By Rich Fisher, Sports Editor
The South Brunswick High girls soccer team scored more goals by itself in its first-round Central Jersey Group IV tournament win over Monroe Tuesday, than has been scored by both teams in two regular-season battles between the Vikings and East Brunswick.
That alone, gives 7th-seeded SBHS hope when it visits the 2nd-seeded Bears for a 10 p.m. quarterfinal game today (Thursday).
The Vikings dropped both games to EB this season by 1-0 scores and the first was in double-overtime. A bounce here, a mis-kick there, and who knows?
”We know it’s going to be a tough game, so we have to give it our all,” said Jenna Bussiere, who had a goal and an assist in the Vikes 3-1 win over 10th-seeded Monroe. “We have to be prepared and we can’t fool around at all.”
Kailee Peskin, who stepped up in the absence of injured Verina Atalla to score two goals against Monroe, feels the Vikings are ready for the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament champs.
”We are so prepared and so excited to play them,” Peskin said. “The third time’s a charm!
”Everyone has their head focused on for East Brunswick. This game (with Monroe) was a tough game so it prepared us to play them.”
Monroe (10-10-1) did indeed provide a challenge, although the Vikes (13-6) looked ready to blow it open when Peskin scored off a feed from Bussiere 40 seconds into play.
It stayed that way, however, for the next 60 minutes as SBHS could not get any breathing room.
”It’s very hard to have that one goal,” coach Beth Barrio said. “No matter what you do the girls are a little bit on their heels. They’re a little bit waiting, you’re hoping nothing goes through, you’re hoping there’s no mistakes and you’re just kind of rallying around that one goal.
”When the girls started to push forward and keep the momentum and attack them, it changed the whole dimension of the game.”
When that finally happened, Bussiere scored from in close to make it 2-0 with 19 minutes remaining.
”I saw the ball rolling and just took the shot,” Bussiere said. “We definitely needed a goal like that.”
But tenacious Monroe got one back on a goal by Danielle Klecha. Goalie Lauren Viverito then made a diving save to maintain the lead, and with five minutes left Lauren Strebeck slid a ball to Peskin who rifled a shot over ‘keeper Caitlin Hoskins head.
”As big as a relief as it is to go up two, they’re such a hard fighting team that no matter how many goals we score we have to keep pushing,” Peskin said. “You can’t let down at all with them because they’ll keep fighting.”
Peskin’s second goal took the fight from Monroe, and South turned its sights East.
”Regardless of the win or the loss, one of our goals this season was to play East Brunswick three times,” Barrio said. “When we lost to Bishop Ahr (in the GMCT semifinal) I don’t think they felt closure. So now that we play them a third time, win or lose, we know that we got there for a third game.
”We have nothing to lose, we just want to go out and play the best we can for 80 minutes, look at the scoreboard at the end and see what happens.”

