Road to a title

            It was cool and crisp on the first Saturday night of November. It was not the type of night to absorb a Gatorade shower but Cranford Boys’ soccer coach Mike Curci, who admits to be cold blooded, was only too happy to get soaked by his happy team that had just defeated Westfield 1-0 to win the school’s first county title.

“I am too happy to feel cold right now. This is a huge accomplishment for the kids and for the school and we have worked so hard for it all year.,” said Curci, who in his fifth year has achieved his goal of putting Cranford into the county elite, which has been dominated by Scotch Plains Fanwood over the past decade.

            The Raiders made it to eleven straight finals from 1997-2007 but have been spectators the past two years. Previously 0-3 in UCT finals Cranford last played for the title in 2002. Westfield was appearing in its first final since it won the 1996 tournament and was seeking its 10th overall crown. The girls also had to climb past the two dominant programs when they defeated top seed Westfield and four time defending champion Scotch Plains Fanwood to win their first title since 2000.

            There are many other similarities between the boys and girls teams. Each is blessed with tremendous senior leadership, fearless goal keeping and a defense first mentality.  While the girls were number in the state in 2000, this is the first time the boys’ program has made such an impact in the state. Curci, a resident of the town, saw the youth level talent in Cranford and believed that he could build the Cougars’ program to what it has become.

“From day one, the goal was to be the first team to put a championship banner on the wall in the gym and a trophy in the case. The boys fed into that, worked hard and now we have four championships in the last three years. Our first group from five years ago,  that eventually won the first two conference crowns, laid the groundwork and raised the bar for everyone behind them. This county championship is for them as well,” said Curci, who learned coaching as an assistant under the legendary Gene Chyzowych of Columbia, the state’s winningest coach.

“I watched how he put his teams together, he always had a good idea of who was going to be his top players several years down the road. And he wasn't afraid to take the best young players and throw them into the fire right away at the varsity level. I have used a similar model, taking the best players, even if they're freshmen, and allowing them to go through the learning curve early so that I have them for three or four years. Gene has proven this method works for close to 40 years, and now it's working here,” said Curci.

            His first varsity coaching job was with Morristown-Beard in 1986 and then moved to group 4 Livingston in 1987 for a five-year stay, where they made the states each year. After coaching his children in youth leagues, he returned in 2003 as Madison's varsity coach before taking the Cranford job in 2005. In his first season, a young Cougar team of six sophomores and a freshman in the starting lineup took their lumps, going 4-13, but two years later , the record improved to 15-4 and the Cougars took the Mountain Valley Conference title, the first ever for Cranford.  With nearly the entire team graduated, another group of young players with varsity experience stepped in and went 15-6 and won the conference again. Those players formed the nucleus of this years’ powerhouse. Along the way Curci has stamped his imprint on the program and everybody who wants to play understands what is expected.

“I learned that you cannot and will not make everybody happy. Everyone wants to play, but you can't become a soccer power and compete with the top teams if you're worried about what every player is thinking. The boys have known where I stand on that since day one. If you prove yourself to better than the next guy, you'll play. I make no guarantees on playing time,” added Curci.

            While Curci does not know what to expect next year and beyond, he does believe that the Cougars have crossed the first barrier of earning the attention and respect of the county’s soccer powers.

“I think after the run we had the past three years and winning the UCT crown that we have earned everyone's respect, but we are still the new kid on the block when it comes to championships. SPF has 14, Westfield has 10, and we have one. But one thing we wanted to prove here, is that we could play with the best teams in the county and state day-in and day-out. And we're still undefeated after 24 games. We have nothing left to prove,” said Curci.

            

County Champs!

