South dominates by loses GMCT semi

By John Beisser, Sports Writer
   Soccer can be a funny game at times, where the scoreboard does not even come close to reflecting the action on the field.
   On Monday, in the semifinals of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, the South Brunswick High girls soccer team found itself in such a game.
   Throughout the afternoon, the third-seeded Vikings peppered 10th-seeded Bishop Ahr with shots from all angles but a combination of bad luck and excellent goaltending kept SBHS off the board. Bishop Ahr mounted just one really dangerous threat and the Trojans converted as Alyssa Welsh knocked home a shot in the 17th minute. Goalkeeper Caitlin Hummel made it stand up, saving 18 shots.
   ”It was extremely frustrating to say the least, to dominate a team so thoroughly and not be able to punch one in,” said head coach Beth Barrio. “They only had the ball in our end a handful of times the whole game.
   ”But, you have to give them credit. They made a lot of nice saves and were able to hold us out. As the clock was winding down are girls worked even harder to come up with a goal. We moved everyone up and applied a lot of pressure. A number of different people were taking shots for us. It was just unlucky that we couldn’t get one in.”
   To illustrate how frustrating a day it was for the Vikings, consider the fact that the first 11 shots taken in the game came off the foot or head of a South Brunswick player and nine of them were on goal. South Brunswick dominated the first half while the second half was more even.
   The Vikings fought and scrapped the entire game but were simply unable to slip one past Hummel and into the goal. South Brunswick junior goalie Lauren Viverito came up with five saves. With the victory, Bishop Ahr, which plays out of the GMC Blue Division, improved its record to 15-3 on the year.
   South Brunswick entered the Bishop Ahr game, meanwhile, with a seven-game winning streak, including a 4-1 win over Highland Park in the first round of the GMC Tourney and a 1-0 victory over Old Bridge in the quarterfinals. The win over the Knights represented the third time South Brunswick has knocked off Old Bridge, which is a difficult thing to do against a quality opponent.
   The Vikings have been receiving tremendous play from junior midfielder Kailee Peskin who has five goals to her credit. Senior forward Verina Atalla is the team’s leading scorer with 22 points on nine goals and four assists while sophomore Jenna Bussiere has notched five goals and two assists. With the loss to Bishop Ahr, South Brunswick stands with a 12-5 overall record.
   The Vikings now await who they will face in the opening round of the NJSIAA Tournament, slated to begin early next month. Barrio indicated that she would like to schedule a game before then if possible so as to avoid a long layoff between the Bishop Ahr game and the state tournament first-round game.