Lady Raiders knocked out by powerhouse

Sturdy HHS defense finally cracks

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   HAMILTON – It took more than 70 minutes, but eventually the stingy Hillsborough High defense finally yielded a goal against the talented tournament favorites from Steinert in the Central Jersey Group 4 girls’ soccer playoffs. Top-ranked Steinert added another one and ended the HHS season with a 2-0 decision in last Thursday’s sectional quarterfinals.
   Hillsborough (14-5) played superb defense against a team that had outscored its previous 20 victims by a whopping 102-3 margin. Despite averaging more than five goals per game, Steinert (20-0) couldn’t penetrate the Lady Raider wall and senior goalkeeper Taryn O’Connor for most of the afternoon.
   Steinert had a big advantage playing on its home grass field. Thursday marked the first time all year the HHS girls didn’t play a game on turf. It took some time to adjust to the surface.
   "We kept it respectable," Hillsborough head coach LeeAnn Wyble said afterward. "They’re definitely walking out of there knowing we’re the best team they’ve played. They had to earn their win."
   O’Connor made 15 saves but couldn’t stop Shannon Chester’s volley with 9:15 to play in regulation. Chester one-timed a cross from Nikki Migliori and knocked it into the left corner of the net.
   "The girl dumped it in there and Taryn didn’t have a chance to react," Wyble said. "She got a one-time touch on it and those are tough."
   Steinert didn’t stop attacking with a 1-0 lead. The home team put the game out of reach when star forward Jessica Babice netted her 37th goal of the season with 6:29 to play.
   "We played a great game overall," O’Connor said. "It was evenly-matched but once they got the first goal, we kind of let down."
   The Lady Raiders were feisty and dangerous at times in the first half. Hillsborough controlled possession in stretches and nearly took a 1-0 lead when Mary Bednar’s 35-yard free kick struck the crossbar with 17:20 to play.
   Wyble had shouted "Somerville" prior to the kick, referring to the winning play in the team’s Somerset County Tournament victory when Katie Marino pounced on a rebound of Julia Paget’s free kick that hit the bar. This time, there was no HHS girl in position to knock it home.
   "I thought it was going in," Bednar said. "I was getting really excited and then it hit the (crossbar)."
   Hillsborough’s defense, led by senior backs Nikki Smartt and Ali Leifer and Paget in the middle, stifled the powerful Steinert attack. When the Spartans broke through and got a good shot, O’Connor was there to make the stop. O’Connor thwarted Babice on three breakaway opportunities to keep the game scoreless.
   "I just focused," O’Connor said. "From being a goalkeeper for so long, it just comes naturally."
   Steinert took over in the second half but still couldn’t penetrate that thick Hillsborough wall of defenders and goalkeeper until very late in the match. The Lady Raiders nearly scored with 17 minutes left in regulation when Tina Marino found Bednar streaking down the right side. Bednar wheeled and fired a shot that hit the outside of the post.
   "I thought we kept pace with them and got a lot of opportunities," Bednar said. "They were just wearing us down with their speed. They’re very good."
   The HHS girls knew they couldn’t run up and down the field with the speedy Spartans. Wyble implemented her defensive game plan and the Lady Raiders executed very well. If one of Bednar’s shots had found the back of the net, things could have turned out differently.
   "We really wanted to play them like a Bridgewater or Montgomery rivalry game," Wyble said. "We had to defend and work our magic up front. We gave it all we had."