MHS boys hit drought in SCT loss

Top-seeded Cougar girls advance to semis

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   Some goals are easier to come by than others for the Montgomery High boys’ soccer team.
   On Saturday, the Cougars played one of those games where the goals were scarce, leading to a 2-1 loss to Watchung Hills in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals.
   The Montgomery girls, the top seeds in the SCT, advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 win over Mount St. Mary’s.
   The MHS boys had played Watchung Hills twice before, coming away with a pair of wins, including a 2-1 triumph just four days earlier. But this time, the Cougars got into a 2-0 hole and couldn’t quite get back out of it.
   ”It’s frustrating,” said Montgomery coach Bob Schwartz, whose team fell to 8-5 with the loss. “I thought we played well, but it wasn’t good enough to win.
   ”Defensively our guys played great. In the midfield we were working hard and getting the ball to the right spots. The finishing just didn’t come for us. It’s been a little bit of feast or famine for us. We’ve won games with a lot of goals, but we’ve still yet to find the net when it’s a really important game. We just need to figure that out.”
   Watchung Hills took a 1-0 lead early in the first half after converting a penalty kick. The Warriors went up 2-0 midway through the second half before Montgomery got within a goal when Matt Wiltse scored off a direct kick by Chris Cender.
   The Cougars threatened to score down the stretch, but couldn’t convert any of their chances.
   ”It’s not a time right now for us to fold in the cards and stop playing,” said Schwartz, whose team will play at Bridgewater today. “Monday’s training session is an important session, and then we have Bridgewater and Hillsborough, two teams with very dangerous forwards. So we have to get right back at it again. We still have a lot to play for.”
   Montgomery will be back in the state tournament, which begins later this month. And that’s when they’ll need to put together some strong offensive games.
   The Montgomery girls have not had any trouble scoring goals this season. In the win over Mt. St. Mary’s, the Cougars scored four times, running their streak of games with at least three goals to six in a row.
   Alex Vazquez scored once and also assisted on a goal for the Cougars, who will face fifth-seeded Hillsborough on Saturday at Bridgewater in the SCT semifinals. Molly Chenot, Maris Rosenblat and Lauren McClintic also scored in the win. Ally Mancino recorded her 10th shutout of the season in goal.