in Spotswood today
Face biggest threat
in Spotswood today
BY RICHARD JEROME
Staff Writer
In her first season as head coach of the South River High School girls’ soccer team, former assistant Sarah Stout has five returning players and a lot of new faces.
So far, so good: the Rams, who went 17-3 last year, are 4-0 thus far, after a 10-1 drubbing of Carteret, a 3-0 shutout against Bishop Ahr, a 3-2 come-from-behind win over New Brunswick, and most recently, a 4-2 win over Metuchen on Monday.
"I have a very good team," said Stout, who is assisted by JV coach Chris Brasno.
"We lost a lot of seniors, and we have a new goalkeeper, but we’re still fairly strong."
Certainly one of the team stalwarts is senior forward Chris Mongelli, who was one of the county’s leading scorers last year with 33 goals.
"She’s improved between last year and this year," Stout said of the captain. "Chris has become a vocal leader on the field."
Sophomore sweeper Melissa Kahse, another returnee, is a talented defender with a solid knowledge of the game, while among the other three veterans, senior Kristen Petruska and her sophomore sister Sarah are both speedy performers, the former at midfield and the latter at forward.
"Sarah really pushes the ball around, " says Stout. "And she made it to the Meet of Champions as a sprinter, so she can run. Kristen knows the field and positions herself well."
Junior stopper Tara Takac is another excellent all-around performer, back for another varsity campaign.
Rounding out the starters are Laura Kahse, a junior in the middle, senior halfback Lauren Herrick, defender Sylvia Algaba, another senior, junior defender Heather Walling, and in goal, Tyesha Clark, up from the jayvees.
Stout said that Clark has looked strong in goal, and is only going to get better.
"She’s dedicated, hard-working and athletic," said her coach. "She’s gaining more confidence all the time."
Another senior, midfielder Christina DeCorsa has a great foot, according to Stout, and knows how to position herself.
The Rams survived a scare against New Brunswick on Friday, scoring three second-half goals to pull out the win. Petruska scored the game-winner with 15 minutes remaining, after Mongelli notched her seventh goal of the season to get the Rams on the board, and Takac tied the contest six minutes later. On Monday, Petruska had a goal and an assist to power the Rams past Metuchen, while Mongelli chipped in with a hat trick to pace the attack.
Today, the Rams will take on a Spotswood team that entered yesterday’s game with Bishop Ahr at 4-0. The Chargers shut out Highland Park, 5-0, on Monday, as senior forward Noelia Romero paced the attack with two goals and three assists. Both Spotswood and South River are among the Greater Middlesex Conference’s top teams, ranked sixth and seventh respectively when the week began, and remain the Blue Division’s top contenders.
Notes… The Sayreville Bombers got to 4-0 on Tuesday with an impressive 4-0 win over North Brunswick, led by senior forward Kim Griffith’s hat trick. Sayreville, who will take on Colonia later today, currently sits atop the GMC’s White Division, although Monroe Falcons is not far behind at 3-1-1.