Sayreville War Memorial High School’s girls soccer team heads into an Oct. 3 Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) White Division match against first place Bishop George Ahr High School with a 5-1-1 record.
The Bombers lone loss, a 4-0 decision, came at the hands of Bishop Ahr on Sept. 24. The match was scoreless after 18 minutes, but the visiting Trojans collected two goals in a 30-second span, and the blue and gray was unable to recover.
“We have a pretty young team and the girls were nervous going into that game,” second-year coach Jillian Nagy said. “When Bishop Ahr got those two quick goals, it really took the wind out of our sails. We were kind of playing kickball after that.”
Having played the Trojans once, even to a disappointing result, should help Sayreville the second time around, the coach said.
“The girls know that they need to keep their focus,” Nagy said. “If you let down for a moment, anything can happen. When mistakes happen, the girls need to pick each other up and keep going.”
After graduating 11 seniors from last year’s team, this looked like a rebuilding season for the Bombers. A 6-0 victory over Colonia High School in the season opener, which saw six different girls score, gave Sayreville an immediate boost in confidence.
Next up was Edison High School, which took a 1-0 lead before Nagy’s team roared back, as sophomore striker Meghan Luzetsky scored twice and junior midfielder Kim Stratton netted a goal and two assists.
After a disappointing 0-0 tie against division rival South Plainfield High School, Sayreville shut out North Brunswick Township High School, 5-0, before running into Bishop Ahr. Nagy said she was pleased with her team’s performances afterward — a 7-0 victory against Perth Amboy High School and a 2-0 triumph over Edison.
“Our passing has been crisper over the past two games, and the girls have been making better and smarter runs,” the coach said. “The girls have a lot of potential and now they’re playing better.”
One surprise has been the team’s strong defensive play without central defender and captain Heather Sootkoos, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Nicole Raub, the other central defender, has soldiered on by playing through a painful foot injury to anchor the back line. Raub has also scored a pair of goals.
The Bombers have benefitted from the experience of Kelly Raub, who split the netminding chores with Jackie O’Connor last year. Thus far, the senior has allowed just five goals and has four clean sheets to her credit. She combined with Klaudia Patryn for a fifth shutout.
Junior Morgan Cicolella and freshman Kaitlin Esposito have also played well in front of the net. Briana Ruzanski and junior Tara Ciak have proven to be valuable reserves.
Offensively, several girls have contributed. Stratton, who has the ability to control games from her center midfield post, leads the Bombers in scoring with a trio of goals to go along with eight assists.
Sophomore Sarah Rubio, the other central midfielder, has four goals, while Paula Marques has three goals and two assists. Emma Denby has scored three times.
The strikers have also been productive. Luzetsky has three goals, and Victoria Monte, Andrea Payne and Morgan Guenther have scored twice each. Guenther has been playing through a sprained ankle and is just now rounding into form, Nagy said.
“This is a young team, and we’ve had some frustrating injuries. But they’re doing very well,” Nagy said. “We’re looking to have a strong second half of the season so that we come into the tournaments with momentum and confidence.”