Lawrence's Caelyn LaFlamme, right, and Jackson Memorial's Julie Ifantis, left, challenge for the ball during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Caelyn LaFlamme, left, challenges for the ball as Jackson Memorial goalkeeper Gianna Berkley, center, bats it away from LaFlamme and Jackson's Abby Wisniewski, right, during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Michaela Little, left, and Jackson Memorial's Alexa Berkley, right, go for the ball during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Emma Skinner controls the ball against Jackson Memorial during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Becca Boggs, left, and Ava Donnelly, right, react at the end of a loss to Jackson Memorial during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Ayden Anderson clears the ball away from goal against Jackson Memorial during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Ava Donnelly, front, and Jackson Memorial's Harmony Glover, back, go after the ball during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Jackson Memorial's Zia Gould, 21, celebrates with teammates after scoring her side's second goal against Lawrence during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Becca Boggs tries to control the ball against Jackson Memorial during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Ava Donnelly, left, and Jackson Memorial's Harmony Glover, right, challenge for the ball during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Becca Boggs takes a corner kick against Jackson Memorial during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence's Becca Boggs, left, and Ava Donnelly, right, react at the end of a loss to Jackson Memorial during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence coach Emily Palombo looks on from the sideline against Jackson Memorial during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Lawrence head coach Emily Palombo, center, poses for a photo with assistants Sarah Berardi, left, and Kelsey Holt, right, during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Show Caption1 of 14Lawrence's Caelyn LaFlamme, right, and Jackson Memorial's Julie Ifantis, left, challenge for the ball during the Central Group III girls soccer final on Thursday afternoon in Jackson Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Expand JACKSON TWP. — It simply wasn’t in the cards. The Lawrence High girls soccer team’s first trip to the sectional final in 24 years and bid to win it for the first time came up short after a rampant first-half performance by Jackson Memorial sent it on its way to a 4-1 victory in the Central Jersey Group III championship game on Thursday afternoon. The third-seeded Jaguars (10-10-1) struck early with an eighth-minute goal through Ella Cooke and the fifth-seeded Cardinals (13-9) never really recovered as the hosts were urged on by a large and boisterous crowd. “The atmosphere definitely stunned us,” Lawrence coach Emily Palombo said. “It took us a second and I wish I could have had a timeout to talk to them. It took us out of our game and we knew we needed to get to halftime to regroup.” But by the time the Cards got to halftime the damage was already done. Zia Gould doubled the Jaguars’ lead with a header in the 11th minute and Faith Moroney delivered what was the decisive blow with the first of her two goals with 90 seconds left in the half. “We let the crowd get the best of us and the field was different, too. It was the first time we played on grass, but no excuses,” said junior midfielder Caelyn LaFlamme, who scored Lawrence’s goal in the second half. “It was the first time we’ve been in a big game in a while. It was a different environment. I think we let the noise get the best of us.” The Cards, to their credit, got into the game in the second half. They were quicker to the ball — Jackson was first to every 50-50 in the first half and sliced through the midfield too easily — and got a boost when LaFlamme scored a terrific solo goal with 21:32 left to make it 3-1. “You can’t change the environment,” Palombo said. “We have to accept it and fight and show them that we are a lot better than we showed in the first half. … The pressure they put on us really stunned us and I just wish we were able to play a little bit more like we know how, but I’m proud of how they came out in the second half and stuck with it.” Moroney iced it with her second of the game with four minutes remaining as Lawrence was selling out to try and set up a grandstand finish. The Jaguars won their first sectional crown since capturing the CJ IV title in 2010 and advanced to the Group III state semifinal against undefeated Shawnee, which was a 2-0 winner over Ocean City in the South Jersey final. Lawrence persevered through a tumultuous season that included losing starting center forward Amber Wooding to a knee injury 10 minutes into the opener, five one-goal setbacks in CVC Colonial Division play and the absence of standout midfielder Becca Boggs for the first three games of the playoffs. Yet the Cards emerged with a new sense of self belief. They had won just one playoff game since 2000 entering the season, yet won three on their way to the sectional final. That included a stirring come-from-behind victory in the semifinals in which they slayed longtime nemesis Hopewell Valley in arguably the best result in the program’s history. “It’s a cool experience,” LaFlamme said. “A Lawrence team hasn’t made it this far in a minute. It’s a good start. I’d love to be back here next year. … It sets a standard. It shows what we can achieve. We have it in us to reach a sectional final. We’re good enough to get there and next year just play better and be able to compete with the crowd.” The Cards graduate just two players — CVC Golden Boot winner Michaela Little (20 goals) and stalwart left back Liliana Calderone — but the foundation is in place to be a contender next season. “There’s a magical feeling in a run like this,” Palombo said. “It’s something that they are going to want to continuously chase once they have gotten a taste of it. We need to learn and grow and be able to play in these big games to take our program to the next level.” Lawrence (13-9) 0 1 — 1 Jackson Memorial (10-10-1) 3 1 — 4 Goals: C. LaFlamme (L). Cooke, Gould, Moroney 2 (JM). Assists: Cooke 2 (JM). Shots: 4 (L). 18 (JM). Saves: Kachurak 10 (L). G. Berkley 1 (JM).