            After years of close calls and disappointments the Cranford High School Boys soccer team can finally call itself Union County champions as the undefeated and top seed Cougars rode a familiar formula of a Pat Hartnett goal and airtight defense to defeat second seed Westfield 1-0 Saturday night November 7 at Johnson Field in Clark. Mike Curci’s team, now 22-0-2, joins Jen Michewicz’ girls team which took the same title the previous weekend on the same field, defeating Scotch Plains Fanwood 1-0. Clark has become a home away from home for the Cougar soccer teams, which have made Cranford the center of the Union County soccer universe in 2009.  Starting on October 25, continuing onto Halloween and culminating Saturday night, the two Cranford teams won three games by 1-0 and one by 2-0. The boy’s tournament finished a week late because of a postponement on the original semi final night of October 24.       The Cougars were previously 0-3 in UCT finals with their most recent appearance in 2002.

            The winning goal, in the game’s 36^th minute, came off a sequence that has become commonplace in so many big Cougar victories this year. Defender Eric Walano brought the ball down the right side and from about 40 yards away sent a cross toward the head of Hartnett, who was just outside the goal mouth. The Cougar senior barely beat the Westfield goalie to the ball but his header eluded the goalie and a Westfield defender who tried in vain to kick it out of the net. In the semi finals against Union, Hartnett had scored on a header off a cross from Alex Rocha. The goal was Hartnett’s 27^th of the season and no surprise to Walano.

“I just wanted to get the ball in a place where Pat could get to it and make it difficult for the goalie to make a play,” said Walano, who along with Pat Kaskiw and goalie Scott Boyer helped to frustrate Westfield’s high powered offense.

“He’s a terrific finisher and if you give him the ball in the air, he knows what to do.”

“I knew there was going to be contact with the goalie so I tried to get to the ball first. Eric put the ball in a perfect spot where I could get to it first,” said Hartnett, who feels vindicated that the Cougars have finally silenced their critics by ascending to the top of the county.

“We have heard all season about how weak our schedule was and how we were lucky to beat Westfield the first time and everything else. We went through three very tough Watchung Conference schools (Elizabeth, Union, and Westfield) to win the title and nobody can take that away from us,” added Hartnett.

“It feels amazing to being part of the team that wins Cranford’s first title,” said Boyer, who made five saves for his 17^th shutout.

“This team really came together this year. We worked hard last summer and this is the result of it,” said Boyer, adding.

“We are not done yet. We know we still have work to do if we want to take home the

State title but the county title is a good accomplishment.”

“Having Scott back there makes you more confident about playing defense. You know that even if your man beats you, that you have Scott. He never panics,” added Walano.

           

            The Cougars started tentatively and Westfield had the better chances in the first half until Hartnett struck in the 36^th minute.

“I think we had a case of nerves in the beginning but once Pat scored, we really got into our rhythm,” said Boyer.

            In the second half Cranford nearly put the icing on the game with two great back to back chances. Ray El Khoury, who played his usual solid game despite being bedridden with the flu, was stopped on a sizzling 30 yard shot that resulted in a corner kick. On the ensuing play, Connor Demars stepped above a crossing pass which Hartnett slammed at the goal from ten yards. Somehow the goalie was able to deflect it away.

“That goal would have let us relax a little more. They came at us hard until the very end, but we were determined to not let this chance to be county champions slip away,” said Hartnett.

            The Cougars’ continued their marvelous season with a huge home test on Tuesday November 10, hosting the fourth seed and defending Group III champions Millburn.

( Millburn info goes here, probably 100 words)

            Cranford had earned that game with a hard fought 1-0 home win against a very game Somerville team, Thursday November 5 at Memorial Field. Hartnett came up big again, striking a volley from 15 yards out at the 63 minute mark for the eventual game-winner. Hartnett’s goal was his county-leading 26th while senior midfielder Nick Pace was credited with his county-leading 18^th assist .Boyer had three saves in the victory.

            The Brearley boys are also writing a great state tournament story. Joe Cereste headed in a rebound with three minutes remaining in the second half to lift them to a 2-1 upset at top seed South River in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA/Investors Savings Bank Central Jersey, Group 1 tournament Friday November 6..

