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.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Cranford Boys Soccer 2009 Week 3
On paper it did not appear that the Friday September 25 match between the undefeated Cranford High School soccer team and winless Union Catholic would be very competitive but the cliché that games are not won on paper proved to almost trip up the Cougars. Trailing 1-0 at the half, Cranford rallied with two second half goals, the final coming in the game’s final ten seconds to move to 7-0 with a 2-1 victory at Walnut Avenue Field. Nick Pace, who earlier assisted on a goal by Alex Rocha to tie the game, scored the game-winning goal off a throw-in from Alex Porter with seven seconds left to win the game.
The victory completed another undefeated week for Coach Mike Curci’s team, which earlier featured shutout victories against Rahway, 3-0 on Tuesday Sept. 22 and Roselle Catholic 4-0 on Thursday Sept 24. Curci would not use the third game in four days as an excuse for the Union Catholic (UC) scare.
“I wouldn't say back-to-back was the issue. UC is a better team than their record. They came out fired up and basically every team is after us, so that means we always need to be focused. They spread the field out nicely in the first half, but we also missed a wide open net minutes before they scored. If we put that in, it would have taken them down a notch,” said Curci.
Instead Union Catholic gave the Cougars their first halftime deficit of the year, prompting Curci to make some halftime adjustments, even though he sensed no panic from his confident team.
“The boys were confident they were the better team and would get the job done. No ranting or raving, just confidence. That was good enough for me. I moved (Eric) Walano from stopper to midfield to work with the speedy Pace and they took control of the midfield. I moved Ray El-Khoury back to stopper because his back was sore and he would have less running around. He and (Pat) Kaskiw did a great job and UC really never had a decent scoring chance in the second half,” said Curci.
Rocha broke the ice with a low right-footed shot from eight yards out five minutes into the second half off a feed from Pace, who sent the ball on the ground to the center of the goal mouth.
“Nick played an outstanding game. He was all over the place and made sure he was the right spot with time running out. His hustle allowed that to happen."
With time running down under 20 seconds, Cranford had no time to get its normal long thrower Ryan Lopes into position, so Curci yelled for the closest player, Porter, to take the throw which found Pace alone in front of the goal for a header. Cranford has been deadly off restarts, which include throwins and free kicks.
“Set pieces are a big part of our game. We've scored at least four times off long throws into the box and off of numerous corners this year. We're not a team that is going to come in and blow people away. We first look to play outstanding defense, and then manufacture a few goals. That's what has made us successful." said Curci.
One of the Cougar’s weapons has been Lopes’ long throw ins. “Basically, the long throws become additional corners and anytime you get the ball into the goal mouth, anything can happen. Ryan has been outstanding in that area, even on big fields and we've been making smart runs into the box,” said Curci.
The Cougars are now 3-0 in the newly formed Union County Conference and has outscored its opponents 25-3, with four shutouts and has not given up more than one goal per game. Goalie Scott Boyer now has 44 career wins.
They finished out September with a home game against Roselle on Tuesday, September 29 and christened October with a home game against. Rumson on Thursday, October 1. In between on Wednesday night was the Union County Tournament seeding meeting, where the Cougars were hoping for a number one seed.
The Cougars also had their hands full the day before on Roselle Catholic’s small grass field, but after battling through a scoreless first half they broke through on a goal by George El-Khoury, followed in rapid succession by goals from Ray El-Khoury, Pat Hartnett and Walano. Boyer stopped six shots for his fourth shutout.
Two days earlier the Cougars scored twice in the first nine minutes with Connor DeMars heading in a long throw by Lopes four minutes into the game and leading scorer Pat Hartnett converting a pass from Kaskiw five minutes later. Hartnett finished the scoring in the second half when he took a feed from Walano.
The Brearley boys are also off to a fine start. On Friday they improved to 4-1 with a 2-0 home victory over Roselle Catholic. Rajbir Cheema knocked in a pass from Nicholas Almeida from 22 yards out at the 11-minute mark of the first half and assisted Dom Cullari, who scored in the second half. Goalie Jeff Domingos had five saves for the Bears, who outshot the Lions 15-7.
The victory completed another undefeated week for Coach Mike Curci’s team, which earlier featured shutout victories against Rahway, 3-0 on Tuesday Sept. 22 and Roselle Catholic 4-0 on Thursday Sept 24. Curci would not use the third game in four days as an excuse for the Union Catholic (UC) scare.
