Pennington girls soccer
By: Mike Molaro
One down. One to go.
The Pennington School girls soccer squad captured its second Mercer County Tournament title in three years with last Saturday’s superb 1-0 triumph over Steinert.
In winning their 12th consecutive game, the top-seeded Red Raiders (20-1) avenged last year’s loss in the MCT finals to the second-seeded Spartans.
After bringing home the county crown, top-seeded Pennington turned its attention to Wednesday’s Prep A state tournament semifinal match-up against Hun. If they won that game, the Red Raiders will face the winner of the other semifinal contest between Lawrenceville and Peddie in Sunday’s Prep A championship.
Freshman forward Amber Brooks scored the MCT final’s only goal and her 24th of the season 7:08 into the first half against visiting Steinert (17-2-1). Her goal came off a crossing pass from junior midfielder Gianna Russo. Senior goalie Juliette Grillo recorded six saves for the shutout, including a spectacular leaping punch save with 6:20 remaining in the second half.
"This was a great defensive battle," Red Raider co-head coach Bill Hawkey said. "We knew Steinert had a high-powered offense. Our job was to shut them down."
With junior defender Jackie Pastor marking Jessica Babice and junior defender Keri Washington marking Arielle Collins, the Spartans were never able to sustain any offensive consistency. The Red Raiders held Steinert to just 10 shots while firing 18 on the Spartan nets.
"Jackie and Keri did a great job," Hawkey said. "They held their top two scorers without a quality shot. (Junior sweeper) Ali Kliment took care of everything else."
Playing without freshman midfielder Heidi Sabatura, who was hit in the head with the ball in last Friday’s 4-3 home overtime MCT victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Pennington responded to the challenge against probably Mercer County’s best public school. Grillo preserved the shutout and the triumph with her acrobatic save.
"The girls stepped it up," Hawkey said. "Juliette (Grillo) made one of the prettiest saves I’ve seen this year. From our angle on the bench, it looked like the shot was behind her for a goal. But she leaped up and punched the ball away."
In the semifinal triumph over the Pirates, freshman midfielder Colleen Williams scored her second goal of the game with 4:39 remaining in the second overtime to advance the Red Raiders to the finals against Steinert.
Brooks contributed a goal and three assists, while Pastor had the other Pennington goal. Sabatura added an assist, and Grillo had nine saves.
After South took a 1-0 lead, Pennington tied things up about 90 seconds later on Williams’ first goal of the game. The Red Raiders seemed in control with a 3-1 advantage with about 10 minutes remaining, but the Pirates scored twice within a minute to send the game into overtime.
It wasn’t a work of art, but it was a win.
"We knew South was fast and physical," Hawkey said. "After we took that 3-1 lead, things calmed down, and we lost a little of our intensity. They were relentless. They turned it up a notch, and we didn’t respond as well.
"After the first overtime period, we were thinking about our lineup for a shootout."
Despite the scare, the Red Raiders definitely took away a huge positive after topping the Pirates.
"This game helped us against Steinert," Hawkey said. "It made us realize we need to play 80 minutes of soccer. It served a good purpose for us."
Brooks, Sabatura and Williams each had a goal and an assist as the Red Raiders downed Hun 4-0 in the MCT quarterfinals on Oct. 26 at Mercer County Community College. Junior midfielder Julianne DeLorenzo added a goal, and junior forward Lora Fink contributed an assist. Grillo earned the shutout with six saves.
"This was a solid game for us," Hawkey said. "We moved the ball well. We kept Hun on their heels most of the game."
Although they have defeated the Raiders twice this season, the defending state champion Red Raiders weren’t looking ahead in yesterday’s Prep A semifinal clash.
"This is the third time we are playing Hun, and it’s difficult to beat a team three times in one season," Hawkey said. "They know our team very well. Hun is very well coached and is a good team with some very talented players.
"You can take anything for granted."
The Red Raiders had two specific team goals this year. One was to win the Mercer County Tournament and the other was to bring home the Prep A title.
They’re halfway there. One down and one to go.

