By: Carolyn M. Hartko
For the second year in a row, the Monroe Township High School girls’ varsity soccer team has jumped out to a great start. The Lady Falcons edged J.P. Stevens 2-1 in the season opener, then blanked Hamilton West 4-1 for a 2-0 record.
Monday’s contest at Hamilton proved to be one-sided as Monroe cruised to a 2-0 half time lead off goals by sophomore striker Katie Lederman and senior Niki Notaro. The game was put out of reach when Kristie Gioino scored in the second half, and Lederman made it 4-0 shortly after. Hamilton got on the board just before the end of the game.
"We kind of dominated," Falcon head coach Matt DeFilippis said. "We had 25 shots (on goal) to about nine by them. And most of the play was in their end."
Things were not quite so easy against Greater Middlesex Conference foe J.P. Stevens last Saturday. It took a penalty kick to break a 1-1 tie with just 10 minutes left in the game.
"Lederman was taken down from behind in the box," DeFilippis said. "We were given a penalty kick and Niki scored the winning goal."
It turns out that Monroe’s hot offense is not a result of the new format DeFilippis tried to put in place during the pre-season. Instead of the 4-4-2 lineup, the Falcons are back to their old standard, with three halfbacks and three forwards. It’s partly because the girls are more comfortable with the old format.
"It’s also that Marissa Tringali has a pulled groin muscle," DeFilippis said. "I think that her not being at full strength made it harder to do the 4-4-2. I was depending on her to keep the left side going."
While posting a high scoring victory is always fun, it was Saturday’s close game with the Lady Hawks that is a better predictor regarding the outcome of the 2001 season for the Lady Falcons. And DeFilippis was cautiously optimistic after these first two games.
"I think we’re going to be all right," the coach said. "The frontlines are just starting to work. They’re starting to click together right now. We’re getting some good combination passes now with the wings passing into the middle. So, things are starting to look better, as far as the offense."
The Falcons were scheduled to have their first test in the GMC’s White Division on Thursday of this week at Colonia. They host Woodbridge at 10 a.m. Saturday.
THROW-INS: Junior Lindsay Jones has started well in her first season in goal.The junior squashed eight attempts by JPS, and made 11 saves against Hamilton West.

