Goals still elusive as defense shines

By: Rich Fisher
   Man, can that South Brunswick High girls soccer team play defense.
   That’s what coach Nancy Ducko has to keep telling herself, over and over again, to re-enforce the positives and keep herself from going batty.
   As was the case a year ago, the Vikings know how to prevent goals, but can’t figure out how to score them.
   At least that has been the case in the first two games, as South Brunswick opened with a scoreless tie at J.P. Stevens last Friday before dropping a 1-0 decision at Old Bridge Monday.
   "We outplayed Stevens in the second half and overtime, but I don’t have someone to take it to the goal," Ducko said. "We have lots of opportunities, but no finishes.
   "I really think the potential is there. On a lot of our opportunities, we’re sending it right to the keeper, we’re just falling short. Or, our serves or crosses aren’t going to us. Against Old Bridge, we were feeding it through, but kept playing to the sweeper. We’re not making the diagonal feeds the way we should be."
   And, as the frustrated tone in her voice grew with each passing sentence, Ducko put the tone into words.
   "It’s just frustrating," she said.
   In the game against J.P. Stevens, the stats were interesting. The Hawks outshot the Vikings, 23-12, but South Brunswick put more shots on goal as the Stevens keeper had to make 11 saves while South’s Susie Miller made nine.
   Much like the U.S. National Team in last summer’s World Cup, the lack of a dangerous finisher is keeping the Vikings from gaining victories.
   "I just haven’t had that go-to girl," Ducko said. "We’ve got some speed up there, we’ve had a few breakaways. It’s frustrating to control an entire game, like we did with J.P. Stevens, and not get it done. And with Old Bridge, we weren’t outplayed, we just were out-finished."
   But the Viking coaches are from finished when it comes to trying to fix things. Ducko still feels her young squad will be able to tally enough goals for South Brunswick to reach the state tournament.
   "We obviously look at games and decide what we need to work on," the sixth-year coach said. "The transfer isn’t happening. But we will continue to keep working on our areas that need improvement and hopefully they’ll start to make that transfer.
   "Our goal is to get into the states. I’m pretty certain we can do that."
   One of the main reasons for that certainty is that South Brunswick will most likely be competitive in every game it plays due to a sold defense. Miller is steady in goal, and the defense in front of her includes Rachel Gurney and Indira Morton at outside backs with the Walters sisters — Amy and Carissa — playing sweeper and stopper, respectively. Sam Belfer also rotates in at fullback.
   "I’m happy with my defense," Ducko said. "They’re working very hard and playing well together. They had a couple lapses Monday, but they’re hard working girls back there."
   The midfield features Danielle Bussiere and Kailee Peskin in the middle, with Alana bookends on the outside — Alana Asch and Alana Jogan. Lauryn Strebeck and Nicole Heyer also see time at midfield.
   "The midfield is relatively strong," Ducko said. "We’re leaving gaps between the midfield and up top, though. Even when we are pushing up, when it’s getting sent back we’re losing on that transition. We need a quicker transition."
   Strebeck is also seeing time up front, along with Yesenia Boynton, Sam Yock and Verina Atalla. Senior Monica Kadia could also see time at forward or midfield.
   "We don’t have numbers, we’re not real deep," Ducko said. "Our freshman and JV teams are really strong but we don’t have players who are ready with the speed and the level of play they need for varsity. But hopefully we can pull some kids up as the season goes on.
   "We’re going to be in every game. Last year, our record doesn’t say anything about our season. We would lose games by one goal, or if we lost by more it would be due to a five-minute breakdown. We’re controlling games, we just have to finish."
   And should they start to finish, the fun could just be getting started.
   FREE KICKS: The Vikings play their third straight road game to start the season when they visit Edison Friday. The home opener is 11 a.m. Saturday against Montgomery, followed by tough Red Division match at East Brunswick Tuesday.