Cougars top Pingry to reach semifinals
By: Justin Feil
The Montgomery High girls’ soccer team set a goal of winning a championship before the season began.
It didn’t matter which, a Skyland Conference, Somerset County Tournament or state tournament. It had been seven years since the Cougars had won the Skyland and accomplished such a feat.
For Amanda Mathisen and the two other Cougar seniors, there won’t be any more chances after this season. Mathisen made sure to keep alive MHS’ chances to win all three championships this season. Mathisen has three times this season scored two goals in a game for the Cougars.
The first time it happened, it helped them to a 3-1 win and season sweep of three-time Skyland Conference champion Somerville. The second time came in a 3-1 win over Voorhees last week. And it happened again in a 2-1 comeback win over Pingry in an SCT quarterfinal Saturday to keep alive their title shot.
"I probably want it more in the bigger games," Mathisen, an outside halfback, said. "In smaller games, it’s like someone’s going to score. I don’t worry about it as much."
For Mathisen, however, this year’s big games are a bit bigger with it being her final year in the green-and-white. And, at this point in the season, only big games remain. The Cougars, who improved to 11-2-3 with Saturday’s win, have a chance to accomplish their pre-season goal when they host Belvidere today. With a win, MHS would capture the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title.
"We blew it against North Warren," said MHS head coach Jeremy Beardsley of a 2-0 loss last week. "We could have won it then. I still feel we’re the class of the conference though."
Saturday, it showed why. It went out-of-conference to take on 11-1-1 Pingry, the SCT fifth seed, and fourth-seeded MHS put itself in an early hole. Pingry scored less than three minutes into the contest when MHS failed to clear the ball. It wasn’t what the Cougars had in mind for their first SCT action after receiving a first round bye, but they were prepared to come back.
"We never give up," Mathisen said. "Last year in the quarterfinals we scored in the last 30 seconds against Hillsborough to win. It was a bad start, but we had plenty of time. We knew we could pick it up."
Pingry kept the momentum through the first 20 minutes of the first half, but slowly the tide began to turn for Montgomery. The Cougars kept the ball down in Pingry’s end more in the last 20 minutes of the first half, but still couldn’t score.
Montgomery got its first goal when Laura Elgort, also a senior, came up from her back line position and just willed the ball through three Pingry defenders to Mathisen, who knocked it in from the left side with 20 minutes to play in the game. The Cougars’ game-winner came when junior Kristina Adams hustled to a loose ball and chipped a short pass to Mathisen, who also deposited that one from the left side.
"It’s always a team effort," said Mathisen, who also highlighted the six saves of MHS freshman goaltender Lindsay van Houten. "Everyone plays hard, even people who come in play hard. I just finished the goals. They did all the work."
But it came down to Mathisen in the big moment to win the big game, and the 17-year-old showed the composure of a senior as she calmly hammered both shots into the back of the net.
"Those were clinical finishes," Beardsley said. "Lately, she’s come up big. Adams had a good game. The first goal was just two seniors refusing to be denied. These seniors, they get you through the tough parts. The seniors, the few we have, really did the job."
Mathisen, Elgort and the third senior, Courtney Hayes, will look to continue their SCT title bid next Saturday against top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan. The Cougars are not scared, however, after seeing several publications rank them behind Pingry. Mathisen hopes that won’t be the case after Saturday, and even in coming years.
"They’re a good team and they have the name," she said. "That’s what we don’t have. We’re new in the soccer thing. We’re happy to beat them to show everyone that we’re good, too."
MHS’ win did come at a cost, as the Cougars appeared to lose freshmen Katie Cordier to a knee injury and Michelle Schuler to a broken wrist. Add that to the loss of their top midfield player, Christina Araps, and it’s incredible that they’ve continued to win.