            Brearley (8-11), which bowed to South River, 1-0, in the sectional final last year, fell behind, 1-0, but knotted the score, 1-1, when Kyle Clementi scored in the 52nd minute. The Bears, who received eight saves from Harry Resnick, face Roselle Park in the sectional semifinals on Tuesday November 10.(Brearley result goes here)

Girls stun Westfield

            The Cranford High School Girls soccer team came into their semi final match on Sunday night October 25 with top seeded and undefeated Westfield looking for respect, vindication and a spot in the county finals. The Cougars got all three in spine tingling fashion, battling the Blue Devils through 100 scoreless minutes before prevailing in penalty kicks 4-3 at Johnson High School in Clark. The victory, which officially goes into the record books as a tie, ended the Cougars winning streak at 11 but propels them into their first county final since 2002, where they meet second seed and four time defending champion Scotch Plains on Saturday October 31 also at Johnson.

            The victory was sweet revenge for the Cougars, who had fallen to the Blue Devils 6-0 in the third game of the season. Since that loss, they had been on a mission to prove that game was a fluke and had not lost since. Westfield was third ranked in the state and sported a 15-0-1 record coming into the game but the Cougars showed no deference to their heavily favored rivals and played an evenly matched entertaining game. In a game of limited scoring chances, the Cougars nearly won the game in the final seconds of regulation when Taylor D’Antico’s direct kick hit a Westfield player and nearly ricocheted into the goal, falling just wide.

            In the ensuing penalty kick game decider, the Cougars fell behind twice and could have been eliminated on Westfield’s fifth kick but rode the heroics of goalie Lauren Grandal, Sara Dowzycki and D’Antico to a stirring victory. After Westfield made their first penalty kick, D’Antico struck back with perfectly placed low shot in the corner. After Cranford missed their third and fourth shot, Westfield, which had only missed once only needed to make their final shot to escape with a victory but Grandal guessed right and batted away the shot to give the Cougars hope. Dowzycki still had to make a pressure packed shot to keep the game alive which she connected with a shot to the left corner.

“I couldn’t even look at the goalie. I just tried to hit the best shot I could and make sure it was on goal,” said Dowzycki.

            Now in sudden death, Grandal came through a second straight time, blocking away another Westfield shot, which left it up to D’Antico, who was shooting for a second time. She made no mistake, hitting her second shot to almost the same spot as the first. leaving the goalie no chance of making the save and initiating a wild on field celebration of Cranford players who mobbed D’Antico and Grandal. D’Antico, an infielder, on last spring’s state championship Cranford softball team, felt no pressure at having the game on her shoulders.

“You have to have a belief in your shot and just execute it. Penalty shooting is almost all mental. I wanted so much to make those shots because we deserved to go to the finals,” said D’Antico, who led an airtight Cougar defense, which also included sophomore Madison Savulich, senior Emily McCue and senior Kristen Cecchini.

“Madison, Emily and Kristen were awesome back there. They don’t get a lot of recognition because they are not goal scorers but along with Taylor and Lauren really shut down a high powered offense,” said a hoarse coach Jen Michewicz.

            In addition to her back four, Michewicz sometimes brought up to ten players back on defense to blunt the high powered Westfield attack. Among the defenders were forward Natalie Englese, who also connected on the Cougars’ second penalty kick.

“We worked hard in practice to try and defend what they did to us in the first game. They have a multitude of ways to score on you and it was important for us to get as many players into the defense as possible. Of course Lauren made it all happen in the back,” said Michewicz.

            Grandal, who made several spectacular saves in the first 100 minutes of the game, felt vindicated after allowing all six goals in the earlier game. “I just knew we were going to win. Even when it looked we were going to lose in penalty kicks, I was determined to give us a chance to come back,” said Grandal.

“I told her before the game that sometime in the game she was going to have make a game saving save and she came through for us,” added Michewicz.

            D’Antico connected twice in the penalty kick phase, including the game clinching final shot which sent the Cranford team into a wild middle of the field celebration. Long before the final result, the Cougars had already won the small victory of getting the respect of the county soccer community, who can now view the earlier game as just one of those early season flukes that sometimes happen in high school sports.

