Girls SoccerThe Lawrence High School girls soccer squad qualified for the state tournament last season for the first time in 15 years.
By: Mike Molaro
The Cardinals enjoyed their run to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III championship game and focused on returning this year.
After a win-one, lose-one pattern started to develop early on, Lawrence realized it needed to step things up or that much sought after invitation wouldn’t arrive in the mail.
Then the seniors took charge and made it clear that they would lead the way to the state tournament.
The Cardinals took a huge step in qualifying for the tournament with a clutch 2-1 victory last Friday evening over Nottingham before a sizable and vocal crowd at Zimmer Field.
With the triumph, the Cardinals upped their record to 5-4 and stayed on pace to hit the Oct. 19 state tournament cut-off date with the necessary .500 record.
Junior forward Christine Lino provided the game-winner by scoring her first varsity goal with 15 minutes remaining in the second half after the Northstars had tied the score just two minutes earlier.
Sophomore midfielder Torey Edgcomb gave Lawrence a 1-0 advantage 10 minutes into the second half with her second varsity goal, as she worked her way around two Nottingham defenders.
Juniors Jessica Handlemann (four saves) and Lynda Zottman (three saves) shared the goaltending duties.
"We played pretty well defensively," Cardinal head coach Dave Boggs said. "Nottingham was pressing us at the end but we hung in there and our defense continued to battle. Christine (Lino) picked a great time to score her first varsity goal.
"The girls felt that this was a ‘must win’ game. I think we finally played a solid 80 minutes of soccer. We came out of the gate and played well. We played aggressively from start to finish."
Before Lawrence took the field against the ‘Stars, the Cardinal seniors provided the leadership spark that could result in back-to-back state tournament berths for the first time since the mid-1980s.
"The seniors spoke to the team the practice before the Nottingham game," added Boggs. "The girls remember last year. They remember the hard work and determination it took to get to the state tournament. This is their last year and they want to go out with a bang."
While the offense is still trying to find the right buttons the Cardinals have been shut out in their four losses Lawrence has been a tower of power on defense.
"Our defenders, Tiffany Robert (junior), Samantha Breiman (senior), April Spanicciati (junior), and Victoria Johnson (junior) have done an outstanding job all season," Boggs said. "We don’t have a shutout, but they have kept us in just about every game all year."
The Cardinals know what they have to do to qualify for the state tournament for the second-straight season.
The seniors will make sure of that.