I t’s the little things that can make the difference between winning and losing. For the Brookdale Community College women’s soccer team, that difference was the attention that head coach Katie Miller gave to corner kicks.
It was the conversion of a corner kick by the Jersey Blues in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III title game that broke a 3-3 tie with Mohawk Valley Community College and propelled the Jersey Blues to the 4-3 victory and their firstever national title on Nov. 10 in New York.
With just under six minutes remaining in regulation and Mohawk Valley having seized the momentum with two straight goals that tied the game at 3-3, Brookdale had a corner kick.
Keara Homan (Manasquan) delivered a perfect serve into the box just like the Jersey Blues had practiced it, and Amanda Anastasia (Middletown South), showing the drive and desire Miller had preached, went up in traffic, got her head on Homan’s serve and guided it into the net for the game-winning goal.
Practice made perfect for the new national champions.
“I’m huge [on] corner kicks,” said Miller, who was on the last Brookdale team that played for the national title in 2006. “We were getting so many corner kicks early in the season and not converting. It was almost a waste.”
So, Miller took time in every practice to work on them.
“We had the height and talent. We had to get the kids to buy into it [and] get them to believe,” she said.
The coaching staff looked for the right combinations, with Homan among those who could get the corner kick right and Anastasia among the players who had the height to go up and get it.
Anastasia’s goal was Brookdale’s 13th corner kick conversion this year and sixth on a header.
Miller said she promised ice cream to those who scored on a header, and she doesn’t mind that she’s on the hook for six of them.
Center-midfielder Chelsea James (Howell), who made the All-Tournament Team, recalled all the work the team put in from August until the national finals, the sacrifices that had to be made and how it made the championship so rewarding for everyone.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “We did it as one. We all worked hard.”
“I didn’t just win a national championship, but I gained a group of friends that will last a lifetime,” she added.
Defender Lauren Bowler (Red Bank Regional), who also made the All-Tournament Team, pointed out that it was special to be Brookdale’s first women’s soccer national champion.
“It feels great,” she said. “In the gym, I keep looking up knowing there will be a [national championship] banner there.”
“[The championship] was truly a testament to the kids,” Miller said. “They all worked hard throughout the season. [For me] to be a part of it is great. It means everything to the kids. They earned it.”
Howell Trio
Mohawk Valley wasn’t the only close call for the Jersey Blues. They had an even greater nail-biter in the semifinals against Howard Community College on Nov. 8. Neither team could score after what Miller called “a grueling 110 minutes.” It would all come down to the dreaded penalty kick shootout to determine which team advanced.
Again, penalty kicks were something that Brookdale practiced throughout the season. The Jersey Blues prevailed in sudden death, 3-2, with three neighbors — James, Alexa Masino and Caitlin Fisher — finding the net.
“We call them the Howell Trio,” Miller said.
James said she and her Howell High School teammates “all live around the block from each other.” They now share more than geography; they share a national championship.
Without goalie Erin Kinneman (Matawan), the Jersey Blues might not have escaped the shootout. She made three stops, with the third in sudden death after Fisher put Brookdale up, 3-2.
“Erin loves [penalty kicks],” Miller said. “She has an inner confidence. She likes that it all comes down to her.
“Erin is pretty good at reading a kicker as they come up [to shoot],” the coach added. “She looks at their foot placement.”
Things went rather smoothly for Brookdale in its NJCAA Tournament opener on Nov. 7 against SUNY Delhi. Caroline Duerr (Manasquan) and Simone McEnough (Neptune) each scored two goals in the 7-0 win. Masino, James and Homan all had one goal. Homan’s was a header off a placement by Bowler. Kinneman collected her ninth shutout of the season.
Next came the penalty kick thriller with Howard.
In the national finals, the Jersey Blues faced the second-ranked team in the country, Mohawk Valley, which Brookdale beat, 3-0, on Sept. 1. They were also battling the elements — rain, sleet, snow and hale, as well as intermittent sunshine in 30-degree temperatures.
Duerr struck first in the finals to give Brookdale the 1-0 lead. Brooke Tartis (Neptune) made it 2-0. It was 2-1 at the half and Masino made it 3-1, as Brookdale seemed in control only to see Mohawk Valley catch them.
“Both teams wanted it,” Miller said.
It was Brookdale that made one more play off Homan’s corner kick to seize the championship.
The Jersey Blues were ranked No. 1 in the country heading into the tournament and exited it as the undisputed No. 1.
They finished their memorable season at 17-1-1.
Duerr was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, with James, Anastasia and Bowler named to the All-Tournament Team with her. Kinneman was the Defensive Player of the Tournament, and Miller was given the Coach of the Tournament award.