By: David Gurney
Only two days removed from the most physically and mentally demanding contest of the season, the Monroe Township High School boys varsity team was out there battling for their postseason lives once again.
Tired and exhausted? Definitely.
Banged up and bruised? Sure.
Yet, the Falcons still had enough tenacity and hunger to stave off several Moorestown counter-attacks, keeping the game scoreless until a goal by junior midfielder Garret Beyer in the 65th minute was just enough to give Monroe a 1-0 victory in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III semifinals Tuesday.
With the victory, Monroe (21-4) will take on Princeton High School, a 2-1 winner over Long Branch, at Princeton on Friday in the state sectional finals.
"Our biggest concern was coming off a final and back on only a day rest," Monroe coach Steve McKenzie said. "Also, having to compete against a good team in a big game, it was going to be tough. It was going to take something special from us to win today."
Special outings have been the norm since losing two of three to end the regular season. The Falcons have won seven consecutive contests, and in that span have outscored their opponents 27-6, averaging a near three-goal margin per victory.
The victory was sluggish and hard-fought, but in the end it was another clutch offensive sequence by Monroe that put the team over the top.
It started with senior forward Frank Carr, who hit sophomore midfielder Brendan Sebastian with a diagonal pass to the right sideline. Sebastian took it to the endline and sent a cross into the box.
Sophomore reserve forward Ryan Miller got his foot on the ball and sent it to his left and away from the goalkeeper to a streaking Beyer. Beyer slid in and drilled the ball into the corner of the net for the game’s only tally.
"It took a lot of time to get it (the goal)," Beyer said. "I just had to come and clean the play up. I just got a poke at it.
"We should have put them away earlier, but we finally put away one of our opportunities."
The guy with the freshest legs was the goalie, senior Mike Rettberg, who did a fine job keeping the team within striking distance.
Rettberg stymied Moorestown on several occasions, especially with diving saves on a pair of shots by Moorestown forward Ryan Lewandowski.
"I’m just trying to play every game like a normal game and the defense always helps me out a lot," Rettberg said. "I don’t want to get nervous, but we needed a big game from the defense today.
"I wanted to finish it in regulation. I didn’t want it to get to overtime."
For many of the players, the end of the game brought a sense of relief and elation on two fronts. A sectional final was attained, and the team gets to prolong its season by at least one more game.
"This is huge that we didn’t go out right away, to go down after the big up (winning the GMCT’s) the other day," Beyer said. "It was good to win instead of having a loss. We get to go to another final."

