South River girls ready to make postseason run
Finish regular season 1/2 point behind division champ Spotswood
Entering the 2001 season, Coach Kerry Sinclair was a little concerned about the prospects of his South River High School girls soccer team, which had gone 14-4-2 last fall.
"We knew we had a pretty new group, and we were starting a couple of freshmen," he said. "But they came through for us."
Indeed. The Rams finish their season against South Plainfield today, having bettered last year’s winning percentage, running up a sterling 13-1-2 mark, their only loss having come at the hands of Spotswood, which edged SRHS out for the Blue Division crown by half a point.
"It was really a combination of things," Sinclair said of the team’s success. "Our midfield is doing exceptionally well, and our defense has been strong all year."
In fact, South River has scored 72 goals this season while yielding a mere 14, less than a goal per game. The team sparkplug in the middle is junior Katie Daly, who has contributed 16 goals and 13 assists to the South River attack.
"She’s in on every play, setting things up or scoring," said Sinclair, who is looking ahead to Monday’s start of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament (the seeding meeting is tomorrow night) and the states, which open up on Oct. 30.
Other midfielders include freshmen Laura Kahse and Tara Takac, a stopperback, and junior captain Jennifer Yong-Yow, who has played an excellent game at sweeper. Leading the club in goals is sophomore forward Christine Mongelli with 22 tallies to her credit. The only senior starter is captain Jeanette Lucas, while junior Heather Herrick is also featured at halfback.
On defense, the Rams have junior Tammy Wood in goal, where she has registered eight shutouts. But as her coach points out, she’s had lots of help from junior fullbacks Christine Jones and Monica Pitera.
"Our fullbacks have done an outstanding job," said Sinclair, who is assisted by junior varsity coach Sara Stout and middle school mentor Carrie Corvino.
Rounding out the squad, South River has senior halfback Lucy Lucas, sophomore halfback Christina Decorso and sophomore Kristen Petruska, who comes off the bench to fill in at fullback.
According to the coach, the Rams have received solid play from everyone on the roster throughout the season, making South River a dangerous team entering postseason play.
"We’ve jelled," said Sinclair, obviously pleased with both the team’s performance and its future. "And we’re doing fine."