“I wouldn't say back-to-back was the issue. UC is a better team than their record. They came out fired up and basically every team is after us, so that means we always need to be focused. They spread the field out nicely in the first half, but we also missed a wide open net minutes before they scored. If we put that in, it would have taken them down a notch,” said Curci.
Instead Union Catholic gave the Cougars their first halftime deficit of the year, prompting Curci to make some halftime adjustments, even though he sensed no panic from his confident team.
“The boys were confident they were the better team and would get the job done. No ranting or raving, just confidence. That was good enough for me. I moved (Eric) Walano from stopper to midfield to work with the speedy Pace and they took control of the midfield. I moved Ray El-Khoury back to stopper because his back was sore and he would have less running around. He and (Pat) Kaskiw did a great job and UC really never had a decent scoring chance in the second half,” said Curci.
Rocha broke the ice with a low right-footed shot from eight yards out five minutes into the second half off a feed from Pace, who sent the ball on the ground to the center of the goal mouth.
“Nick played an outstanding game. He was all over the place and made sure he was the right spot with time running out. His hustle allowed that to happen."
With time running down under 20 seconds, Cranford had no time to get its normal long thrower Ryan Lopes into position, so Curci yelled for the closest player, Porter, to take the throw which found Pace alone in front of the goal for a header. Cranford has been deadly off restarts, which include throwins and free kicks.
“Set pieces are a big part of our game. We've scored at least four times off long throws into the box and off of numerous corners this year. We're not a team that is going to come in and blow people away. We first look to play outstanding defense, and then manufacture a few goals. That's what has made us successful." said Curci.
One of the Cougar’s weapons has been Lopes’ long throw ins. “Basically, the long throws become additional corners and anytime you get the ball into the goal mouth, anything can happen. Ryan has been outstanding in that area, even on big fields and we've been making smart runs into the box,” said Curci.
The Cougars are now 3-0 in the newly formed Union County Conference and has outscored its opponents 25-3, with four shutouts and has not given up more than one goal per game. Goalie Scott Boyer now has 44 career wins.
They finished out September with a home game against Roselle on Tuesday, September 29 and christened October with a home game against. Rumson on Thursday, October 1. In between on Wednesday night was the Union County Tournament seeding meeting, where the Cougars were hoping for a number one seed.
The Cougars also had their hands full the day before on Roselle Catholic’s small grass field, but after battling through a scoreless first half they broke through on a goal by George El-Khoury, followed in rapid succession by goals from Ray El-Khoury, Pat Hartnett and Walano. Boyer stopped six shots for his fourth shutout.
Two days earlier the Cougars scored twice in the first nine minutes with Connor DeMars heading in a long throw by Lopes four minutes into the game and leading scorer Pat Hartnett converting a pass from Kaskiw five minutes later. Hartnett finished the scoring in the second half when he took a feed from Walano.
The Brearley boys are also off to a fine start. On Friday they improved to 4-1 with a 2-0 home victory over Roselle Catholic. Rajbir Cheema knocked in a pass from Nicholas Almeida from 22 yards out at the 11-minute mark of the first half and assisted Dom Cullari, who scored in the second half. Goalie Jeff Domingos had five saves for the Bears, who outshot the Lions 15-7.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Cranford Girls Soccer 2009 Preview
After a superb college career at Seton Hall, Cranford High School Girls Soccer Coach Jen Michewicz had a less than auspicious debut as coach but is confident that her second year will be better. The Cougars wound up 10-9-1, finishing second in the Mountain Valley conference (MVC), losing in the second round of the state tournament and in their best result, made it to the country semi finals before losing to eventual champion Scotch Plains Fanwood.
“We now we can do better than last year. We played competitively last year but we can do better. This year our 14 returning players understand the importance of preparing for each game and playing and giving 100% for all 80 minutes of the game. In order to take the next step, our team has been focusing on finishing in the final third. It is important for us to take advantage of the scoring opportunities given to us throughout the game,” said Michewicz.
Like numerous other fall Cranford teams, the Cougar girls will be playing their home games on the new turf field at Memorial Stadium. Michewicz is hoping the faster surface plays to the teams’ advantage. Their fastest player, junior Natalie Englese, is also the county’s top sprinter and used her speed to finish second on the team in scoring behind the graduated Beth Lafferty.
