By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
X @tortreports
WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP — It’s getting harder to remember the last time the Kingsway Regional High girls lacrosse team lost a game. The Dragons are 17-5 this season, but you would have to flip the calendar back to April to find their last setback. Undefeated in May and through the month of June, the Dragons booked their ticket to the NJSIAA Group 4 state final for the second consecutive year with a convincing 12-5 victory over Cherokee on Wednesday in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament championship.
They’ll travel to North Jersey Group 4 champion Morristown (22-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. for the state championship.
“They’ve been determined from the beginning,” said mom-turned-coach Suzanne Phalines, who was thrust into the head coaching position just two weeks prior to the start of the season. “At the beginning of the season, everyone thought what we did last year was a fluke, and we set out this season to prove that it wasn’t a fluke and that we were going to do it again, and we did.”
Despite the unexpected start to the campaign in which Suzanne (the mother of senior Ally Phalines) was thrust from the stands to the sidelines after former coach Emily Wescott suddenly resigned, the Dragons have silenced any doubters along the road to avenge last season’s state final loss to Ridgewood.
“Mom (Suzanne) was taking her stress out on me,” Ally said in a playful manner. “Yesterday she was saying how stressed out she was for the game, and I said to her, ‘yeah, me too, now you’re making me more stressed.’ I think the expectations were really high going into this season. We were expected to do it again, and there was a lot of pressure to re-do it. It was a great team win, I’m proud of it. I honestly think we have a good chance (against Morristown). If our attack comes out like it did today, I think we’ll be able to compete with them like we did last year with Ridgewood.”
Senior classmate Madi Rothwein paced the Dragons with four goals and eight draw controls, while Phalines netted two scores of her own enroute to the victory. During the past four years, the duo has combined for 465 goals (308 belong to Phalines) and a whopping 946 draw controls, 732 of which belong to Rothwein.
“We’re like a little dynamic duo,” Rothwein said. “Everyone calls us the ‘twin towers’. We honestly work so well together. On the circle, if I don’t get it, she’s coming up with it. If I’m not getting the goal, she’s getting the goal. She’s going to do great at Virginia Tech.”
Said coach Phalines: “They’re the MVD — ‘Most Valuable Duo.’ Ally and Madi have been four-year starters since their freshmen year and these two have supported each other this whole time. Ally may have what she does with the goals, but none of that is possible without what Madi does on the draw. I would love it if we could find out, but I think that Madi’s total draw controls has to be a great record. You know, this game is a possession game, so if we don’t have possession of the ball, no one is having success. A lot of success depends on possession.”
Ashley Brown, also a senior, contributed with three timely goals. The first of which came on an assist from Phoebe O’Rourke to break a 2-2 tie and put Kingsway ahead for good. Her second came on a buzzer-beater to give the Dragons a 6-3 lead heading into the second half. Last, but not least, her final one came with 10 seconds left in the game to put the final nail in the coffin.
“Today was a dominant team win,” Brown said. “It was very exciting to win another South Jersey championship with this amazing group of girls. I’m really proud of our accomplished season. County Cup, South Jersey final, and now states. Looking forward to a great matchup on Saturday.”
In a physical affair, sophomore star Phoebe O’Rourke recorded two goals. Her first came early in the first quarter to give Kingsway a 2-1 lead, and she followed it up with a third-quarter strike to give the Dragons a 7-3 advantage. The effort wasn’t without battle scars, though, as she bruised her eyes which required stitches after the game.
“I do have two black eyes at the end of the win, but it doesn’t matter because it feels great now that I’m a South Jersey group 4 sectional champion,” said a smiling O’Rourke. “It was a great aggressive game and it was a great win. We’re headed to the states.”
Said coach Phalines of O’Rourke: “The way I describe Phoebe is that she’s a tenacious attacker. She has what an attacker needs. They say, an attacker’s job is to shoot and all that, but you have to have that hunger. You see when you watch her. She has cuts on both sides of her eyes. It didn’t hold her back. She came off, got the blood gone, she got something to stop the bleeding, and went back on. She doesn’t give up.”
A complete, gritty ‘team’ effort was once again executed to perfection. Next stop? Hunterdon Central for the group 4 state final against one of the state’s best, North champion Morristown.
“What I’m concerned about with Morristown, is that we have to get rid of the ball quicker,” Phalines explained. “I know from some of the feedback I’ve got from other coaches, that Morristown is this (Cherokee) times 10. Take the pressure that Cherokee was putting on us today, and multiply it by 10. That’s one of the biggest things. After I saw the way these girls played Shawnee, absolutely.” (Believe they have a chance Saturday)
