South Brunswick blindsides Monroe’s girls soccer team

By: Carolyn M. Hartko
   After almost 70 minutes of scoreless soccer, visiting South Brunswick High’s girls soccer team netted two goals in less than a minute to clinch a 2-0 win over Monroe in Greater Middlesex Conference cross-over match Wednesday at Thompson Park.
   Viking junior Tanya Earl worked the ball from the midfield up the left wing to just inside the corner of the 18. Her chip shot found the space between the crossbar and Lady Falcon keeper Lindsay Jones, putting the Vikings up 1-0 with 11 minutes left in the game. Less than a minute later, Earl set up Kiana Johnson for a short tap to the lower left corner, giving the Vikings a two goal cushion.
   "Actually, I didn’t see the two goals," said Falcon assistant coach Greg Beyer, who was filling in for head coach Matt DeFilippis after DeFilippis’ father passed away on Tuesday. "I had my back turned, and it happened like that. I thought we played very, very well. We just need to take care of our opportunities. We get a lot of opportunities, and we’re not converting. And that’s been the story this whole season long."
   The Falcons had several good shots on goal in the first half. In addition, they had a sustained attack in the 35th minute that should have produced something. There were several shots back and forth across the Viking goalmouth. Sophomore Katie Lederman finally aimed one at the net, but Viking keeper Rebecca Dezan (11 saves) cut it off.
   South Brunswick played without starting sweeper Alissa Goldsmith who is sidelined with an injury. Although Earl has been one of the Vikings’ proven scorers this year, she replaced Goldsmith as sweeper. It wasn’t until Viking head coach Nancy Ducko switched midfielder Leia Rispoli with Earl that the Viking offense was able to punch through the Falcon defense.
   But the personnel changes didn’t have much effect on the Falcon strategy.
   "We didn’t really have a game plan today," Falcon midfielder Meg Farrell said. "We just knew that they had a 4-4-2, so we had to mark their forwards, because they were really fast. And their center midfields are really good, so we just had to mark tighter — more than usual."
   Jones, who posted seven saves during the game, came up big twice in the second half, keeping the game scoreless. About 12 minutes in, Viking Cherise Johnson flicked a header towards the goal off a corner kick, but Jones read the play correctly and made the catch. Ten minutes later, Jones stopped a hard shot by Earl, bobbled the ball, but recovered to smother it before the Vikings got a second bite.
   "I think it was an evenly played game," Beyer said. "(South Brunswick’s) a good team. I’d put us up against anybody right now. I just think we’ve got to learn to take advantage of our opportunities, that’s all."
   The loss puts the Falcons at 7-5, and the Vikings, who compete in the GMC’s Red Division, are now 7-3-2.
   There are just a few games left on the regular season schedule. The Falcons will be at Metuchen for a 2 p.m. game tomorrow (Saturday). They host Sayreville next Monday and North Brunswick on Wednesday. After that, it’s tournament time, and at least one Falcon feels her team is ready for post-season play.
   "We’ve really stepped it up since the beginning of the year," Farrell said. "We’re getting to know each other better, and how we play. We’re really starting to put passes together. In the beginning of the year, we weren’t connecting enough. But now we’re really starting to get it together."