Monroe blanks Colonia in girls soccer

By: Carolyn M. Hartko
   The rain this past Monday didn’t do as much damage to high school sports schedules as it could have. Many area teams, including the Monroe Township High School varsity girls’ soccer squad, simply moved those Monday games to Tuesday.
   It was a profitable move for the Lady Falcons, who downed visiting Colonia, 2-0, in a Greater Middlesex Conference White Division match. That win, plus a loss to Sayreville on Saturday, brings the Falcons to 6-3.
   Senior forward Niki Notaro set up the game winner for Marissa Tringali in the 30th minute of play, then scored an unassisted goal herself with one minute left in the first half. Monroe keeper Lindsay Jones made eight saves to preserve the shutout.
   "Niki set up Marissa pretty nicely," Falcon coach Matt DeFilippis said. "Marissa was playing on the left side. Niki crossed it over to her, and she shot it in. Niki’s goal came off a bouncing ball in front of the goalie. The goalie mishandled it, and Niki put it in."
   Sayreville is currently tied with North Brunswick for first place in the White Division. The Falcons and Bombers fought a scoreless dual on Saturday until Sayreville finally notched the game winner with just three minutes left in the second overtime.
   "It was a really, really good game," DeFilippis said. "It was one of the best girls’ soccer games I’ve seen in a long time. Even the ref made a comment about that after the game. And also, the sportsmanship during the game was really good on both sides."
   DeFilippis felt the two teams were well-matched, and he’s already looking forward to the rematch on Oct. 15. The Falcons had several chances to break the stalemate in the first overtime, but couldn’t put the ball away.
   "Lindsay Jones had a really good game in goal," the coach added. "She made a some great saves on a couple of break-aways where she stopped some goals. She really stepped up in that game."
   The Falcon defense has been solid so far this season. Monroe has registered three shutout victories, and they’ve given up a single goal in five other games. But DeFilippis is still looking to increase the scoring on offense.
   "We’re making some adjustments with the forwards," the coach said. "(Tuesday) I moved Marissa up to the wing, and I’m thinking about leaving her up there. And I’m trying to get my forwards to check back a little bit so that they don’t stay so far forward all the time. They’re getting caught looking for that long pass that just doesn’t come. We’re still working on that, and hopefully, the move I made will make a difference, and we’ll score."
   Monroe will be at Bishop Ahr on Friday, and they host South Brunswick for an out-of-division game next Wednesday.