Atalla attacks goalies

By John Beisser, Sports Writer
   Thanks in large part to the prodigious talents of senior Verina Atalla, the South Brunswick High girls soccer team headed into Wednesday’s showdown against East Brunswick with a full head of steam after kicking off the season with wins over Piscataway and J.P. Stevens.
   The Vikings opened the 2008 campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Piscataway last Friday and followed with an even more impressive 6-1 victory over J.P. Stevens on Monday. The lightning-fast Vatalla scored four of her team’s nine goals, including her first career hat trick vs. J.P. Stevens.
   Vatalla’s calling card, and a major reason why a host of Division I soccer programs are recruiting her, is speed. Following a competitive summer playing for the Jersey Knights soccer club, Vatalla says her speed has improved, a daunting notion for sure for South Brunswick’s upcoming opponents.
   ”I feel like I got a lot faster,” said Vatalla, whose list of suitors include Rutgers, St. John’s, and the University of Rhode Island, among others. “I’ve been in contact with those schools as well as some smaller schools from around New Jersey.”
   Viking first-year head coach Beth Barrio, who is assisted by Lorie Ruina this season, is happy with her team’s start. “This is a transition year for us with the coaching change and so I’m very happy that we won our first two games,” she said. “Verina has played really well and overall we’ve been pretty sharp.”
   The ever-humble Vatalla, while pleased with her early season form, is quick to credit her teammates for their role in her early season success.
   ”My teammates are always there for me,” she says. “I couldn’t do any of the things I do without them. We’re a close team and we all get along. To score three goals, that feels good. But the most important thing is we won the game.”
   Last season, the Vikings finished with an 8-9 record and narrowly missed a berth in the state tournament. This season, South Brunswick would like to pass that threshold and make it to states, said Vatalla.
   ”Our goal is to have an above .500 record, do as well as we can in the GMC’s and move on to the states,” she said.
   If the senior maintains her scoring pace, that could be a very attainable goal.