Eustace loses to Madison in field hockey title game

Three times was not a charm for the Bishop Eustace field hockey team.

The Crusaders, who made their third trip to the state tournament Sunday, went home for the third time without a trophy as Madison ran to a 3-1 victory to clinch the state Group 2 crown at Toms River East.

"We had the opportunities [to score]," said Eustace senior forward Elise DiDonato. "We just weren't finishing and they were. We had plenty of corners, we just didn't put it in."

The Crusaders, ranked No. 4 by The Inquirer, had seven corners to be exact and converted none. They finish the season 17-3-3 while Madison stays alive with a 22-1-1 record for the upcoming Tournament of Champions Wednesday at Hunterdon Central High in Flemington.

Madison drew 14 corners and converted two. The Dodgers also outshot Eustace, 8-5. Saves were even at seven apiece by Crusaders' goaltender Megan Comunale and Avery Koep.

Comunale finished the season with 13 shutouts and DiDonato completed the year with 28 goals, which lead the team.

"We thought this was our year," DiDonato added. "We wanted to finish with a win. It's been a good four years. To get here is a big deal, so we still had a good season."

The Dodgers jumped out to a 1-0 lead 7 minutes, 33 seconds into the game when junior midfielder Ali Helwig slapped a ball past Comunale.

Madison extended the lead to 2-0 off a corner insert. Senior midfielder Chelsea Davies captured a rebound off Comunale's pads and poked the ball into the cage with 6:16 remaining in the half.

But the Crusaders didn't shrink. With 1:40 left in the half DiDonato fired a blistering shot from the top of the circle and it arrived in the cage with a thud for emphasis. Eustace was on the board and trailed, , 2-1.

"It was very important," Eustace coach Krissy Holak said of DiDonato's goal. "When we sat at halftime and were talking you could see the momentum and the intensity level kind of swing to us.

DiDonato "is a fabulous senior leader who has been there three times. She set the tone. When she put that goal in, you could see the intensity pick up."

At intermission, Madison and Eustace were even in shots with six and three saves. But the Dodgers led in penalty corners, 6-3.

"The key was we needed to get the corners because they were playing a lot of defense on us," Madison coach Ann Marie Davies said. "Our strength is corners so that is where we went."

Davies scored off a corner with 1:38 left for a 3-1 lead that held.

Bishop Eustace   1 0 - 1

Madison   2 1 - 3

Bishop Eustace: 1 0 - 1

Madison: 2 1 - 3

Goals: M – Ali Helwig, Chelsea Davies (2). BE – Elise DiDonato.

Saves: M – Avery Koep 7. BE – Megan Comunale 7.