Lady Mustangs blank Bound Brook

Fabiyan notches shutout

By: John E. Powers
   
   The Manville High School girls’ soccer team is no different from than any other Mustang squad: when playing Bound Brook, you can be rest assured their motivation is high.
   Last Thursday afternoon, the MHS girls played a solid all-around game in blanking Bound Brook 2-0 at Panfile Stadium. The Mustangs raised their record to 3-10 in shutting out the Crusaders for the second time. Manville, whose other win was a 7-0 conquest of North Plainfield, beat Bound Brook 5-0 Sept. 19.
   "I wish we had this much confidence against every team we played," Manville head coach Erin Delaney said. "I mean, they brought the same toughness they usually bring. But we had more passing, talking. The kids were just working together really well."
   They needed to be because Bound Brook was a different team than last time. Junior Kasey Ludwig was on the field for Bound Brook after having to sit out the mandatory 30-day period after she transferred over from Immaculata. She was a factor in the middle of the field, then Bound Brook coach Mike Spinner moved her to a striker position in the second half. Delaney countered with moving senior Marzena Brozyna back to sweeper to help out with the Lady Mustangs’ defense.
   "We needed to make an adjustment because we were getting a little tired back there," Delaney said.
   Manville’s goals came from sophomore Dana Mortensen and sophomore Angelika Lazur. Mortensen beat sophomore goalie Katelyn Bullard off a scrum at 21 minutes of the first half.
   "That goal was just a question of who wanted it more," Delaney said.
   Sophomore halfback Amy Evanylo put the second goal in motion when she made a touch to Mortensen, who passed to junior Lucy Yakobchuk. Yakobchuk took a shot on Bullard, who first made the save, but Lazur nailed the rebound to give Manville a 2-0 lead at the 25-minute mark of the second half.
   "I’m really happy because have had trouble all season finishing, but they didn’t stop, they didn’t give up and they were confident they were going to put it in the back of the net," Delaney said. "I like having Amy over there at halfback. She has really improved as the season has gone on. She has given us great support as far as pushing the ball up to Dana."
   Junior Rhianna Lebedz hit the crossbar in the second half, and nearly had a goal off a deflection in the first half. Brozyna had a breakaway, but Bullard stopped the shot.
   "They kept attacking," Delaney said. "They didn’t kick and watch."
   Manville outshot Bound Brook 19-13 with Bullard making 10 saves and MHS senior goalkeeper Marta Fabiyan stopping five. Fabiyan was very strong once again for Manville. She made outstanding saves in the first half and was called on a couple of times in the second.
   "She has been very good in every game, and she has been impressing me more and more," Delaney said. "It’s her second year of playing goal and she has really become confident as a keeper. She wanted to play in the field this year. She’s such a tough kid. She takes this game to heart and she doesn’t want to let her team down. She feels the weight of the game on her shoulder. She’s made some incredible saves."
   Now, the Lady Mustangs will try to bring that aggressiveness and team cohesiveness to the rest of their schedule.
   "We need to pick up our effort in every game," senior stopper Michelina Aichele said. "We have to prove we can do it against the rest of the schools."