After avenging its 0-0 tie with John F. Kennedy earlier in the season with last week’s 3-1 victory, the Metuchen High School girls soccer team inched its way closer to the top of the Blue Division standings.
Heading into this week, the Bulldogs were just a half game back of Spotswood for the top spot in the division with 6-1-2 record.
After suffering its first loss of the season in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Spotswood to start last week, the Dogs rebounded in its rematch with Kennedy. Kennedy appeared poised to spoil Metuchen’s bid for vengeance when it jumped out to a 1-0 lead as the first half neared its conclusion. Fortunately for Metuchen, Sara Corson found the back of the Kennedy net just before the halftime whistle.
“We really dominated the game in our first meeting but we just couldn’t finish,” Metuchen head coach Val Gazda said. “It looked like more of the same to start the rematch. We had so many early opportunities but we couldn’t find the net.”
The Bulldogs made some halftime adjustments and put the game out of reach early in the second half with goals from Lindsey Peragallo and Jordan McVicker.
“We knew Kennedy was going to try and trap us offsides,” Gazda said. “We went with a different alignment in the second half and were able to stay onsides and finish. We had been knocking on the door constantly but we were finally able to get in this time.”
As it did in its first meeting with Kennedy, Metuchen dominated possession the entire game. Kennedy’s lone goal came as a result of a direct kick outside the 18-yard line.
“Any time you dominate possession and fail to score, it gets pretty nerve-racking,” Gazda said. “You’re just one mistake away from seeing the other team take the lead. Fortunately, we were able to get the job done this time and put some points on the scoreboard.”
The Bulldogs will look to ride the momentum from their win over Kennedy this week when they take on several hot teams. The week begins with a matchup against Timothy Christian, a team Metuchen has never faced.
“I know they just knocked off some pretty good teams in South River and Middlesex,” Gazda said. “They look to be a competitive team and we’ll need to be ready.”
After its midweek matchup against a South Plainfield team (the Bulldogs topped 5-0 earlier in the year), the Dogs will end the week against Bishop Ahr. The Trojans are riding high after last week’s 1- 0 win over Spotswood.
“Bishop Ahr beat Spotswood 2-1 and the beat Kennedy pretty handedly,” Gazda said. “They’re obviously doing something right and this will be a big game for us. This week is the seeding meeting for the GMC Tournament and we want to be playing good soccer this week. We could be a top 10 team in this year’s tournament. Our only blemish is the Kennedy tie, but we did a nice job last week to avenge that draw.”