they are the hype girls. They are just the best, and I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do without them next year!”

“The seniors that we have paved the way for the younger girls,” said RFH head coach Amy O’Keefe.  “Leading by example, they laid the foundation of what we do within our program.  They are great role models for the underclassmen.” “The senior class are all continuing to play at great schools next year, and that’s special for me as I get to follow them and keep an eye on them.”  Asked what spurred her team on to play a great SCT championship, O’Keefe said “I think being able to watch the boys win, the way they came back in dramatic fashion, was special.” “Winning never gets old. I just love to win, but I have the talent to keep doing it, and I really credit the girls because they make my job a whole lot easier.”