“We have been waiting a long time to prove ourselves against them. We knew we were a better team than that,” said D’Antico.

“We still have one more hill to climb.”

Cranford Boys Soccer 2009 Week 5

When a team wins its first 12 games, moves up to tenth in the state rankings and gains the top seed in the county tournament, it is no surprise they wind up with a big target on their back. But that reputation suits the Cranford High School Boys’ Soccer team just fine and the Cougars began their quest for their first Union County championship by blanking Union Catholic 3-0 Saturday October 10 at Memorial Field in Cranford.

“It’s good to be recognized. We don’t mind being the top seed. We like the challenge,” said senior midfielder Nick Pace, who had two assists in the victory.

“Getting recognized is what you strive for in a program. Our team knows that everybody will be coming after us but I think they are ready for the challenge,” said Coach Mike Curci.

The Cougars came out a little overanxious against a Viking team that had given the Cougars a major scare before succumbing 2-1 earlier in the season. But leading scorer Pat Hartnett took a long clearing pass from fullback Eric Walano just before midfield and outran the defense before feinting the goalie and hitting an accurately placed right footed shot into the corner.

“I knew it couldn’t be offsides because I took it before midfield. The goalie made it easy for me by committing too early, but I still had to make sure I put it on goal,” said Hartnett.

The 1-0 lead held through the end of the first half but the Cougars could not feel comfortable until Alex Porter headed in Pace’s corner kick with 21:30 left in the contest.

“They were much better than their seeding. They played very well and we had to be on our game to win,” said Senior Goalie Scott Boyer, who earned his ninth shutout and 51st career win,

Boyer initiated the final goal when his long punt was headed by Pace to junior Ray El Khoury who buried a hard right footed shot with 11:30 left.

“This wasn’t one of our better performances. I thought we came out a little bit tight and were trying to make perfect plays. They were packing their defense back, trying to look for a counterattack and it wasn’t until Porter’s goal that we finally started playing our style of soccer,” said Curci.

The victory moved the Cougars into the quarterfinals where they will host defending county champion and eight seed Elizabeth at Memorial Field at 2 pm Saturday October 17. It will be their second game in five days with the Minutemen. The teams also met on Monday October 12 and the 13th game did not prove to be unlucky as the Cougars escaped Elizabeth with a 2-1 victory. After a scoreless first half, senior Josh Barrera scored off a header 15 minutes into the second half to make it 1-0. DeMars made it 2-0 with 17 minutes left on a header off a long throw-in from Lopes. Elizabeth was awarded a penalty kick two minutes later and scored to cut the margin but the Cougars held on for their 13th straight win and second road victory over a Group IV county power. Earlier in the season they had defeated Westfield 1-0.

“It was an intense, very physical game, but we played tough. They're a good team. They use the size of their field well to spread the game. It was a great win for our boys, but of course we have to win the next time we play them, too,” said Curci.

Cranford Girls Soccer 2009 Week 5

The Cranford Girls’ Soccer team continues to fly under the radar, overshadowed in its own town by an undefeated boy’s team and in the county by Westfield, the state’s third rated girl’s team. But the Cougars seem content to go about their business and have now compiled an impressive seven game winning streak that has raised their record to 8-1-1, following a 4-0 victory over Kent Place in the first round of the Union County Tournament, Saturday October 10 at Memorial Field.

Under brilliant autumn sunshine, the girls made quick work of a team that they had defeated 3-0 earlier in the season. Junior forward Natalie Englese took a perfectly placed pass from Victoria Labrutto and used her speed to hit a strong right footed shot into the corner of the goal from ten yards with 32:13 left. “It was a well set up play. I had space and all I had to do was kick it,” said Englese.

Senior forward Jamie Webb made it 2-0 with a left footed shot with 21 minutes left. “I am normally a right footed shooter but the play made sense to use my left,” said Webb.

