From winless to winning streak

OT win over Metuchen gives SBHS girls soccer team its third straight victory

By: Rich Fisher
   So this is what it’s supposed to be like.
   After a tough start that saw the South Brunswick High girls soccer team go winless in its first five games, the Vikings have won their last three, culminating in an overtime win over previously unbeaten Metuchen Tuesday.
   SBHS won its first of the season last Thursday, 3-0, over Piscataway. That was followed by 1-0 victory over Old Bridge Saturday.
   Then came Tuesday, when Verina Atalla’s goal with three minutes left in the second OT gave the Vikings a 2-1 victory over Metuchen, ranked fourth in the Greater Middlesex Conference by a daily paper.
   The binge has evened the Vikings record at 3-3-2.
   "We needed to lose some of the drama and get focused on soccer," coach Nancy Ducko said. "They’re finally pulling together. Everything we’ve known we can do all along, we’re starting to do. I think we just needed a taste of goal scoring and now we’re doing what we need to do offensively."
   After a 2-1 loss to J.P. Stevens, Ducko laid into her team after the game, questioning their determination and their desire to win. She felt the girls took the fiery speech to heart, and went back to work at practice.
   "We talked about how a lot of our games are mental," Ducko said. "They have the skills and ability, and there are a few things we’ve been working on that needed improvement. We continued to work on those areas, but we’re also focusing more on mindset, decision making and reaction; how we reacted to things when we were scored on."
   Actually, they have did not have a chance to test their bounce-back ability against Piscataway or Old Bridge, as the defense continued its consistent play with two shutouts.
   But they showed what they were made of against Metuchen, which entered the game with an 8-0 record. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead before Lauren Strebeck scored with just under 13 minutes left in regulation to tie it.
   In overtime, Atalla worked a give-and-go with Samantha Yock, and beat two defenders before launching one into the left side to win it.
   Goalie Susie Miller helped bring the Vikings to that point by making 17 saves. Offensively, the Vikings unloaded 26 shots to keep the pressure on.
   "We had a really rough first half, probably the worst I’ve seen them play, but we pulled it together in the second half," Ducko said. "We still have to get rid of the inconsistency.
   "I think the three wins in a row is a good spark for us. Metuchen is a Blue Division team, and they’re good, don’t get me wrong. But they don’t play the kind of competition we play in the Red Division, so the game shouldn’t have gone into overtime."
   Early in the year, good first halves were followed by poor second ones. It was the reverse against Metuchen.
   "We have to get it all together, and we did for Piscataway and Old Bridge," Ducko said. "It’s hard, we really play tough competition every game. So there’s gong to be some inconsistencies. But we have to keep it going for the full 80 minutes.
   "It’s there, it really is there, and it’s coming together. Three wins in a row is wonderful. Tuesday was our first comeback win, so it was good to see the girls be able to do that."
   In the victory over Piscataway, Atalla, Yock and Danielle Bussiere had goals while Strebeck had two assists and Carissa Walters added one. Miller needed to make just three saves.
   "It was a good game for us," Ducko said. "We controlled the entire game. We needed to put some goals in the net to see that it’s not impossible. Once we did that, we dominated."
   Against Old Bridge, Yesenia Boynton converted a rebound after Alan Jogan’s shot hit the crossbar, giving the Vikes a 1-0 lead that they nursed until the end.
   So while it was imperative that the offense began to score, it was equally important that the Vikings continued to play quality defense. That has obviously continued, as the sister combination of Amy and Carissa Walters are handling the sweeper and stopper positions flawlessly.
   "Amy has been doing an amazing job," Ducko said. "And Carissa is playing extremely well. They’re somewhat similar in style. Amy is definitely an anchor for the team, a great leader on the field. She keeps everyone where they’re supposed to be. As a stopper, Carissa has had the opportunity to be more of a playmaker."
   The fullback positions have been held down by Indira Morton and Rachel Gurney.
   "Indira has been having phenomenal games," Ducko said. "And Rachel Gurney was never a defender before, and she’s fit in perfectly. We needed a defender back there, so we moved her back. She’s a playmaker so it’s nice to have her on the outside. She’s smart, she knows how to position herself well, and when you have an offensive player on defense they’re not afraid to take the ball upfield."
   As always, the last line of defense is in goal, and Miller has been stellar. She made 15 saves against Old Bridge, every one of them necessary.
   "Susie’s been playing awesome," Ducko said. "Some of the high balls she’s had trouble with in the past, she’s focused on them now and making the saves."
   The coach hopes her team will maintain that same kind of focus.
   "I think they’re in tune with what’s going on now," she said. "I certainly hope they don’t regress, now that we know what we can do."
   The Vikes take on Edison Friday, then face a strong non-conference challenge when they travel to Nottingham Saturday. The Northstars are a mirror image of SBHS, starting 1-4 before winning four straight.