Kaplan’s goal clinches second victory

BY; Sean Moylan Sports Writer
    In the preseason preview, Robbinsville High girls’ varsity soccer head coach Karen DeRosett listed junior forward Gavy Kaplan as a player to watch.
    Well, midway through the second half of last Friday’s home game versus West Windsor-Plainsboro South, all eyes were glued on Kaplan’s amazing feet as she netted a goal to break a tie and lift Robbinsville a 2-1 win.
    “Laura Greb gave Gavy (Kaplan) a through ball and Gavy was able to use her speed and ball skill to maneuver around South’s defense and score the goal low in the corner. It was a great goal and an amazing effort by Gavy,” said DeRossett. “After that second goal we were pumped up and ready to go. We dominated play after that.”
    The Ravens scored first when Greb crossed a pass to Carina Fleming for a first-half goal. West Windsor tied the score in the second half.
    Robbinsville’s stingy defense and the outstanding play of goalie Mary Jane Seiler (six saves) were very instrumental in the victory. But everyone on the Ravens, from the front to the back, fulfilled her designated assignment.
    “Mary Jane Seiler is a great goalie. She has very quick reflexes and is quick to get to the ball. We are looking forward to (enjoying) the amazing ability she has as a keeper this season. We are more than confident having her in the back for us this year,” said DeRossett. “This game was one of best games I’ve seen the girls play. They worked together as a team and moved the ball well. They were quick on their feet and played aggressive and never gave up.”
    Conversely, Robbinsville came into last Tuesday’s (September 16th) home game versus Trenton Central as a huge favorite to win the contest. Yet nobody could have predicted that the Ravens would blow away the Tornadoes 9-0 and score eight second-half goals the way that they did.
    “We dominated both halves of the game. Their goalie (Ashley Hines) did an excellent job in the first half against us. She is very athletic and was able to stop pretty much everything. Trenton’s defense was also playing with the offside trap which we struggled with during the first half,” said DeRosett, whose team made some sensational adjustments at halftime and actually scored five of their second-
half goals within a minute of one another. “We talked about making better runs and better through balls and focused on staying onsides and moving the ball better. The girls responded well.”
    Greb, one of the CVC’s finest players, responded with a three-
goal, one-assist game. Erin Sutphen contributed two goals toward the win. Fleming had a goal and two assists while Amanda Douglass netted a goal and set up a tally. Nicole Yap (a goal) and Rachel Stepien (an assist) were also very much involved in the offensive flow of the contest.
    Along with teammate Nicole Hornberger, Douglass also played a strong defensive game.
    “We also have Nicole Sandusky at stopper who has a monster foot and wins almost all 50/50 balls out of the air, which makes her a dominating player,” added DeRossett, who was also very pleased with the skill Sutphen showed while playing the all-important sweeper position.
    Hines made 25 saves to keep Robbinsville from scoring in double digits. In the meantime, Seiler made a pair of saves to earn her first shutout.
    If there’s “anything” that could even be perceived as a negative it’s that the Ravens had only played two games as of Tuesday morning (their opener versus Notre Dame was rained out). However, Robbinsville has even been able to use the extra time off to its advantage.
    “The girls are adjusting fine to the off days. It’s good to have some recovery between games and work on different things. This week we play three games, two back-to-
back. I know the girls will be ready. They have been working extremely hard all preseason and during the season,” said DeRossett.
    Robbinsville (2-0) was scheduled to have played a road game at West Windsor-Plainsboro North this past Tuesday. Robbinsville is scheduled to host Steinert today (Thursday) and South Brunswick tomorrow (Friday). Robbinsville is scheduled at Ewing next Wednesday.