Michelle Gargiuolo added a third goal before halftime and the Cougars were content to play a possession game in the second half to limit their opponents from many good scoring chances. Junior Julianne Salerno provided the only second half scoring when her right footed shot found the mark with 23:40 left. Seniors Lauren Grandal and Genevieve Chaleff, who have shared time in goal most of the year, each played a half to share the shutout. Coach Jen Michewicz was pleased with the way the team kept the pressure through the entire game.

“The girls have really started to come together as a team. Each player has elevated their individual level of play which has had quite an impact on the entire team. In previous years, the team had difficulty playing consistently for 80 minutes. This year’s team has proven that they are able to do that.” said Michewicz, who is fortunate to have senior leadership at nearly every part of the field.

Senior midfielder Jen Folger does not score many goals but she is invaluable as a distributor and controlled the game against Kent Place. “My job is to get everybody involved and keep the ball moving. As long as we score goals, I am happy to let other players score. We have a lot of talented offensive players,” said Folger.

Senior forward Sarah Dowzycki leads the balanced attack with six goals. Senior central defender Taylor D'Antico leads the stingy defensive unit along with senior Kristen Cecchini. Webb, Englese and Gargiulo form a solid midfield.

“The team has found composure with the ball at their feet. They have been working on combination play and recognizing when to play to feet and when to play to space. We had many fine sequences where we connected on numerous passes in a row. We have the ability to be a very good possession team,” said Michewicz.

The victory advanced the Cougars to the quarterfinal round where they will travel to Union on Saturday October 17 to face the fourth seeded Farmers. A victory would likely give the Cougars the rematch they have sought with top seeded Westfield, which handed the Cougars their only defeat, but Michewicz realizes there is plenty of work to be done before that would transpire.

“In order to win the county, the team needs to continue to play consistently with that urgency to put the ball in the back of the net. So far we have been improving each and every game,” said Michewicz.

The Cougars ran their winning streak to eight and their record to 9-1-1 with a 6-0 home victory over Elizabeth on Monday October 12. Folger, Gargiulo, Danielle Jakubik, Labrutto, Emily Lupin and Rebecca Shafer each scored

Cranford Girls Soccer 2009 Week 4

For the Cranford Girls’ Soccer team, an early season 6-0 home loss to Westfield has proven to be a rallying point for the senior dominated team instead of a demoralizing defeat. (This next sentence will change based on the Summit result) The Cougars have won four straight games and now stand 5-1-1.

The Cougars had begun their season with a trio of difficult opponents, starting with a 0-0 tie at state number four ranked Montclair and won a 3-1 home decision over perennial power Governor Livingston, before losing to Westfield, currently the state’s third ranked team. But since then, the Cougars have been on a roll, utilizing their precision passing game and tenacious defense their last four opponents 19-1.

On Tuesday September 29, the Cougars exploded with their highest offensive outburst of the season when they won 8-1 at Roselle Catholic. .Overall, five different Cranford players scored in the contest with Natalie Englese, Danielle Jakubik and Sara Gugliucci, kicking in a pair of goals. Julianne Salerno and Jamie Webb also added goals and Webb also had a pair of assists.
Senior forward Sarah Dowzycki scored in the game’s opening minutes to provide the only goal the Cougars would need when they won 5-0 at Union Catholic Friday, September 25. Dowzycki added another tally twenty minutes into the game and senior Michelle Gargiulo also pierced the nets in the first half. Gargiulo and Salerno each added a goal in the second half to complete the scoring and Englese chipped in with two assists as the Cougars outshot the hosts 25-5. Genevieve Chaleff stopped two shots for the shutout. The victory was impressive because the Cougars were playing their second game in two days.
On Thursday September 24, the team took a hard fought 3-0 victory over Kent Place High School at Memorial Field. The Cougars used crisp passing to control possession and create scoring opportunities. Dowzycki led the way with a goal in each half. Salerno also scored and Lauren Grandal made three saves in the shutout
In their initial victory over Governor Livingston in September 15, senior midfielder Jen Folger sparkled with two assists. Rebecca Shafer and Webb were the beneficiaries of Folger’s passes. Chaleff made five saves in goal. After falling behind 1-0 Jakubik evened the score in the first half.
The Cougar girls were given the fifth seed in the Union County Tournament and will open this weekend by hosting 12th seed Kent Place. Cranford will try and improve on their 2008 performance when they reached the semi finals before losing to eventual champion Scotch Plains Fanwood.

