Hopewell Valley goes on the attack

GIRLS SOCCER

By: Mike Molaro
   One of the keys to success for the Hopewell Valley Central High School girl’s soccer squad this season is a stifling defense.
   Now the Lady Bulldogs (7-2) are concentrating on making things happen offensively.
   "We always try to limit opponents’ shots," HoVal head coach John McGinley said after Tuesday’s 5-0 domination against Hamilton. "We want to keep teams out of the box and keep their shots at long range. We’ve focused so much on defense. "We are now working on opening up the offense. That takes a lot of pressure off the defense."
   That Lady Bulldog offensive pressure was evident against the Hornets as senior forward Gina Colati and junior forward Rosie Rarich each scored twice and senior forward Meredith Briggs added a goal. Colati, Briggs and junior defenders Arielle Wolfe Lauren Scheidler each added an assist while junior goalie Kim Fearnbach had two saves for the shutout for HoVal’s fourth straight win.
   "Last year Hamilton played us tough and we were expecting the same type of game," added McGinley, whose team opened a 4-0 lead at halftime. "We got them on a bad day. We moved the ball well. We had our opportunities and played very smart. We finished our chances."
   Junior forward Rachel Muentener, Briggs, and Colati found the back of the nets in last Saturday evening’s 3-0 triumph over Princeton Day School at Mercer County Community College. Rarich, junior midfielder Sarah Gustafson, and Wolfe each provided an assist and Fearnbach turned aside five Panther shots.
   "We played good soccer in the first half but we weren’t aggressive enough," McGinley said. "We scored with 10 minutes left in the game and then it was bang, bang, bang. We scored three goals in about three-and-a-half minutes. "We had consistent pressure the entire game. We’ve gone into overtime against PDS the last three years. We were very persistent in this game."
   Briggs scored the game’s only goal in a 1-0 victory on Sept. 28 at Princeton. Senior midfielder Sam Germano recorded the assist and Fearnbach stopped three Little Tiger shots for the first of her three shutouts this week.
   "Princeton is a good rival for us," added McGinley. "It seems like we are always battling for a division title. They took it to us early but we settled down. Sam (Germano) started attacking and got the entire team going. Once we got aggressive, it brought the game back to us. It was a tight game all the way through."
   The Lady Bulldogs, who admittedly had breakdowns in their two losses, are finding an offensive arsenal to compliment one of the area’s best defenses. That doesn’t bode well for future opponents.
   "We’ll always be defense first," McGinley said. "But if we get a consistent offense, we’ll be even more dangerous."
   NOTES: HoVal visits Trenton this afternoon and hosts state power Gloucester Catholic in a Homecoming Day clash at 4:15 p.m. tomorrow.