VERONICA YANKOWSKI East Brunswick’s Kari Devine dribbles past South Brunswick’s Cherise Johnson during their Red Division battle in East Brunswick on Monday.
It has become a fall ritual around these parts. As sure as the leaves turn, the clocks are moved back and a new season of The Simpsons begins, you can also count on the East Brunswick High School girls soccer team being among the best in the state every year.
This season, the Lady Bears have been the best, at least according to this week’s state poll which has them ranked No. 1 in New Jersey, as they took a perfect 8-0 record into Wednesday’s game against Peddie Prep.
But boasting an outstanding record and being at or near the top of the state poll is certainly nothing new for the EBHS girls soccer program. The Bears have been a perennial power almost from the day the program was born in 1978.
In fact, by its third season, 1980, East Brunswick won the Greater Middlesex Conference championship. That started a remarkable run by the Bears, who have won the GMC title 21 straight years to go along with 21 Red Division crowns in a row.
What’s more, the Bears have captured seven state championships, claiming the title in 1986 and ‘87, 1989 and ‘90, and in 1992, ‘94 and ‘96.
Did someone say dynasty?
And if the above numbers aren’t impressive enough, consider that the East Brunswick girls soccer program, now in its 24th season, has compiled an overall record of 446-48-24, an amazing .903 winning percentage.
So what exactly is the Bears’ secret?
"It’s called good kids," said head coach Lou Kosa, who began the program and has been the only head coach the Bears have ever had. "Our kids work hard, they believe in our system, and, of course, we have some great athletes."
Kosa is also quick to give a lot of credit to the successful youth program in town, the East Brunswick Soccer Club, which was established in the mid 1980s and has helped develop players for the high school team for the last 16 years.
But while the Lady Bears are enjoying another one of their stellar seasons, Kosa knew this year’s team could be extra special with a number of veteran players back from last year’s 20-3 club.
"We only graduated three starters from last year’s team, so we figured this would be a good year for us," Kosa said. "If things pan out, we could cause some problems for other teams."
That’s putting it rather mildly. East Brunswick has already beaten two of their biggest rivals, Old Bridge 2-1 and Piscataway 6-0. And they’ve met every other challenge in their path so far, including a 3-1 win over local rival South Brunswick on Monday night.
"We’re 8-0, but we’ve had some real good games," the low-keyed Kosa pointed out.
One of them did not take place last Saturday, however, as the Bears completely dominated Edison to the tune of 14-1. In that game, forward Heather O’Reilly scored five goals, including her 100th career goal. And she’s only a junior.
"She’s so fast it’s unbelievable," Kosa said of the three-year starter who leads the team with 21 goals and is also a member of the under-19 Olympic team. "She has great movement, too. It’s not just speed. And she’s only going to get better."
That’s a scary thought for opposing teams. But the Bears have other offensive weapons, like senior forward Elana Lidor, a two-year starter who recorded 14 goals last year and has five this season.
The Bears also have a solid group of halfbacks, led by senior co-captain and outside halfback Ashley Stapleton.
"She’s one of our team leaders," Kosa said of the three-year starter. "She works both ends of the field."
Senior center halfback Kari Devine is another three-year starter who Kosa calls "our hub."
"She gets the ball and distributes it well to the other players," he said. "She already has seven or eight assists."
The other outside halfback is junior Jenna Barbato, who’s starting for the second year in a row.
"She’s our hustler," the EBHS coach noted. "She goes up and down the field non-stop."
But there’s no question the key to the Lady Bears’ success this season has been their outstanding defense, which has given up only eight goals through the first eight games, and some of those were after a majority of the starters had been pulled.
"I can’t say enough about our defense," Kosa said.
The veteran coach likes to play double stoppers and has gone with a pair of second-year starters in junior Justine Barbato, Jenna’s twin sister, up front, and senior Chantal Hagen as the back stopper.
Meanwhile, Ilana Unger, the other senior co-captain and yet another three-year starter, plays one of the outside defender positions.
"She’s probably our best defender back there," Kosa said.
The other outside defender is senior Erin Kennedy, who was injured most of last season, but is healthy and back this season. Rounding out a talented quintet is junior sweeper Sylvia Majdanski, a two-year starter.
"She holds us together back there," Kosa said. The beneficiary of all that defense is goalkeeper Alissa Kacar, a senior starting her second season in the nets.
There’s also no shortage of depth on the Bears. In fact, senior striker Jillian Nagy, who started two of the previous three seasons (she was injured as a sophomore), now comes off the bench, as does sophomore midfielder Lisa Chinn and junior defender Kaitlin Parke.
Add it all up and it’s easy to see why East Brunswick High is the team to beat again this season.
"These girls just love to play soccer," Kosa said. "They’re very close-knit as a team." And very focused on the task at hand.
"Our goal this season is to do three things," the coach said. "First, we want to win the Red Division again, which would give us 22 in a row. Then we want to win the county tournament for the same reason. And third, we want to get back to the state championship. It’s been five years since we’ve won it. We have a good chance, too, if things fall right."
About as good a chance as the leaves turning colors.