The area’s other team, Brearley, has also had a fine season, going 6-1 with their latest success being a 3-0 home victory over Dayton on Friday October 2. Amanda Filippone connected on a pass from Samantha Hoag 1:30 into the game as Brearley took a 1-0 halftime lead. Filippone had two goals in the game and Hoag collected a goal and an assist for the Bears. Goalie Krissy Pinho excelled with seven saves.




On Friday September 25, Brearley had one of its biggest victories when they edged Kent Place 2-1 in overtime in Summit. Janine Casale scored both goals and Hoag assisted on both goals. Casale’s overtime goal came on a 25 yard shot seven minutes into the frame. Brearley trailed 1-0 at the half, before Casale evened the game in the 61st minute. Pinho had five saves in the victory.
Brearley had its biggest scoring outburst of the season when they defeated Roselle Catholic 8-1 on Tuesday September 22 in Kenilworth. Stephanie Hand scored two goals and Casale, Vienna Conde, Filippone, Hoag. Tania Miranda and Brittany Santos also scored. Filippone opened the scoring when she converted Samantha Hoag’s cross in the 14th minute for the Bears. Hand added two assists and Hoag assisted on three goals as the Bears took a 5-1 halftime lead.
On Tuesday October the Bears traveled to New Providence. Brearley was awarded the tenth seed and will open the county tournament on the road at Johnson.

Cranford Girls Soccer 2009 Week 3

The area girls’ soccer teams, Brearley and Cranford, continued their impressive seasons by both going undefeated last week to improve their combined records to 9-1-1. The only blemishes are from Cranford, which has lost to the state’s third ranked team Westfield and also has a tie with Montclair, ranked fourth at the time.

On Friday September 25, Brearley had its biggest scare thus far o

Janine Casale scored twice, punctuated by a golden goal in overtime that sent Brearley to a 2-1 victory over Kent Place yesterday in Summit.

Samantha Hoag picked up her second assist of the match for Brearley (5-0) when she found Casale, who put away a 25-yard shot with seven minutes elapsed in the first overtime. Kent Place (1-3) gained a 1-0 lead on a score from Amanda Rhodes in the ninth



minute. Casale drew Brearley even in the 61st minute.

1st 2nd OT1 Final
Brearley (5-0) 0 1 1 2
Kent Place (1-3) 1 0 0 1

Goals: Brearley Janine Casale 2. Kent Place Amanda Rhodes.

Assists: Brearley Samantha Hoag 2.

Shots: Brearley 15. Kent Place 9.

Saves: Brearley Krissy Pinho 5. Kent Place Liza Kowalik 10.


Amanda Filippone touched in a cross by Samantha Hoag in the 14th minute for Brearley (4-0) in Kenilworth. Stephanie Hand supplied two goals and two assists while Hoag scored once and set up three goals. Roselle Catholic (2-3) got a first-half goal from Melissa Tobie.
1st 2nd Final
Roselle Catholic (2-3) 1 0 1
Brearley (4-0) 5 3 8
Goals: Roselle Catholic melissa tobie. Brearley Stephanie Hand 2. Janine Casale. Vienna Conde. Amanda Filippone. Samantha Hoag. Tania Miranda. Brittany Santos.
Assists: Roselle Catholic Alexandra Ramirez. Brearley Samantha Hoag 3. Stephanie Hand 2. Janine Casale. Ariel Walker.
Shots: Roselle Catholic 3. Brearley 17.
Saves: Roselle Catholic Erin Nahaczewski 10. Brearley Krissy Pinho 3.


