Vianney girls shock the nation’s top-ranked team
Win 1-0 over
Immaculate Heart
in Parochial A final
When the season began, St. John Vianney girls soccer Coach Mike Alosco knew his team had a chance to win against just about anyone they faced along the way.
As a result, he set some lofty goals for his team, considering he only had three seniors leading it.
"At the beginning of the year our goal was to reach the finals of the Shore Conference and state (Parochial A) tournaments," the coach said. "As it turned out, we accomplished both of those goals, and a lot more."
Despite his expectations for a successful year, even Alosco must admit that he was pleasantly surprised with his team’s 1-0 win on Friday night in the Parochial A championship game at Kean University, Union. For this was not just a battle of the two top teams in the state.
The Lancers’ opponents on Friday were the girls from Immaculate Heart Academy, of Westwood in Bergen County, a team on a 56-game winning streak, which had earned it the distinction of the being the top-ranked high school team in the nation, according to the National High School Soccer Coaches Association poll.
But the girls from Vianney were on a streak of their own, and were poised to showed the Blue Eagles what many people who have followed this team throughout the year have suspected all along. They are the best girls soccer team in the state.
"I can’t say that I expected to win the championship," Alosco admitted. "But I knew we had a lot of talent and that we would be able to compete with them. This team has a special attitude, which, when combined with their athletic abilities, makes them champions."
Going into the final game, Alosco knew his team would have to play the game of their lives to win, but he added that he had plenty of confidence that they would do just that.
"I was a little surprised that we won, but certainly not overly surprised," he said. "These girls have stepped up all year and have improved with every game.
"They won 14 games in a row during the toughest stretch of the season," he added. "And that’s when I started to think that we could do something special. They saved their best soccer for the end of the year."
The Blue Eagles (23-1), whose last loss came to Paramus in a 1998 Bergen County tournament game, came out firing on Friday, showing the aggressiveness that has made them so unbeatable for almost three years. But the Lancers (22-1) did not roll over, and actually outplayed the Blue Eagles for much of the first half.
"I thought if they scored on us right away that it might have shaken us up a little bit," Alosco said. "But we stayed with them from the beginning. In fact, the girls were upset at halftime because they really thought we should have taken the lead."
The lead came at the 49:28 mark when Tami Coyle, a senior midfielder who is one of the top high school athletes in the state, launched Vianney’s second corner kick of the night towards the net.
Christina Andaya, another senior, got the ball and sent it directly in front of the net, six yards out.
From there it was Vianney’s third senior, Deana Contri, who Alosco said is the team’s best defensive player, who finished the play, blasting a low liner past All-state goaltender Marisa Suarez and into the lower left corner of the net. It was Contri’s third goal of the season, but none were bigger for the Lancers.
From there, the Blue Eagles picked up their intensity on offense, showing the heart of a champion. However, the Vianney defense continued to play well in front of junior goaltender Cheri Wittlieb, who made a key save on a shot off the foot of Allissa Franchini with 6:50 to play.
Following the win, the Vianney players celebrated what had become a championship season. It seemed fitting to everyone that the three players directly involved in the game-winning goal were the team’s three seniors.
"Losing Tami, Christina and Deanna will certainly make a difference," Alosco said. "Tami and Deanna have been great captains for this team and they will be missed."
But Alosco is happy to see those players leave on such a high note, and is confident that their legacy will be continued in the coming seasons.
"We’re losing three very good players, but we do have 17 coming back," he said. "I’m already looking forward to next year."
And with good reason. This is a state-championship team that looks like the team to beat for the next few years.