How do you define greatness? Is it measured by talent, heart, desire, and the will to win?
JEFF GRANIT staff Freeehold Boro High School’s Nikki Paulicci (15) goes up for a head ball with Hopewell Valley’s Colleen Williams in their NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III final at Freehold Boro High School on Nov. 14. Borough won the game by a score of 3-2 in overtime. You can debate which one of these the Freehold Borough girls soccer team has the most of, but you can’t debate that they certainly have all of the above and more.
It’s the reason they continued their quest for a third straight Group III state title Friday nipping Hopewell Valley, 3-2, in overtime to capture a third straight Central Jersey Group III state sectional crown.
Like all great teams, the Colonials (20- 1) are always at their best when their backs are against the wall. They’ve never lost an overtime game during this streak and senior Shannon Mayrose and sophomore Paige Preston saw to it that they didn’t on their home field.
Preston deposited the golden goal in the first overtime assisted by the irrepressible Mayrose, who drew the Bulldog defense toward her.
“I saw the girl [defender] was going towards Shannon and I kept moving,” recalled Preston. “Shannon made a great pass that made it an easy play for me.
“This is something I’ve always dreamed about, scoring the game-winning goal,” she added.
Mayrose, who had scored the Colonials second goal that put them up 2-1, said she really didn’t remember the play.
“I crossed the ball and Paige was there,” she said. “When I saw the ball in the net, I said ‘thank God.’
“This is what you play soccer for,” she added. “Moments like this. It’s a great feeling.”
It was a bittersweet day for Mayrose and the other members of the extraordinary Colonials senior class. Win or lose, it was the final home game of their unparalleled careers.
Coach Elyse Bizzozzaro sensed the Colonials weren’t quite themselves.
“I could sense a lot of the season were uptight,” she said. “It was the last game they would play on this field,” she said.
Alexandra Eagle, who chipped in with an important assist and again anchored the stalwart defense, agreed with her coach.
“For us seniors, it was our last home game and we didn’t want to go out with a loss.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves,” she added.
It showed early as Hopewell Valley tested the Colonials like few teams have in recent years. Emily Kianka stunned the Colonials, scoring in the first 10 minutes of the match on a header. A cross was batted into the air in traffic and Kianka was in the right place at the right time to put the Bulldogs up, 1-0.
Mayrose said the game reminded her a lot of last year’s state final against Ramapo when the Colonials fell behind early before rallying for the 2-1 victory.
“We got back to playing Borough soccer,” she said.
Which is playing with a lot of heart and composure and building the attack from the back forward.
Despite settling down and gaining control of the tempo of the game, the Colonials still trailed for only the second time this year at the half, 1-0.
This game was one time that Bizzozzaro was more than happy to be proved wrong about her halftime speech.
“I told them at halftime that the other team wanted it more, prove me wrong,” she said.
They did.
Nikki Paulucci tied the game at 1-1 just 5:16 into the second half. The defender made a brilliant up-field run, dribbling around and through one defender after another as if she were a running back shredding tacklers. After eluding the final defender by dinking left and going right, she tucked a shot inside the near post. The ice was broken.
Less than 90 seconds later, the Colonials struck again off a direct kick. Eagle delivered a perfect kick in the goal box. Mayrose went up in traffic as if it was winter and she was grabbing a rebound, and headed the shot in.
“We always look for each other,” said Mayrose of the goal.
Eagle said her mission was to give her teammates a good run at the ball.
“I just look to put it near the post,” said Eagle.
After the Borough’s two quick goals, the teams produced end-to-end action. Instead of folding, Hopewell Valley came back attacking. Less than two minutes after Mayrose’s goal, the Bulldogs had a chance to even the score. A handball off a corner kick play gave Bulldogs a penalty kick.
But, before everyone got ahead of themselves, and thought it was now 2-2, Borough goalie Ashley Lewis would have nothing to do with a tie.
“It’s high school soccer, I tried to get in her head,” said Lewis of the Bulldogs’ Colleen Williams. “I went up to her and told her good luck and then checked the net to give her time to think about the shot.”
Williams tried to beat Lewis to her right with a low shot. Lewis made a diving save deflecting the ball away and kept the Bulldogs off the board.
Freehold Borough’s day was not done yet, though. Kianka ripped a left-footer inside the 18-yard line with 12 minutes remaining and the teams were fit to be tied.
As regulation ended at 2-2 it went into overtime. The Colonials had the Bulldogs right where they want them as they kept their perfect overtime record thanks to an underclassman’s golden goal.
“That’s what’s great about this team, someone always steps up,” said Bizzozzaro.
It was on to the State Group III semifinal for Freehold Borough last night at Toms River North High School. The Colonials were scheduled to play South Jersey Group III winner Seneca. The winner plays Saturday for the Group III state title at the College of New Jersey.
No matter what transpires this week, the Colonials have clearly established themselves as one of the great teams in any sport the Freehold Regional District has seen.
To get to the CJ final, the Colonials took out West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 2-0, in the quarterfinals. Eagle, assisted by Paulucci and Mayrose from an Angeles Pantoja feed, scored a first-half goal.
In the semifinals, the Colonials eliminated the Hightstown Rams for the third straight year, 3-0. Jackie Scalgione got the Colonials on the scoreboard in the first half knocking in a rebound of a Simone Dixon shot.
In the second half, Pantoja headed in another perfect direct kick placement from Eagle, and freshman Karlie Korz got on the scoreboard assisted by Mayrose.