The Star Ledger, September 25, 2009 7:39 p.m.
Two goals from Sarah Dowzycki and another from Michelle Gargiulo staked Cranford (5-0-1) to a 3-0 halftime lead in Scotch Plains. Gargiulo and Julianne Salerno each added a goal in the second half. Union Catholic is 3-3.
1st 2nd Final
Union Catholic (3-3-0) 0 0 0
Cranford (5-0-1) 3 2 5
Goals: Cranford Sarah Dowzycki 2. Michelle Gargiulo 2. Julianne Salerno.
Assists: Cranford Natalie Englese 2.
Shots: Union Catholic 5. Cranford 25.
Saves: Union Catholic SAMANTHA PAULS 10. Cranford Genevieve Chaleff.

The Cranford girls soccer team notched a 3-0 victory against the talented Kent Place High School team Thursday afternoon.

Employing ball control skills, passing and aggressive play, the Lady Cougars were able to distribute the ball efficiently and take advantage of scoring opportunities. Cranford was in attack mode all afternoon. The team kept its tempo fast-paced throughout the game. They were able to post over 15 shots on goal.

This game provided a chance for the Lady Cougars to overcome last week's difficult loss against Westfield.

“This win was definitely important," said head coach Jen Michewicz. "Kent Place is a good team… they usually get a six or seven seed, so this was a good way to come back from the tough loss against Westfield.”

The team seemed to utilize an aggressive, net-crashing mentality that the coaching staff stressed in practice.

“We took advantage of scoring opportunities, and played through all 80 minutes, said Michewicz of today’s performance.

One standout player was Sarah Dozycki, who scored two goals in the game and made an effort to turn chances into points for the Lady Cougars.

“She played with a sense of urgency today, which is something we’ve been pushing for," said Michewicz.

While Dozycki scored two goals, she emphasized that teamwork was the key to victory in today’s game.

“We were passing a lot more, and I feel like we’re improving as a team," she said. “This was really important for us, we were going through a down swing and this picked us up.”

Senior co-captain Jen Folger made a lot of key plays that demonstrated the great ball control that the Lady Cougars displayed all afternoon. She set up one goal in the second half with a skillful pass across the net that put the game out of reach.

While Thursday’s win was exciting, Michewicz still urged the team to work on some things, like holding onto the ball. However, the team looks energized and ready to take on the remainder of the season. The Lady Cougars look fully recovered from a tough loss that seems to have made them stronger.

Jen Folger believes her Cranford team has been handed a golden opportunity this season.
``Most of us are seniors and we’ve been playing together for a long time,’’ Folger said. ``We know that this our last chance to really do something special.’’
Coming off a confidence-boosting, scoreless tie against Essex County powerhouse Montclair in its season opener, Cranford was looking to extend its solid play against visiting Gov. Livingston yesterday. That would be no easy feat, because the squad from Berkeley Heights received a shot of adrenaline over the weekend by playing to a scoreless tie with Union County Tournament finalist Johnson to open its season.
It was Cranford that imposed its will upon Gov. Livingston and, bolstered by Folger’s superior play, earned a 3-1 victory at Memorial Field in Cranford.
Folger, a senior midfielder who finished with two assists, supplied the play of the game. In the final minute of the first half, she sprinted down the right sideline to save a through ball from reaching the end line, then sent a crossing pass to the middle, where Rebecca Shafer hammered it home for a 2-1 Cranford lead.
In the 61st minute, Folger helped supply the insurance goal when she turned her back to the goal and fed Jamie Webb, who cracked an 18-yard blast past Gov. Livingston keeper Kristen Masullo (nine saves).
``First of all her ball control is excellent – I think she’s one of the best in the county with the ball at her feet – and she has a view of the entire field,’’ Cranford coach Jen Michewicz said of Folger. ``She’s a big reason why the team is excited about what we can do this season.’’
Cranford’s 20-player roster boasts 13 seniors, and those girls are especially anxious to erase the memories of a season of underachievement. Last season, Michewicz’ team was 8-5-2 before losing its final four matches, including a 3-0 loss to Manasquan in the first round of the Central Jersey, Group 2 tournament.
``Especially after last year, when we thought we should have won a little more, we don’t want that to happen again,’’ Folger said.
Cranford came out challenging every loose ball, and appeared to fight even harder after Gov. Livingston claimed a 1-0 lead just four minutes into the match. Senior Katie Pires got the visitors on the board when she lofted a loose ball over Cranford goalie Genevieve Chaleff (five saves).
Cranford evened the contest in the 26th minute when Danielle Jakubik beat a defender on a dead sprint with the ball and slipped the ball past a charging Masullo, using a feathery touch to hit the ball off the left post and into the net.
Gov. Livingston was not as big of a factor on the ball in the second half as it was in the first. Coach Mike Roof attributed that to Cranford’s talent level and to his team’s own inconsistency.
``We definitely took a step back today,’’ Roof said. ``They’re definitely a good team, and we can’t play just 40 minutes against a team with that kind of ability.’’
1st 2nd Final
Gov. Livingston (0-1-1) 1 0 1
Cranford (1-0-1) 2 1 3
Goals: Gov. LivingstonCranford Danielle Jakubik. Rebecca Shafer. Jamie Webb.
Assists: Cranford Jen Folger 2.
Shots: Gov. Livingston 5. Cranford 11.
Saves: Gov. Livingston Kristen Masulo 9. Cranford Genevieve Chaleff 5.
The Cranford girls soccer team started attacking just as the whistle blew at the start of the game on Friday afternoon.

