BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Above, Monroe’s Sasha Potter crashes into Sayreville goalie Jessica DaRold during the team’s 1-1 tie on Tuesday in Sayreville. At left, the Bombers’ Jessica Liquori and Falcons’ Ashley Armstrong battle for the ball. The Sayreville High School girls soccer team will be looking for its fourth triumph when it hosts Colonia this afternoon.
Coach Steve Fischer’s team opened the campaign with three straight wins, besting Perth Amboy, South Plainfield and South Brunswick before tying Monroe on Tuesday. The Bombers found themselves trailing 1-0 at the half against Monroe, who got a goal from Raven Chiara on a free kick, but Lisa Oberreiter knotted the match about halfway through the second half.
“I’m very happy with the girls’ teamwork,” the coach said. “They’re playing well, looking out for one another, and seven different girls have scored goals. It’s great to have that kind of balance.”
Sayreville has a good mix of seniors, a core of solid juniors and three sophomores. Co-captains Laura Fiorentino and Crystal Sager anchor a solid defense in front of junior netminder Jessica DaRold, who is backed up by sophomore Cara Wriolie. Janas Sarah, a soph, has made a strong impression early as a marking back. The Bombers have allowed just two goals thus far, one of them coming on a penalty kick.
Oberreiter and Laura Coyne provide a veteran presence in the middle, augmented by juniors Lauren Bednarz, Erin Dusko, Tori Esposito, Genevieve Kosanovich, Jessica Liquori, Vanessa Santos and sophomore Lynn Mayer, who has two goals and an assist.
Meghan Watters and junior Caileigh Giovenco provide offensive firepower — each has three goals in the early going. Juniors Nicole Christensen and Meghan Miller, along with Dusko also patrol the forward line.
“We have 19 players, and that’s fine because I like to keep fresh legs on the field,” Fischer said. “Our plan is to play at a very high pace throughout the game.”
It’s certainly worked well thus far. The Bombers have produced 13 goals and are off to a good start as they seek to better last fall’s 12-5-2 mark and earn another NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III playoff spot.
And there’s more good news. Fischer reported that the Bombers are now fielding junior varsity and freshman teams, coached by Carrie Corvino and Megan Smith, respectively. In addition, the Sayreville Middle School also fields a team.
“There’s a lot of interest in soccer, and as a result, our program is growing,” he said. “It’s good to see.”
Round-up… As usual, the majority of the local girls soccer teams have jumped out to fast starts this fall, and are putting themselves in position to make a run at their respective division titles.
While Sayreville entered the week tied with both Woodbridge and North Brunswick atop the GMC White Division standings, they now find themselves alone at the top, following North Brunswick’s 2-1 loss to South Brunswick on Monday, and Woodbridge’s 2-1 loss to Freehold Township. In addition, the Raiders and Barrons played to a 1-1 tie on Tuesday.
But this is far from a three-team race, as Monroe, at 1-2-1, is still very much a threat to challenge for the division title, as is Colonia (3-2-1). This is one division race that will likely come down to the last week of the season.
The Spotswood Chargers knocked off South Amboy, 5-0, on Monday to get to 3-0-1 and keep pace with Blue Division-leading Metuchen (4-0) and South River (4-0). The Rams got their fourth win on Tuesday, knocking off Carteret, 6-1, as senior midfielder Tara Takac registered her second hat trick of the season.
This looks to be another season where both the Rams and Chargers battle it out for divisional supremacy. Only this year, Metuchen looks to join the fight.
And then there’s the GMC Red Division, led, as usual, by the top-ranked East Brunswick Bears. Lou Kosa’s squad improved to 4-0 on the young season on Monday with a 2-0 win over Morris Catholic. It was another dominating nonconference win for the Bears, as Kristie Lang and Allison Riccio netted goals, and the Bear defense limited Morris Catholic to just two shots-on-goal.
While the Bears remain the team to beat, the Old Bridge Knights expect to be in the thick of things once again, and improved to 3-1 with a 2-1 win over North Brunswick on Saturday, before forging a 1-1 tie with Piscataway on Tuesday.