Rainouts, choppy schedule are hindrance
By:Sean Moylan
There is no doubt that the Bordentown Regional High School girls’ varsity soccer team is a multi-talented squad.
Yet rainouts, canceled games and a choppy schedule have prevented the Scotties from showing other quality teams what they are capable of doing.
"Personally, I don’t think we’re playing well. We’re not in a rhythm yet," said Bordentown head coach Dominick Castaldo after his team pulverized Burlington City 4-0 at Bordentown last Tuesday afternoon.
Nonetheless, Emily Napolitano (assisted by Bonnie Greene), Lauren Nucera (assisted by Lauren Dellafave), Bonnie Greene (assisted by Emily Napolitano) and Lauren Dellafave (assisted by Courtney Sirak) all scored goals for the Scotties.
Moreover, Nucera, Greene, Napolitano, Michele Gore and Heather Anderson all played extremely well according to Coach Castaldo.
However, the game was a mismatch with the Scotties taking 19 shots while the Blue Devils got off only 3. Bordentown goalie Tammy Exner’s (2 saves) unique talents were not needed.
Following a long layoff, the Scotties played a home game versus Moorestown last Friday and their rust showed as they fell by a 7-0 score.
"We weren’t ready," said Coach Castaldo, whose team could never quite get into the flow of the game. "They (Moorestown) are a good team."
Coach Castaldo likes playing the good teams, but when those games come after a three-day layoff or after playing a weak team, the results can be devastating.
"We haven’t proven to ourselves that we can beat the good teams," added Coach Castaldo, who craves consistency in his team’s schedule and appearance.
Bordentown, however, will get an opportunity to face a solid Falcons’ club at Burlington Township this Thursday. On Friday the Scotties are scheduled at New Egypt and on Tuesday they are scheduled to host Florence. Bonnie Greene leads the 4-2-1 Scotties in scoring with 6 goals and 2 assists. Emily Napolitano (2 goals, 6 assists) and Michele Gore (4 goals) have also been very productive for Bordentown.
NBCû
After three straight losses, the Northern Burlington County Regional High girls’ varsity soccer team came out on fire on Tuesday and crushed Pemberton 4-1 on the road.
With the score tied 1-1 in the second half, NBC’s Amy Hoyer delivered the key goal of the game.
"Amy Hoyer beat the left fullback with an awesome ball fake and then drilled the ball to the near post, beating the goalie to give us the lead," said NBC head coach Terry Jennings, who has been looking for more offense from her squad.
Then with 2:32 left in the game, NBC’s Brett Scharite converted a Nicole Patrick pass into a goal.
A little over a minute later, Amy Hoyer scored again on a Ashley Gibbs’ pass for NBC’s final tally.
Ashley Gibbs had earlier set up her younger sister Kourtney Gibbs’ goal, which had given NBC a 1-0 halftime lead.
"We were a better skill team," Coach Jennings remarked.
In a physical game, Northern simply wore down Pemberton with its superior conditioning.
NBC collected 23 shots on goal to only 10 by Pemberton. Erin Walton, NBC’s goalie, made 8 saves.
By direct contrast, Delran bombarded Walton with 27 shots in the Bears’ 3-0 victory over the Greyhounds at Northern last Friday. Walder made 20 saves to keep it close.
"We had some good opportunities to score," added Coach Jennings, whose club got off 6 shots but had several good looks at the opposing goalie. Last Wednesday at Rancocas Valley, NBC lost a tough 2-1 decision despite 13 saves by Walton.
With 1:40 left in the contest, Amy Hoyer notched NBC’s only goal on a direct kick. Northern had a total of 11 shots in the game.
The 4-5 Greyhounds are now scheduled to host Moorestown on Thursday and Hightstown on Tuesday.
LCAû
Surprise! Surprise! The Life Center Academy girls’ varsity soccer team is now the only remaining undefeated soccer club at Life Center.
This past week the Warriors (6-0) pounded Solebury Prep, 10-0, at LCA on Tuesday and they won a 4-2 road game against Pemberton last Friday.
At Pemberton, Stefani Bodrog got LCA on the board with a pretty first half goal over the keeper’s head. In the second half, Jackie Steffen, using her famous aggressive style, tallied 3 times for the Warriors.
Meanwhile, LCA had 25 shots to 17 by Pemberton. LCA goalkeeper Sarah Lewis made 13 saves.
Pemberton was physical, but Life Center, nevertheless, dominated.
"Ashley Birney and Kim Barbera, on defense, had excellent games," added LCA head coach Tammy Nowicki. Stefani Bodrog, Sarah Lockley and Amy Corson each had 2 goals in Life Center’s big win over Solebury Prep. Jessica Keane, Marissa Mohrmann, Helen brown and Sarah Lewis each added single goals against Solebury.
"It was a pretty unexciting game," said Coach Nowicki, whose squad took a commanding 5-0 lead into the half. Sarah Lewis and Melinda Hinson split the duties in goal for LCA but neither faced a shot.
With 13 goals apiece, Stefani Bodrog and Jackie Steffen are tied for the team lead in goals.
Life Center is scheduled to play a road game versus a very aggressive Akiba squad on Thursday. Then on Tuesday, Life Center is scheduled to host Girard.
FLORENCEû
Despite 20 shots on goal, the Florence Township Memorial High School girls’ varsity soccer squad lost a 2-0 home game to Medford Tech last Wednesday.
Medford Tech scored a minute into the game and then tallied again with 5 minutes to go in the contest.
Then on Tuesday, Palmyra defeated Florence, 6-1. Jenna Floyd, who recently moved up to play in the midfield, scored the Flashes’ lone goal, 20 minutes into the second half. Florence’s Katie Thompson made 10 saves as Palmyra took 18 shots on its home field.
"We weren’t as aggressive to the ball," said Florence head coach George Chwastyk, who referred to this season as a "baptism under fire" for his young squad.
The 0-6-3 Flashes will now go back to the basics to prepare for Thursday’s game at Riverside. Mandy Zacharkow, Florence’s top defender, is slowly being eased back into the Flashes’ lineup after coming back from an injury.
On Friday Florence is scheduled at Allentown and on Tuesday it is scheduled at Bordentown. Hopefully, Florence will get its first win sometime this week.

