By David Gurney, Sports Writer
They had their lead, and had their chances.
But the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament can be a cruel mistress sometimes.
After Monroe took a 1-0 lead in the GMCT quarterfinals Tuesday, No. 4 East Brunswick scored three unanswered goals en route to a 3-1 victory over the No. 5 Falcons’ boys soccer team.
The loss eliminates the Falcons from the GMCT a year after winning the tournament championship, but leaves them looking forward to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament, where they’ll probably be seeded around four or five in the bracket.
”It was disappointing in the fact that, within the game, it was winnable,” Monroe head coach Steve McKenzie said after the loss. “We had the opportunity to really put them away in the first half. We let them hang around and then they scored on an unfortunate goal. Then they scored one on a header and another late. They are a good team, they were more experienced. We had a pretty good plan, just didn’t finish those chances.”
Senior midfielder Garret Beyer opened the scoring 11 minutes in, the beneficiary of a through-ball on the wing sent by junior midfielder Brandon Sebastian. Beyer cut by the defender and sent one into the corner to give Monroe the 1-0 edge.
About 10 minutes later, EB took advantage of a terrific direct free kick by Evan Brandsdorfer just under the crossbar to knot the game at one.
The next goal wouldn’t come until 10 minutes into the second half. A long throw-in by EB was headed towards the net by Chris Fawzy.
Monroe goalkeeper Pat Perrella seemingly cleared the ball off the line, but the referee ruled it crossed the goal line, giving EB the 2-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
”It was just a long throw and header,” McKenzie said. “We thought it was cleared off line, but the ref called it a goal. It’s tough when the other team scores on a long free kick and throw-in. In the run of play, the only goal EB scored was the one at the end when we pushed numbers up to tie.”
The Falcons had their opportunities, but could not solve goalkeeper Zack Stahl and capitalize on chances to score.
”Stahl made some saves, but we have to bury our opportunities,” McKenzie said. “He made nice saves, but there were three or four times our players were against him one on one and we just didn’t finish.”
Brandsdorfer tacked one on late in the game on a transition break, ending the Falcons’ hopes of sending the game into overtime.
The loss leaves the young Falcons two games shy of last year’s GMCT mark, but the play of the young players impressed McKenzie.
”A majority of our younger guys played in the back and did well,” McKenzie said. “They played well, EB maybe had two quality shots that didn’t go in. We didn’t possess well and had trouble in the midfield, but you have to sacrifice in some areas to give your team a chance. We played well, the result was unfortunate.”
Monroe will now play the waiting game until the state tournament pairings are announced.
Yet, McKenzie feels good, especially with the fact that many of the teams in Central Jersey Group III play a similar style to EB. They won’t have to tinker too much with game plan heading into the tournament.
”It’s hard to turn over quickly, that’s why you have to find the desire inside and compete,” McKenzie said. “We scouted a lot of teams that play like EB. A majority play the same system as EB and style.
”What we did against them we’ll do the rest of the way.”
