Local teams featured on a great day for soccer
Raiders, Vikings play
key opposition
to mixed results
VERONICA YANKOWSKI East Brunswick’s Kari Devine dribbles past South Brunswick’s Cherise Johnson during their Red Division battle in East Brunswick.
There are certain days within each regular season high school schedule that stick out to coaches and players alike as important dates. For the local soccer scene, Monday was one of those days.
Both the boys and girls teams at the local high schools had key matchups with teams that make up their top competitors for their respective division titles. And with wins on Monday, both the boys and girls soccer teams could take substantial steps forward in their chases for division championships at the halfway point of the regular season.
We start in North Brunswick, where the girls soccer team played host to the No. 4 ranked team in the Greater Middlesex Conference, the Sayreville Bombers. The Bombers entered the contest at 4-0-1 and were the favorite to walk away with the GMC’s White Division title at the end of the year.
The Raiders were also flying high, entering the game, carrying a 5-0-1 record into the contest and ready to stake its claim as the division’s top team.
Mission accomplished. The Raiders dominated the Bombers on Monday, cruising to a 5-0 win behind goals from Tricia Veloso, Jenna Peragallo, Patty Clark, Keri Petrone and Cristina Valentino, and some solid goaltending from Annie Kelnhofer, who stopped all 12 shots she faced en route to her third shutout.
The win put the Raiders in the driver’s seat in the division race, and gave them the confidence needed to start the second half of the regular season as the team to beat.
As for the North Brunswick boys, they too entered Monday’s game looking to secure their spot atop the White Division, while distancing themselves from a strong Sayreville team. The Raiders ended last game at 3-1-1, while the Bombers were at 3-2-1.
The Bombers jumped on the Raiders early, getting out to a 2-0 lead, before North Brunswick responded with three second-half goals to get the win. Goals were scored by Sean Cameron, Mike Robles and Weston Pearson with Cameron’s goal at the 4:11 mark being the game-winner.
North Brunswick has another important game tomorrow, when they travel to Colonia, who ended last week in second place in the division at 4-2.
Meanwhile, the soccer teams at South Brunswick High School were in similar situations, facing their toughest Red Division opponents. Unfortunately, their opponents were the East Brunswick Bears, the top-ranked boys and girls teams in the GMC, neither of which have lost a game yet this season.
In the girls game at South Brunswick, the Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Heather O’Reilly goal. But the Vikings, who entered the game at 4-1-1, came back to tie the game at the 14:07 mark of the first half on a Kiana Johnson goal.
But the Bears’ attack was relentless, and eventually it was O’Reilly again who gave the Bears the lead with her second goal of the first half. East Brunswick padded the lead four minutes into the second half, when Lisa Chinn found the back of the net for the 3-1 lead.
From there, the East Brunswick defense took over, continually setting up the Bear offense with scoring chances. South Brunswick goalie Rebecca Dezan was brilliant, keeping her team in the game while posting 37 saves. The Vikings only managed 11 shots on goal.
The Vikings will look to bounce back from the disappointing loss tomorrow, when they face another of the GMC’s top teams, the seventh-ranked Old Bridge Knights. The Vikings notched a win against Old Bridge earlier this year, but will need to play even better if they hope to top an improved Knights team once again.
As for the South Brunswick boys, they had the equally daunting challenge of facing the East Brunswick boys team. The Vikings entered the game at 5-2-1, only a couple of games behind the undefeated Bears (7-0), and were anxious to make a statement to the rest of the conference that they too were one of the teams to beat.
But the game was over early, as East Brunswick jumped out to a quick four-goal lead, and never looked back. By the time the final whistle blew, the Bears had built a 6-0 lead after dominating play for much of the game.
South Brunswick learned firsthand that all the talk about East Brunswick’s vaunted defense is legitimate, as they only got off five shots for the game. The Bears’ smothering defense has only allowed four goals on the year, and two of those came in their Sept. 13 5-2 win over the Vikings.
So on a day when all four soccer teams from the local high schools had an opportunity to stake their claims as some of the conference’s elite teams, two came through. But don’t look down upon the efforts of the South Brunswick squads. After all, they lost to a pair of teams who have been nothing short of dominant to this point of the season.
And, if they continue to play to the level they have been, they’ll probably get another shot at the Bears in the state playoffs, where anything can happen.
As for the North Brunswick teams, they’re taking it game by game, knowing that they are now the teams to beat in their respective divisions.