MHS girls win first county title

Cougars top Pingry in finals

By: Bob Nuse
   BASKING RIDGE — The Montgomery High girls’ soccer team has enjoyed a very successful run in the eight years Jeremey Beardsley has been head coach.
   That success seemed to peak a year ago, when the Cougars tied Moorestown for the Group III state championship. But on Saturday night, Montgomery may have come up with an even better accomplishment.
   "It’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest wins we’ve had," said Beardsley, whose team captured its first Somerset County Tournament championship with a 2-0 win over Pingry. "We have had some issues and adversity with some injuries. And we had a tough loss to Hillsborough Thursday that lost the conference for us.
   "And now, going against Pingry, which is an incredible championship program, to come out and put together that kind of effort with the defensive effort and the attacking effort and the hard work, is the most satisfying and rewarding experience I have had in coaching."
   Montgomery has played at a high level all season, improving to 16-2 with the win over Pingry. But of all of those games, none may have been as complete an effort as the one turned in Saturday.
   Although Montgomery was seeded first and Pingry was the second seed, it was Pingry that came into the game as the favorite based on a successful tradition in the SCT, which included the last two tournament titles. And Pingry was a team that was 14-1-1 and had allowed just two goals all season. But that didn’t stop Montgomery, which played a near-perfect game in victory.
   "I think with this team, they have responded to setbacks," said Beardsley, whose team was scheduled to open play in the Central Jersey Group IV tournament against Sayreville on Monday. "We had a setback against Hillsborough the first time and we responded right back after that with some good soccer. We had a setback against Hillsborough Thursday and we responded here.
   "I think this team has a tremendous amount of character and integrity. I think that showed today. We played a highly talented team, but the team in white just wanted it so badly."
   Montgomery broke a scoreless tie with a first-half goal from Shannon Hayes eight minutes before intermission. Then, after Pingry had controlled play in its offensive half for nearly 10 minutes, the Cougars’ Lauren McClintic broke free and took a pass from Hayes for a second goal.
   Being able to play with the lead, which the Cougars did most of the night, made a big difference.
   "We’re a different team when we have a goal," junior Micaela Collins said. "I think we played with confidence and pressured hard. Everyone gave it their all.
   "No Montgomery girls’ soccer team had ever been to the finals and won. This year we not only came to the final, but we won it. And it’s going to go down in history that we’re the first team from Montgomery to win it."
   The Cougars did a tremendous job of bouncing back from a tough loss to Hillsborough just two days before the SCT final. In what has been a magical year for the Cougars, the Raiders have proved a thorn in their side by handing Montgomery both of its losses. But as it has also season, Montgomery was able to shake off the loss and focus on the next task at hand.
   "Coming off a loss against Hillsborough, we came together and we knew the season was still there," said Collins, who along with fellow defenders Megan Nahass and Ali Slattery, as well as goalkeeper Ally Mancino, did a superb job against the Pingry offense. "We still had a lot to go for and we just came out with all heart today.
   "Over the season we have created chemistry and our team is just amazing. It’s just like last year, even better. Every year you have a different kind of chemistry. This year, we had to build it after losing so many seniors, but I think we just all support each other and cheer each other on."
   Getting that first goal of the game gave them plenty to cheer about. And when McClintic extended the lead to 2-0, the SCT seemed all that much closer.
   "The game was almost over there," Collins said. "We had secured the wind and we just had to defend. I thought we did it well. My team did an awesome job. We just covered for each other and cheered each other on. Every time we could, we battled. We didn’t let the ball lose our sight and we did everything we could. We just pressured it any time we could."
   And while there is still a state tournament ahead, Beardsley knows the importance of winning a Somerset County title.
   "It’s a big deal for me," the Cougars’ coach said. "I’m from Somerset County and as a player at Bridgewater, I never made it to this game. This is the first time for me. And it’s big because it’s such an awesome county for soccer. Pingry, Ridge, Hillsborough, Bridgewater, any of those teams could have won it this year. So that makes it that much more of an achievement."
   And Beardsley knows that winning a tournament where they needed to beat Hillsborough in the semifinals and Pingry in the final makes it quite an accomplishment.
   "I was nervous to the very end," he said. "They have some serious attackers, but we held on. We had a couple of real defining moments. Shannon with that first goal. And we had some hard, aggressive desirous kind of play. I think it showed the girls really wanted it.
   "Nahass showed incredible courage. She has been injured for a while and came out and played just about the whole time."