Monroe starts to heat up

By: Carolyn M. Hartko
   One huge week does not a season make, but it’s still fun to reflect on the accomplishment. Just when everyone was ready to write off the Monroe Township High School varsity girls’ soccer team, the Lady Falcons went and knocked off two teams at the top of the Greater Middlesex Conference’s White Division, putting themselves back in striking range of at least a piece of the division title.
   First, Monroe handed Colonia its first loss in the White Division, edging the Lady Patriots 1-0 last Friday. Then the Falcons pulled off the same stunt on Saturday, taking a rematch against Woodbridge 1-0. The Colonia game was originally scheduled for Thursday, but rain moved it to Friday.
   "Traditionally, I don’t like to play back-to-back games because I know that physically, you need some time to recover, and put yourself back together," Falcon head coach Kathy Dillon said. "But I think that might have helped us as far as the win at Colonia had our confidence up, and adrenaline kind of carried us through on Saturday.
   "Woodbridge was rested. Woodbridge had only practiced on Friday. So, I think that we really played to our fullest potential on Saturday with a natural high from the win on Friday."
   The Colonia game went to overtime, and it was Alanna Carr who banged home the golden goal five minutes into the first sudden death overtime period, off Ashley Armstrong’s indirect free kick. Against Woodbridge, it was Raven Chiara who broke the 0-0 tie with seven minutes left in regulation. Chiara’s goal, her eighth of the season, was also the result of a set piece, with the assist of Katie Mazzio.
   Falcon keeper Megan Boyce only needed three saves against Colonia, and four against the Lady Barons to secure her shutouts. As a measure of how pumped the Falcons were for both games, they outshot the Patriots 21-5, and Woodbridge 17-7.
   With their record at 7-3, the Falcons are now looking forward to reversing those early season losses, and they made a good start by defeating Woodbridge, a team that rolled over them 5-1 in the first round. That leaves Sayreville Saturday (2 p.m.) and North Brunswick in two weeks, the final game of the regular season.
   "Taking the three losses early is pretty tough, but I think that we’re kind of rolling now," Dillon said. "We lost to North Brunswick on our home field. That was another game that I thought we didn’t perform to our best abilities. But the girls are fully aware of what we need to do. And hopefully, we’re on the right path."
   Dillon credits two factors for her team’s recent success. One was a minor adjustment on defense, where senior Sasha Potter is now helping out in the back when she is not in the midfield, and the other is the leadership of the upperclassmen.
   "I think we’re just gelling now," Dillon said. "My seniors are doing a fantastic job, keeping everybody together, keeping everybody up and ready to go. And usually, as your seniors go, so your team goes. I think I have a great group here that are great leaders. They’re feeling confident right now, and I’m hoping that their confidence rolls onto the other players."