Second-half effort not enough for Cougars in CJ II semifinal
By: Justin Feil
The Montgomery High School girls’ soccer team let the ‘dogs out in the first half and couldn’t come back in their 2-0 loss to Hopewell Valley on Tuesday.
The loss ends the Cougars’ run at the Central Jersey Group II title in the semifinal game and it ends their season at 13-5-1. The fourth-seeded Cougars might have been playing Thursday if they had played like they did the first 30 minutes of the second half against the top-seeded Bulldogs.
"This is a tough pill to swallow," Montgomery head coach Jeremy Beardsley said. "I really thought we were just as good if not better than them today. If we play the first half like we did the second…. The girls are feeling bad because of that. In the second half, that was the team we were used to seeing.
"We proved to them the team we were. I’m tremendously proud of the second half effort and the way we came back like that."
In the first half, Montgomery had just one solid scoring chance while Hopewell seemed at times to be going through target practice. It was a sudden transition that gave the Colonial Valley Conference squad the lead for good.
With 12 minutes, 30 seconds to play, the Cougars’ Kristina Araps made a long run down the right sideline and crossed the ball to a streaking Jen Dubin. Dubin’s shot was saved by the Hopewell goalkeeper and the Bulldogs moved the ball to the Cougar end in a hurry to provide a score at the 12:08 mark. It remained 1-0 at the half.
"Interestingly enough, our game plan was to go at them in the beginning," Beardsley said. "I thought they’d be looking beyond the game to the (CJ II) final. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out for us.
"We weren’t the team we’ve been all season for the entire 40 minutes of the first half. At halftime, I really got into them, probably the hardest I’ve been this year. I didn’t have to make any tactical changes. We just need to bring up the intensity. I knew after the talk at the half they were going to take it to them."
MHS looked like a completely reborn group when it stepped on the field to start the second half. Most of the first 25 minutes of the half was played in Hopewell’s end, a striking contrast to the first half. Instead of Hopewell sending in corner kick after corner kick, it was Montgomery that had the dangerous opportunities.
Cristina Adams found just a crack of daylight with 31 minutes to play and banged a shot off the crossbar. Araps dropped a pair of corners right into the middle of the goal mouth but no one could put them in the back of the net. Greer Hockemeier made a crossing pass that the goalie stepped in front of before Adams slid in after it. With five minutes to play, MHS got its last good chance when a shot fluttered in the sun and the Bulldog goalie knocked it down, but no one could follow the rebound.
Hopewell got its second goal of the game with 1:15 to play when Montgomery had gone on the full-blown offensive. And despite the 2-0 win, Hopewell had to feel just a bit opportunistic knowing the win wasn’t as easy as the score would indicate. It’s a game that will help the young Cougar squad that returns next season.
"I’m a big believer in that," Beardsley said of experience. "We played in the (Somerset) County semifinal and now this. Every time you play in these big games, they get more used to it. These kinds of games, with considerable implications, they add the program. They’re put somewhere and they’re used later. This group is going to remember the feeling that we were almost there."
MHS will lose six seniors – Julie Baugh, Dubin, Dora Gucunski, Hockemeier, Kelly Quinlan and Lauren Thurlow – who were a big part of helping Beardsley improve the program in just two short years. They leave a Cougar team that is the best it’s been in their careers.
"This year was a definite improvement," said Beardsley despite replacing eight starters from last year and losing two potential starters to injury this season. "In every single aspect, I’ve done the assessment, this group is a better team. They’ve done it. They’ve responded. We didn’t necessarily win the big games last year. We did this year and that puts them a step above."
Beardsley expects the improvement to continue next year. A large group of freshmen and eighth graders will have their chance to step in and step up next year.
"I’m completely confident," Beardsley said. "My experience with winning a national championship in college is that I expect in two years to win the County and the state championship. I think next year we’ll be solid. Amanda Matheson will be a captain and we’ll have to replace those six seniors. Part of the difficulty right now is that I’m pretty tight with that senior class. But I don’t think there will be a letdown next season."