BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
Three local girls soccer teams started their state tournament runs on Monday, and all three ended the day with wins.
Results like that just add credence to the belief that some of the best soccer in the state is found right here in the Shore Conference.
“I think that girls soccer in the Shore Conference is among the strongest in the state, and it’s been that way for a while now,” said Shore Regional head coach Mike Migliorisi.
And he would know, since this is the fifth straight year that his Blue Devils have ventured into the state tournament.
Both Shore Regional and Rumson-Fair Haven’s girls won the Central Jersey Group III openers, although in very different fashions.
Meanwhile, the Red Bank Regional Bucs beat a familiar opponent in Middletown South in its North Jersey Section II, Group III opener, giving head coach Geoff Brignola’s team its first-ever state tournament win. It also marked RBR’s first win over the Eagles.
The 10th-seeded Bucs (10-7-3) scored twice in each half to beat the seventh-seeded Eagles, 4-1, and dominated the contest from the start. Juniors Brie Moran and Erin McDonald notched a goal and an assist each, with Dara Mendelson opening the scoring off a beautiful pass from Moran at the 22-minute mark.
The Bucs controlled the game from there, out-shooting South 11-8, and earning a shot at second-seeded West Morris Mendham today at 11 a.m.
The Shore Regional Blue Devils played a tight first-round game with Point Boro, getting the hard-fought 1-0 win when Kelly Draper took a cross from Leah Wasserman and knocked it into the lower right part of the net with about five minutes to play in the second half.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Migliorisi said. “We scouted them and saw that they are a strong, physical team that has played the majority of its games against Group III and IV schools.”
The eighth-seeded Blue Devils (10-9-2) have, at times, had trouble scoring this year, and Monday was no exception, as they were outshot 21-9. That stat speaks volumes for the job the Shore defense, and in particular sweeper Leigh Adams and goalie Christine Latteri (11 saves), did against Point Boro.
“They stepped it up and played extremely well,” the coach said.
With their win, the Blue Devils earned a shot at top-seeded Rahway later today in the second round. And Migliorisi is confident that his girls will give another strong effort.
“I think that Point Boro was the tougher team, to tell you the truth,” he said. “I’m not saying that I think this will be an easy game, but they’re not as physical as Point Boro. They may have a couple of girls who are better-skilled players, but we usually rise to the occasion against teams with better skills as opposed to bigger teams.”
The Shore girls are a very young team with just three seniors on the roster and a slew of underclassmen, including leading scorer Natalie Cappaso, a freshman, who missed the Blue Devils’ previous seven games with a sprained ankle.
With so many young players on the field, Shore has trouble matching up with bigger teams.
“My three midfielders weigh a combined 270 pounds between them,” the coach said. “But they play with so much heart they’re like 5-10, 200 pounds each.
““We’re such a young team, but making it this far shows tremendous promise.”
As for sixth-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven, the Bulldogs had a relatively easy time with 11th-seed Bordentown on Monday, cruising to a 6-0 win on the strength of a hat trick and a pair of assists from junior forward Brooke Keany.
Ana Murphy and Kerry Koch combined in goal for the Bulldogs, who improved to 11-4-3 with the win, and will travel to third-seeded Spotswood for a 2 p.m. start today in second-round action.
The Chargers were one of the top teams in the highly competitive Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division this season, but are coming off an early exit in their conference tournament.
The only other local girls team in playoff action is the Red Bank Catholic Caseys, the top seed in the Parochial South A bracket.
The Caseys await the winner of today’s Holy Cross-Bishop Ahr first-round game, and will host the second-round matchup on Monday. With only six teams qualifying for this bracket, RBC needs just two wins to claim sectional gold.