The Rumson-Fair Haven girls lacrosse team is the 2025 Group 1 state champion after a 10-9 overtime win over Mountain Lakes at Ridge High School. Photo by Rich Chrampanis 
Rachel James scored the 255th and final goal of her high school career to tie the game 9-9 with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. Photo by Rich Chrampanis 
Chloe Kelly scored her fifth goal of the game in double overtime to give RFH its second state championship in three years. Photo by Rich Chrampanis
By Rich Chrampanis
BASKING RIDGE – Overtime wasn’t kind to the Rumson-Fair Haven girls lacrosse team in the early part of the 2025 season, with losses to Lawrenceville and Hunterdon Central. But that all changed in the final game of the season when it counted the most.
Chloe Kelly’s fifth goal of the game in double overtime gave the Bulldogs a thrilling 10-9 win over Mountain Lakes in the Group 1 state championship game at Ridge High School.
Rumson fell behind 6-2 at the end of the first quarter but buckled down, allowing just one goal each in the second and third quarters. The Bulldogs clawed back to trail 7-5 at the half and left 8-7 after three quarters thanks to a Rachel James goal.
Mountain Lakes came to life in the fourth with Avery Reid tying the game, followed by Shea Sutton giving the Lakers a 9-8 lead. It was only fitting that James, one of RFH’s all-time great players, drew contact and tied the game with a free-position goal with just 1:30 left in regulation. The Bulldogs had a chance to win the state title in regulation but Lakers goalie Shaina Lewis made a save just before time expired.
In overtime, Kat O’Connor made a brilliant stick check to pry the ball loose and gain possession. RFH was poised to win the title in the first three-minute overtime, but Kelly’s shot was denied by Lewis, setting the stage for a second overtime period.
Kelly was not deterred by missing a big shot with the state title on the line. Mia Milkowski came from behind the net and waited for the sophomore to make her cut; her lefty shot bounced home, creating jubilation and hysteria. Kelly jumped up, personifying the thrill of victory while Mikowski put her hand over her mouth in disbelief.
“I had a few opportunities that I didn’t quite get, but I just kept going, and I finally got this one from not giving up,” Kelly said.
It’s been a great couple of weeks for the Kelly family. Two weeks earlier, Chloe’s older sisters, Claudia and Paige, won a national lacrosse championship with the University of North Carolina. Now, Chloe brings home a state title to close out her sophomore season.
How happy is the Kelly household right now? “We can all be perfectly happy now,” Chloe said.
Kelly (five goals) and James (four goals) combined for nine of the Bulldogs 10 goals. James ended her magnificent high school career with 65 goals in her senior season and 255 for her career. It’s the end of an era at Rumson – Rachel James is off to national lacrosse power Loyola; her two older sisters, Cassie and Mia, played Division I lacrosse at Monmouth and Princeton. In all, the James sisters had 482 goals at Rumson-Fair Haven, a number that would have easily cleared 500 if Mia didn’t miss two seasons due to COVID and an injury.
RFH finished with a 19-4 record and has won two of the last three state championships, both against Mountain Lakes. RFH has four state titles overall.
The article originally appeared in the June 19 – 25, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