“Natalie's speed is one of the greatest aspects of our team. She has the ability to isolate and beat defenders on the outside of the field. She can almost always serve a quality cross or take a dangerous shot. She is definitely our go to player in the midfield,” said Michewicz.
Senior co captain Taylor D'Antico should once again exert her influence on the game from her central defender position, A third year starter Michewicz considers D’Antico the foundation of the defense.
“She is a role model for other girls on the team. Her work ethic and dedication to the program and improving herself as a player never goes unnoticed. As a defender, she is aggressive and has the ability to shut down players, win contested balls, and control the game in the air,” said Michewicz, adding that D’Antico also has the ability to support the offense with her powerful shot, and can also be dangerous with her heading ability on corner kicks.
Jen Folger, the other senior co captain also works well with her teammates as center midfielder, A three year varsity letter winner, Folger possesses great ball skills and speed with the ball at her feet as well as a powerful shot.
“The team is looking towards her as the leader in the midfield. She is a natural playmaker as she has a great vision of the field and can play both short and long passes with accuracy,” said Michewicz.
Michewicz is fortunate to have two experience goal keepers return. Seniors Lauren Grandal and Genevieve Chaleff split time last year and will likely have the same roles this season. Returning senior starters Emily McCue and Kristen Cecchini pace the defense. McCue is a consistent and dependable central defender while Cecchini uses her speed to shut down players defensively and support the offensive attack from her fullback position.
Also augmenting the midfield, is returning senior starter outside midfielder Michelle Gargiulo who uses her ball skills and vision to contribute to the attack. Senior Jamie Webb, who is returning to the team from taking a year off, uses her athleticism and work ethic to give the team depth in the central midfield.
Other returning contributing players include senior forwards Victoria Labrutto, Sarah Dowzycki and sophomore Emily Lupin. Seniors Mallory Niro and Sarah Muratore will add depth at forward and Colleen McGovern will assist at fullback.
“We now we can do better than last year. We played competitively last year but we can do better. This year our 14 returning players understand the importance of preparing for each game and playing and giving 100% for all 80 minutes of the game. In order to take the next step, our team has been focusing on finishing in the final third. It is important for us to take advantage of the scoring opportunities given to us throughout the game,” said Michewicz.
Like numerous other fall Cranford teams, the Cougar girls will be playing their home games on the new turf field at Memorial Stadium. Michewicz is hoping the faster surface plays to the teams’ advantage. Their fastest player, junior Natalie Englese, is also the county’s top sprinter and used her speed to finish second on the team in scoring behind the graduated Beth Lafferty.
“Natalie's speed is one of the greatest aspects of our team. She has the ability to isolate and beat defenders on the outside of the field. She can almost always serve a quality cross or take a dangerous shot. She is definitely our go to player in the midfield,” said Michewicz.
Senior co captain Taylor D'Antico should once again exert her influence on the game from her central defender position, A third year starter Michewicz considers D’Antico the foundation of the defense.
“She is a role model for other girls on the team. Her work ethic and dedication to the program and improving herself as a player never goes unnoticed. As a defender, she is aggressive and has the ability to shut down players, win contested balls, and control the game in the air,” said Michewicz, adding that D’Antico also has the ability to support the offense with her powerful shot, and can also be dangerous with her heading ability on corner kicks.
Jen Folger, the other senior co captain also works well with her teammates as center midfielder, A three year varsity letter winner, Folger possesses great ball skills and speed with the ball at her feet as well as a powerful shot.
“The team is looking towards her as the leader in the midfield. She is a natural playmaker as she has a great vision of the field and can play both short and long passes with accuracy,” said Michewicz.
Michewicz is fortunate to have two experience goal keepers return. Seniors Lauren Grandal and Genevieve Chaleff split time last year and will likely have the same roles this season. Returning senior starters Emily McCue and Kristen Cecchini pace the defense. McCue is a consistent and dependable central defender while Cecchini uses her speed to shut down players defensively and support the offensive attack from her fullback position.
Also augmenting the midfield, is returning senior starter outside midfielder Michelle Gargiulo who uses her ball skills and vision to contribute to the attack. Senior Jamie Webb, who is returning to the team from taking a year off, uses her athleticism and work ethic to give the team depth in the central midfield.
Other returning contributing players include senior forwards Victoria Labrutto, Sarah Dowzycki and sophomore Emily Lupin. Seniors Mallory Niro and Sarah Muratore will add depth at forward and Colleen McGovern will assist at fullback.
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