By John Beisser, Sports Writer
By any measuring stick, the 2007 Monroe Township High School girls soccer team enjoyed a highly-successful season.
With a roster replete with 12 seniors, the Falcons stormed their way to a 17-4 record and a berth in the Greater Middlesex Conference semifinals. Record-wise, the 2007 season was the best in head coach Kathy Dillon’s seven-year career, topping the 16-4 mark she led the Falcons to in 2002.
”Going into the season, we knew we had a lot of talent and experience returning,” said Dillon. “This group had played a lot of soccer together and I was really pleased with how the season went.
”This senior class was very diverse, with a lot of different personalities and abilities. They had a great chemistry, which was one of our strengths. And when we took the field, other teams could not key on just one or two players.”
All of the Falcons’ success began with the quartet of senior captains Alyssa Theinert (right-midfield), Alanna Carr (center-midfield), Nicole Ragucci (right-wing) and Allison Arnold (stopper).
Offensively, the Falcons were paced by the stellar play of senior center-forward Kelsey Schobert, a tremendous finisher with a knack for goal-scoring, and Ragucci, whose speed was her chief asset on the offensive end.
Theinert and Carr expertly patrolled the midfield while the defense was led by Arnold at stopper and junior Sarah Gibbons, who made a seamless transition from midfield to sweeper. Gibbons proved to be a quick study at her new position, as she consistently demonstrated excellent tactical ability and outstanding instincts. Gibbons and goalkeeper Caitlyn Hoskins, who was terrific all season, along with small, yet speedy marking back Danielle Rotundo, figure to be among the leaders of the 2008 Falcons.
For those looking to make a quick buck, it might be wise to invest in Kleenex stock for as Dillon prepares her comments for tonight’s (Friday’s) season-ending banquet, she will be sure to bring along a heaping supply of tissues. She’ll need them as finding the right words to describe her dozen seniors will be emotional for sure. It seems like just yesterday that she was saying hello to this large and close-knit group.
The time is now at hand to say goodbye.
”It will be a tough night, no question about it,” said Dillon. “We have spent so much time together. I hope they enjoyed playing for me because I loved coaching them. Some will go on to play in college but for many of them, this is the end of their soccer careers.
”When I was starting out in my coaching career, I used to get really worked up about the girls graduating. But, it’s a natural progression and they’ll be some young kids that will be asked to come in and step up,” she added. “Jennifer, Caitlyn and Danielle, whose my little sparkplug out there, will all be great leaders and we have others with varsity experience as well as a good group coming up from the jayvees. But these seniors, they were a special group and will be missed”
The low point of the season for Monroe came in mid-September when the Falcons, playing without Carr who was out with an ankle sprain, dropped consecutive games to Woodbridge and North Brunswick by the scores of 2-1 and 2-0, respectively. Late in the season, Monroe settled the score with both of these talented teams, dispatching of Woodbridge in a late-season regular season match before knocking off North Brunswick in the GMC Tournament.
But in that game, Carr was given a red card and Monroe lost its next two games to end the season.
But the 2007 Falcons were a team that answered nearly every other challenge. Their biggest challenge yet might come at the banquet.
