By John Beisser, Sports Writer
Reaching the semifinals of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament represents the classic case of good news, bad news for the Monroe High girls soccer team.
The good news is the fourth-seeded Falcons reached the semis without so much as giving up a goal, blanking 13th-seeded Middlesex on Saturday by a 2-0 count before dispatching of 12th-seeded North Brunswick 3-0 on Tuesday afternoon.
The bad news? The Falcons get to face the always-imposing and abundantly talented East Brunswick Bears, a program that has through the years become synonymous with high school girls soccer excellence.
The Bears are in their customary number-one seed spot, having entered the tournament as the overwhelming favorite to once again bring home the hardware. The match is set for 5:30 p.m. at Heavenly Farms on Dunham Corners Road in East Brunswick.
The other semifinal match will pit No. 3 seed Old Bridge vs. No. 10 seed South Brunswick.
Sharp-shooting senior center-forward Kelsey Schobert got Monroe (16-2) on the board 26 minutes into the game after receiving a feed from sophomore Nikki Meyers. Senior forward Alanna Carr then gave the Falcons a 2-0 cushion two minutes later when she slammed home a goal from the 18-yard line following a deflection off of the Raider goalkeeper.
Leading 2-0 and in complete control of the game, Monroe put it out of reach with 28 minutes left on a goal by ultra-quick senior right wing Nicole Ragucci. Senior stopper Jennifer Arnold was credited with the assist.
While goals are nice, necessary and welcomed, the staple of all high-caliber soccer teams is defense and the 2007 Falcons are no exception.
How dominant was the Monroe defense?
So dominant that junior goalkeeper Caitlyn Hoskins was asked to make just one save the entire game.
North Brunswick is a team led by arguably the most dangerous offensive player in the entire county in Kaitlyn Curran, a bundle of skilled energy, who has the ability to torch out-manned or unprepared defenses. On this day, Monroe was more than equal to the task, holding Curran completely in check as the Raiders’ record fell to 9-7.
”Our marking back, Monica Polick (senior) and Danielle Rotundo (junior), did a great job,” said Falcon head coach Kathy Dillon who has now led three of her seven Monroe teams to the GMC semifinals. “Danielle is fast and tough. She’s only like 4-10 but she’s dynamic and has marked some of the biggest players in the county.”
Dillon also heaped praise on senior sweeper Sarah Gibbons and senior stopper Allison Arnold for helping to keep Curran and her talented teammates in under wraps.
”We played kind of a zone against her (Curran),” Dillon said. “All of our defenders were definitely aware of where she was at all times. We double-downed on her and just made her work for everything. We played a great all-around game.”
On Saturday, Schobert notched a pair of goals in the first 14 minutes as the Falcons led 2-0 at intermission. Ragucci added a second-half goal and also assisted on two others while Meyers chipped in with a goal and an assist as Monroe won going away.
And now it’s time to face the big bad Bears.
”I know we will come out and play our best game,” said Dillon. “Whether that will be good enough, we don’t know.”