Coming into the Memorial Field match, Union Catholic loooked to be a tough competitor, having lost its last couple of games to Summit and Governor Livingston by only one goal.

“We knew that they were a good team and only won 1-0 last season to them,” said forward Sarah Dowzycki.

Yet the Lady Cougars would not allow the Vikings any thoughts of a victory.

The Cranford strikers started pelting Union Catholic goal keeper Samantha Pauls from the start and the Lady Cougars had a 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes of the game.

Cranford would not relent and would go on to a dominating 5-0 victory over the Vikings that would push the Lady Cougars’ record to 4-1-1.

Four different Cranford players scored, led by Dowzycki with a pair of goals. Michele Gargiulo, Victoia Labrutto and Julianne Salerno also notched a goal.

Dowzycki and the Lady Cougars have come a long way from the 6-0 loss at home two weeks ago to Westfield in the third game of the season.

“Since then we felt that we had to do more passing and be more aggressive,” said Dowzycki.

Cranford head coach Jen Michewicz agreed that they have started to take it more to the opponent.

“We’ve been working on our attack and especially on that half of the field,” said Michiewicz.

Dowzycki scored the team’s first two goals. The first came after a feed from Taylor D’Antico and Dowzycki struck a shot from 15 yards out that went past Pauls.

Minutes later, Jen Folger fed Dowzycki on a shot in front of Pauls and she struck it past the Union Catholic goal keeper for a 2-0 lead.

“It’s funny with Sarah,” said Michewicz. “She is one of my favorite players because she is so consistent. She is not going to stand out all the time. She works hard and I am glad she is hitting the back of the net.”

In addition, the Lady Cougars have been working on their crossover on the opponents end. The hard work seems to be paying off as three of the five goals came on the crossovers.

Nothing demonstrated it more than Cranford’s third goal as Jen Folger drove from just past midfield to the left of Union Catholic goal keeper Pauls and with a defender hanging on her. She kicked it into the middle in front of Pauls and Gargiulo tapped it in for a 3-0 goal with a little less than 18 minutes remaining in the first half.

The goal allowed the Lady Cougars to control the play the rest of the way.

In the second half, Natalie Englese fed Labrutto who placed it past Paul with 14 minutes into the final half. Then with less than nine minutes in the game, Jamie Webb kicked it to Salerno who placed it past the Vikings’ goalie for the final score.

The Lady Cougars will try to extend their three-game winning streak on Tuesday at Roselle Catholic at 4 p.m.