Last year the St. John Vianney girls soccer team won the overall Parochial State Championship, knocking off the nation’s No. 1-ranked team Immaculate Heart Academy of Westwood along the way.
At the end of their unlikely run, senior Tami Coyle, one of the state’s most celebrated high school players, was asked what the highlight of the season was.
"Beating Red Bank Catholic in the finals of the Shore Conference Tournament," she answered.
And if that doesn’t give you an inkling as to the magnitude of this rivalry, all you had to do was take a trip to Raritan High School in Hazlet Monday night and look at the faces on the girls that make up this year’s squads. Nobody, on either side, had forgotten the feelings associated with Vianney’s 2-1 win last year.
And when the whistle blew, it became a matter of revenge for the top-ranked Caseys, who were not about to let the Lancers defend their title. They dominated play from the outset, playing aggressively while remaining under control, and came away with an emotional 3-0 victory in front of a raucous crowd that obviously understood what a special game they were watching.
How fitting that the Caseys’ lone senior, Jillian Danback, would be the one to put RBC on the board, blasting a rebound off her own shot past SJV goalkeeper Kaila O’Donnell at the 11:52 mark on the first half. The goal set off a celebration on the RBC sidelines that would only become more animated as the night wore on.
At the 18:53 mark, Brittany Smith delivered a long kick that freshman Sara Grimsgaard headed into the net, pushing the lead to 2-0.
From there it was outstanding junior midfielder Natalie Cocchi’s turn to enact some revenge. Cocchi, who was all over the field from the outset, made her mark on the contest at the 24:13 mark when she found the net with a 25-yard direct kick. RBC (16-1-2) had a 3-0 lead and was looking like the best team in the Shore Conference for the second time in the last three years.
The Holmdel Lancers (17-2) did their best to mount a comeback, and, like all great champions do, did not make things easy for their opponent. Led by Alison Regler, Vianney continued to apply pressure on the RBC defense. At the 34:34 mark, Regler ripped a shot that appeared destined to find the back of the net, but RBC goalie Kaitlin Lannon dove to deflect it and maintained the lead.
Later on it was Regler again shooting from point-blank range, only to watch Lannon make another clutch save. The sophomore, who took over goaltending duties for the Caseys when starter Ashley Fedyshyn tore knee ligaments on opening day, came up big time and time again on Monday, which should provide both herself and her teammates with confidence as they head into state tournament play.
Her final save came at the 69:50 mark off a shot from Briana Gilmartin. In total, she made seven saves en route to her 10th shutout of the season.
When the final whistle blew, the memories of last season’s SCT final finally began to dissipate for the Caseys.
— Doug McKenzie