BRHS girls’ soccer chasing playoff spot

BY: Sean Moylan Sports Writer
    A week ago, when it was 2-5-1, the injury-plagued Bordentown Regional High girls’ varsity soccer squad was dangerously close to falling out of playoff contention. But this is a Scotties team with a tremendous amount of heart and desire — a team which took care of business and posted comfortable wins over both Willingboro and Burlington City this past week to climb to within just one game of .500.
    After losing eight of his players to injury, most of whom were seniors, the Scotties’ Hall of Fame head coach Dominick Castaldo believes more than ever in the team-
first concepts which he has preached for the past quarter of a century. This is not a team of stars. It’s a team of soccer players who always play soccer the right way.
    “In order for us to be successful every person from one to twenty has to do her part,” said Castaldo. “I have so much confidence in their abilities.”
    Of course, those 20 players have even changed some since the beginning of the season. Bordentown lost senior captain Brittany Bakeman, who recently had ACL surgery, to injury before the season even started. Bakeman was one of the fastest players and best defenders in all of Burlington County. Yet other players, including Bakeman’s younger sister Melanie, have somehow managed to pick up the slack in her absence.
    “Every one of my players has stepped up and done her job,” noted Castaldo. “I have brought up three JV players (Lauren Donaher, Jenna Adams and Lindsey Lawrence) to the varsity and I have been very pleased with all of them.”
    The team concept was quite evident in Bordentown’s 4-1 win over Burlington City this past Monday as four different Scotties scored in the game. Sheila Frank had a goal and an assist while team captain Kiley Dougherty, Kayla Pagnani and Leah Shaw each chipped in with a goal. Scotties’ goalie Nicole Walls had nine saves in the contest.
    If there was one negative in Monday’s solid win over the Blue Devils it was that the Scotties blasted 25 shots on goal and only four reached the back of the net.
    “We’re getting a lot of opportunities but we’re not finishing. Yesterday (Monday) we missed a penalty kick which could have hurt us,” said Castaldo, who felt his girls played very hard. “The last couple of games we’ve had a lot of shots and we haven’t finished. I don’t know what it is. Maybe we were a little tired.”
    The Scotties have played a lot of soccer games the past two weeks and have only gotten in a few good practices over that span of time.
    In last Thursday’s 3-1 home win over Willingboro, the Scotties took a whopping 31 shots on goal.
    “There again we kept them (the Chimeras) in the game. But let’s be honest, their goalkeeper (Janae Tucker) saved them on numerous occasions,” said Castaldo.
    Shaw and Frank each had a goal and an assist while Pagnani also netted a goal. In goal Walls made three saves to post the win as Willingboro had just six shots overall. Bordentown’s defense also played very well.
    “In order to make the playoffs we need to win the games that are winnable,” said Castaldo, whose club should match up well with its opponents in its next few games.
    Bordentown (4-5-1) is scheduled at Burlington Township on Friday and at Maple Shade on Tuesday.