Cougars expect to surprise teams with experienced team
By: Justin Feil
While most opponents of the Montgomery High girls’ soccer team will gain confidence because of who isn’t in the green and white this season, the Cougars are focusing on what they can do with the players who have returned.
For the first time in head coach Jeremy Beardsley’s tenure, Christina Araps and Kristina Adams are not on the MHS team. Both graduated after standout careers.
"There are people on Skyland Conference teams and in the county that are saying, ‘They don’t have Araps and Adams. They’re not going to be good,’" Beardsley said. "Our team can use that as motivation. Our players are saying that they’re still here and very solid. We have something to prove. That’s their motivation. There are some teams that are going to be surprised when we step on the field."
Araps and Adams combined to score 22 goals last year and had 19 assists. The rest of the team had 24 goals and 22 assists.
"The thing we’re going to miss is Christina Araps played with an intensity of fire that most athletes don’t have," Beardsley said. "Adams played with unbelievable energy up top. They combined for something special. When you came to a game, you always noticed one of them.
"But when you talk about our team now, 20 people are going to make up for that. There isn’t going to be another Christina Araps for a long time. There’s no one at her level in Montgomery. She took over a couple games last year. Adams had some big goals. We don’t have a player who can take over for one game."
Montgomery has plenty of weapons to choose from, as 10 seniors make up more than half the roster and there is experience beyond even those players.
"In the last couple years, we’ve only had three or four seniors each year," Beardsley said. "We have 10 this year, and six or seven could be on the field at the same time. I’m interested to see how that works.
"It should translate into success. The seniors were here two years ago when we won the conference. There’s no question we have a team that could do well in the conference, as well as the county as well as the states. The chemistry is awesome."
Beardsley envisions a team in which seven or eight girls could tie for team-high goal-scoring honors. And, with a miserly defense that returns intact, the Cougars don’t need many goals to win games.
In recent years, though, MHS has not had problems winning games per se, but winning the ones that would hold them in highest regard. Beardsley believes there’s still that chance this season.
"We have a bunch of really solid players," he said. "Together, they can accomplish more than Adams and Araps did."
For Montgomery, that means a Somerset County or Central Jersey Group III championship. MHS is two years removed from winning a Skyland Conference title. The Cougars would like to get back to those days.
"I don’t know if it’s because I went to Bridgewater, but I always look at counties and conferences first," Beardsley said. "I measure how good my team is against that, not the states. Those are bigger schools, and we’ve been competitive with those teams. We’re just missing the breakthrough goal or game. I think this team can do it.
"Every year, we have lofty goals. With this unit, with our seniors and experienced juniors and talented sophomores, I have good feelings. At the same time, we have serious questions."
Prior to his fifth season, Beardsley took steps to start answering those questions early. The Cougars went to North Carolina for a team camp together.
"It’s the first time I’ve taken a high school team away," Beardsley said. "It was an unbelievable experience. We played some great soccer and saw some really good teams. And they bonded. That was the big thing.
"Everything is really in place for a big year. It’s the first year I can’t put my finger on one superstar. There isn’t one girl that everyone can say, ‘She’ll carry us.’ It’s going to have to be different people who score big goals for us. Everyone has to be there for us. We have to carry each other, and that’s also fun to see."
Except, of course, if you’re a surprised opponent of the Montgomery High girls’ soccer team. And with a tight knit, balanced Cougars group, there’s bound to be a few of them this season.