By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
Nicolina Iorio recalls the excitement that surrounded the Robbinsville High School girls soccer state finals trip in 2011.
Iorio was a freshman then waiting for her chance to be on varsity, and she would get her chance to move up the following year. Iorio is in her third year starting now for Robbinsville, and is hoping her senior season ends with similar excitement.
”I think we have a really good team as far as skill-wise goes,” Iorio said. “I think we’re still trying to figure out where everyone’s going.”
The Ravens see their potential for a tournament run in games like their 2-1 win over highly regarded Princeton High last Wednesday. The Robbinsville defense made goals from Kellie Hoffman and Morgan Newman stand up with just one second-half goal allowed. