Lehman leads a Blue Devil barrage in state tourney
Blue Devils empty bench in opening round CJ Group I match-up
The Shore Regional High School girls soccer team may not have known much about their opponents, but they quickly found out that they could own the field against them.
In an opening round of the Central Jersey Group I tournament, the Blue Devils punched their way into the semifinals, defeating Highland Park, 8-0.
"We were nervous going into this game," said head coach Mike Migliorisi. "We have a secure defense we use when we go up against a powerful team, and we assumed they were strong since we were seeded fourth and they were fifth.
"I told the girls before the game that getting this far is a dream for most teams, but for them it was a reality. I think our defense played a great game, with the offense gelling together very nicely. The best part of today’s game was the girls’ attitude. They brought their ‘A’ game, played hard and did everything they had to do."
The Blue Devils’ seven-goal first half began with senior Megan Villane putting a Melissa Lehman cross inside the right post at the 1:27 mark.
"Even though we didn’t know what to expect from Highland Park, we were ready for this game," said Villane "We just came out and did what we needed to do. Once we began scoring we really began to get fired up."
Lehman would score two and half minutes later, rifling in a ball that was thrown into the box by junior midfielder, Jess Brozena.
Lehman went on to score three straight goals, giving Shore a 6-0 lead.
"I just wanted to play the best game I could," said Lehman. "This meant a lot to us to win this state game. Everyone plays so hard during the games; it’s nice to see us finish this way."
Lehman’s trio of scores started off when she looped a 15-yarder inside the near post, then shot a break-a-way header over the goalie, and shot an eight-yarder into the far side of the goal.
Earning assists for Lehman’s goals were Claire Goyette, Kristin Brady and Danielle Strollo.
Breaking up Lehman’s quartet of goals was Villane, who scored her second goal on another pass from Lehman.
Shore ended the first half with a goal from Brady. The seventh goal started when Goyette kicked in a corner strike in front of the Owls’ net. Brady deflected the high-crossing pass from the left side of the net into the rear right corner.
The Blue and White continued to dominate in the second half, slowly funneling in younger players as time went by.
Sophomore Tara Critelli added her name to the varsity scoring list, when she sent a second-opportunity shot into the net.
Shore peppered Leslie Feinburg with 20 shots, as the Owl recorded six saves.
Tory West only needed to make a pair of saves, as Highland Park was only allowed two shots on goal.