The River Dell Golden Hawks Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team fell to the Fair Lawn Cutters 9-8 in the 2024 regular season home finale at River Dell High School in Oradell, New Jersey.
River Dell raced out to a 2-0 advantage in the first quarter on goals from Hope Arturi and Sarah Keery. Fair Lawn trimmed the lead to 2-1 with three and a half minutes left, but 12 seconds later, Arturi registered her second goal.
The second quarter saw a dramatic turn of events. Megan Hartnett’s powerful shot soared into the net, extending the Golden Hawks’ lead to 4-1. However, the Cutters retaliated with a flurry of goals, leveling the game by halftime.
Fair Lawn, buoyed by their strong performance in the second quarter, continued their offensive onslaught. They scored at the eight-minute mark, taking the lead at 5-4. The Cutters showed no signs of slowing down, adding two more goals in just a minute and a half, pushing the margin to 7-4. Samantha Allen’s last-second goal provided a much-needed boost for River Dell.
The Cutters expanded their lead to 9-5 with less than ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but the Golden Hawks ignited a rebuttal, scoring twice in lightning fashion. River Dell goalie Samantha Idiculla, peppered with shots all game long, became the all-time saves leader.
Hope Arturi closed the gap to 9-8 with a minute and a half by notching the hat trick, but that would be as close as River Dell would get the rest of the way.