By: Carolyn M. Hartko
While Monroe soccer fans have not waited as long as followers of the Chicago White Sox, it has still been quite a while since the Monroe High School girls’ soccer team has won a state tournament game.
The curse was lifted Monday as the 7th-seeded Falcons eliminated 10th-seeded Red Bank Regional from the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III tournament with a solid 3-0 victory. The Falcons (11-5-1) played at second-seeded Ocean Township Thursday after press time. For details of the game, log onto www.cranburypress.com.
No one was quite sure how long it has been since the Falcons last advanced in the state tourney, but it has been more than a decade. It is definitely the first win since Monroe moved up to Group III. And it is the first state win for coach Kathy Dillon, who is in her fourth season at the helm.
"We always make it into the states, and we always put up a good fight," Dillon said. "But this is actually one of the few games that we’ve won in the states."
The key to success this time around was pure heart. The Falcons out-hustled the Buccaneers (7-9) up and down the field. Outside backs Sasha Potter and Ali Gran shut down the wings and sweeper Nicole Ragucci read the plays coming down the middle.
"We just knew that we had to get to every ball," Potter said. "Be first. Step to. We couldn’t let anybody get possession, because if that happened it was over. So, we had to make sure that every fifth-fifty ball was ours."
The determination worked, as Monroe won most of the balls on the ground and in the air, in spite of Red Bank’s size advantage. Potter found a silver lining in that cloud.
"That helps us out, because sometimes with their long legs, the ball goes under," Potter said. "That makes it easy for us to capitalize on any mis-kicks they get."
Hustle combined with accuracy was the plan for the attackers going into the game. Monroe outshot Red Bank 15-8.
"We really just wanted to get the balls in the back of the net because there’s been many times where we haven’t been able to do that," junior forward Alyssa Gioino said. "We really needed to do that this game."
Gioino followed her own advice, assisting on the first goal and netting one of her own. In the third minute of play, freshman Sarah Gibbons knocked in a rebound of a Gioino shot. The play was set up by a centering pass from midfielder Raven Chiara out on the right wing.
Five minutes later, Gioino scored off a break-away, beating three defenders. She chipped the ball past Buccaneer Caitlin Cormier as the keeper came out to challenge. Red Bank had a great opportunity midway through the first half, with a shot that hit the cross bar and bounced back into play. But the rebound shot went high to the right.
Red Bank was more aggressive in the second half, and had several good chances. However, Monroe continued to hold them off, and sophomore Allison Arnold iced the victory with less than four minutes left on the clock. Arnold had a break-away down the right wing, and booted a hard shot just inside the near post. Cormier got a piece of it, but the loose ball spun into the goal.
"Three different girls scored," Dillon said. "I love that, ’cause you never know who to mark. It gives you a little bit more of an edge if you have some variety there."
Absent from the scoring list was Chiara, the team’s leading scorer. She was heavily marked whenever she touched the ball, suggesting that Red Bank had a scouting report on Monroe.
"I’m sure they heard about Raven," Dillon said. "Raven’s the talk of our conference, and I’m sure people have asked about us and tried to find out who to watch. And it makes things tough on Rave, but when they do that to her, it frees up other people, which is good."
In goal for the Falcons, Megan Boyce made eight saves to earn the shutout, while Cormier posted 13 for the Buccaneers.
