BY RICHARD JEROME
Staff Writer
Above, South Brunswick’s Zach Zenda has a handful of Monroe’s J.J. Ferritos’ jersey during their GMCT semifinal game on Sunday. At left, Monroe’s Frank Carr plays the ball, with the Vikings’ Randy Perez on his back. The Monroe High School boys soccer team rolls into this weekend’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title game with plenty of momentum.
The Falcons shut out Wall, 3-0, in the Central Jersey Group III semifinals on Tuesday, raising their record to a sterling 20-2. Tomorrow, they’ll host either Hightstown or Hopewell Valley in the sectional finals. And of course, Monroe has a formidable GMC opponent in 17-1 North Brunswick.
“We have a little more speed, but they have a very tough, organized defense,” said Falcons’ coach Steve Mackenzie. “It should be a close, exciting game.”
Mackenzie feels that his team is peaking at the right time.
“The defense has been solid all year for us, but we’re starting to create a lot more chances on offense,” he said. “That’s our philosophy.”
PHOTOS BY JEFFGRANIT staff That philosophy was in full display during last Sunday’s GMCT semifinal win over South Brunswick.
The Vikings (11-8) and Falcons played to a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime, forcing a shoot-out which was won by Monroe, 4-3, with Monroe’s fifth shooter, Justin Miller, notching the game-winner after Falcons’ goalie Cory Notaro made a brilliant save on the Vikings’ second attempt, before South Brunswick’s fifth attempt sailed over the crossbar.
“It was a very exciting game for everyone,” South Brunswick head coach Chris Hayston said. “Unfortunately, we came out on the wrong end.”
Monroe took the lead on a Chris Faroane goal with just over two minutes left in the first half, but the Vikings were able to tie it with 10:01 left in regulation when senior forward Kevin Namjoo scored off a pass from Dan Gurney.
While the score remained tied through the overtime, it was Monroe that had more scoring chances and controlled the ball for much of the game, out-shooting the Vikings, 10-3.
Against Wall, Monroe had two goals from senior midfielder Kenny Zimmer, another by junior, Frank Carr, and a pair of assists from senior forward Miller, who is the team’s leading scorer this season with 22 goals and 10 assists.
As for the rest of the offense, junior forward Zach Theinert has registered 15 goals and eight assists, and Carr has seven goals and 11 assists. With his two scores on Tuesday, Zimmer now has five goals to go with five assists, while junior Spencer Lawrence leads the team with 13 assists, along with four of his own tallies, the same number of goals compiled by senior Chris Faraone.
Certainly one of the team’s brightest lights is goalkeeper Notoro, who logged his 11th shutout against Wall and, abetted by the strong defense, has yielded just 12 goals in 22 games.
“He reads the field well and is an excellent distributor,” Mackenzie said.
The rest of the defense includes senior Kevin Gibbons, junior Dale Santiago and junior Jesse Comerford. Assisting Mackenzie this fall are Joe Yannone and Ross Schultz.
With a pair of titles within reach, Monroe needs to continue playing its best soccer of the year over the next three days.