By: Carolyn M. Hartko
NORTH BRUNSWICK With the outcome of Sunday afternoon’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinal hanging in the balance, Monroe High School’s fifth contestant in the penalty kick shootout stepped calmly to the spot where the soccer ball lay poised for flight.
Since South Brunswick’s fifth man had sent his ball over the net, Justin Miller knew his shot could either end the game in favor of the Falcons, or send it into the second round of PK’s. Miller took three steps back, and three to the left, then ran onto the ball at the sound of the whistle. When the shot hit home, Miller’s teammates stampeded, first towards the senior striker, then along the fence to enjoy the reaction of their cheering fans.
"He doesn’t seem like he feels pressure," Falcon head coach Steve MacKenzie said of his top scorer. "He just goes up. He’s got that kind of attitude. Not that there’s never any doubt that he would make it or miss it anyone could. But he’s the guy that you’d want to step up with the game on the line."
The game had remained tied 1-1 during two 10-minute sudden death overtime periods, and neither team was able to come up with the golden goal. Since one team has to advance in tournament play, it went to penalty kicks to decide the winner. Most of the pressure in that situation is on the goalkeeper, a small figure compared to the expanse of net.
Monroe’s Cory Notaro made a critical save in the second round of kicks, and one Falcon missed wide in the same round. The shootout was tied 3-3 when a South Brunswick player sent a shot over the net, setting the stage for Miller. The Falcon claims not to have heard the shouts of "It’s Miller time!" coming from the sidelines.
"I felt numb," Miller said. "I heard nothing. To me, there was no pressure. I knew we won. It was locked up, and once I hit it it was just official."
With the 2-1 victory, the second seeded Falcons (19-2) advance to play top ranked North Brunswick, the 4-2 winner over East Brunswick in the second semifinal. Date and time for that game was yet to be announced as of press time. It was dependent on how each team did in their next state tournament games, the Raiders in CJ Group IV, and the Falcons in CJ Group III.
For the sixth seeded Vikings (12-8-1), their season ended on the pitch at Steve Libro Stadium in North Brunswick. It was the second time in as many games that South had been eliminated from a tournament by penalty kicks. Last week, West Windsor-Plainsboro South beat them 2-1 in a quarterfinal of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tourney.
In a way, Miller’s moment of glory during the shootout was payback for enduring 100 minutes of serious marking by the South Brunswick defense, especially senior marking back Anthony Veverka. Miller, who has 19 goals on the season, couldn’t get a decent shot off during regular playing time. The Vikings were making up for lapses on defense in a game between these two sides earlier in the season.
"I knew they’d come out, and they’d mark up Justin, and Zach (Theinert)," MacKenzie said. "I wasn’t sure what they’d do with Frank (Carr). They marked up those three guys no matter where they were on the field. So we needed to move them around a little bit. And the problem was they clogged up a lot of space. The field is not in great condition, so it was a little tough for us, and it became back an forth."
With the Vikings marking Monroe’s three top attackers, it was left to senior defender Chris Faroane to come up with the lone Falcon goal in regulation. Theinert took a corner kick 2:30 before halftime. Standing at the far post, Faroane headed the ball down and into the center of the goal.
"I just tried to get up over the last defender," Faroane said. "I was able to beat him to the ball, and get my head on it, and put it towards the goal."
However, just as they did against WW-P South, the Vikings came back late in the second half. The play started with a corner kick taken by Kyle Saviano with about 10 minutes left in regulation. Notaro punched out the high ball, but Viking sweeper Dan Gurney booted it back into the box where Kevin Namjoo headed it home.
Monroe showed the stronger offense during the game, outshooting South Brunswick 14-5. Notaro needed just four saves to preserve the win, while Viking keeper Chris DeSouza came up with 11.
"It was an ugly game," MacKenzie said. "But I told the guys before hand that in a tournament, everybody has talent. It’s just the biggest heart, the strongest minds, that win. Our guys played with a lot of heart and we finished it. I was extremely happy that we got through. Sometimes you need to get through without playing your best game. Hopefully, this is our one."
THROW-INS: Faroane scored first for the Falcons in the shootout, followed by Carr, Theinert and Miller.

