North girls’ soccer falls in CJ III final

Knights on other end of shootout result

By: Bob Nuse
   OAKHURST — One year later, the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls’ soccer team found itself in an almost identical situation.
   Last year, the Knights played Wall to a scoreless tie through regulation and overtime, eventually winning the Central Jersey Group III championship in penalty kicks.
   On Thursday, the Knights played Ocean to a scoreless tie through regulation and overtime, and came about as close as you can come to winning before falling in a shootout, 4-3.
   "We were on the other end of this last year," said Knights’ coach Kevin Mackenzie, whose team finished the season with a 13-5-1 record. "I thought it was an unbelievable performance by our girls. We came out flat in the first half and didn’t play that well. But in the second half and overtime, I thought we played great.
   "I’m very proud of the girls. I just told them that they did everything they possibly could to win this game. That’s a very good team we played. Ocean is tough and they played well. When you get to a shootout, anything can happen. Last year we came out on the winning end. This time we just missed."
   After a scoreless first half during which the Knights played with a strong win at their backs, it seemed like everything was working in Ocean’s favor in the second half. The home team had the wind at their backs and for a brief spell controlled the play to start the half. But North goalkeeper Lilly Pepper turned away four good chances in a five-minute period, and from that point on the Knights dominated play.
   Even when Pepper was knocked out of the game for a 13-minute stretch late in the second half, backup goalie Meagan Dayala stepped in and helped keep the game scoreless.
   "Lilly has played well all year," Mackenzie said of his sophomore goalie. "But when you play the way she did today in a state tournament final, it has to be your best game of the year. We have a lot of confidence in her. We know she can play. And when Meagan had to step in there, she got the job done as well."
   The Knights had reached the sectional final with a 3-0 win over Colts Neck on Monday. Jessica Carnevale scored twice in North’s final win of the season, but even that was significant. The Knights were the No. 8 seed. Colts Neck was seeded fourth. WW-P North was looking for another upset at second-seeded Ocean.
   The Knights had two apparent scoring opportunities wiped out in the game, one on a ball that went in the goal but it was ruled the Knights bumped the goalie. The other came on a ball North thought crossed the line but was not ruled that way.
   The Knights kept the pressure up and had some great scoring chances into the wind in the second half and in overtime.
   "I think it actually helped to be playing into the wind," Mackenzie said. "When the wind was at your back, it was tough to control your shots. I was just pleased with the way the whole team played. And our defense, with Courtney Carnevale at sweeper and the rest of the girls back there, I can’t say enough about the way they played."
   In the shootout, Rachel Trink scored to put the Knights up, 1-0. Ocean tied it on the next kick before both teams missed their second shots. Kristen Orloff then gave the nights a 2-1 lead, and when Ocean hit the post on the next shot, Jessica Carnevale then put the Knights up, 3-1. The next shot was nearly saved by Pepper and just trickled in. After a North miss, Ocean tied it and forced sudden victory, which it got on the sixth kick.
   "That one shot was so close to a save, I thought I had it," Pepper said of the goal that pulled Ocean within 3-2. "It’s tough in shootouts. I was just really proud of the way our whole team played in the second half. I think that second half was probably the best we’ve played all year."
   Pepper, her nose still bleeding after the game from a cut that would require stitches, came through with a huge performance for the Knights. As, in the end, her whole team did.
   "We had 14 upperclassmen last year and seven of those players graduated," Mackenzie said. "This year we had seven seniors, but we were still a pretty young team. Overall, I was just so proud of the way the girls battled all season. We played real well in the second half.
   "At the beginning of the season I wasn’t sure if this team has that killer instinct like the team we had last year. But as the season went on, you could tell they did. We would up having a great year."
   And coming oh so close to duplicating their CJ III title of a year ago.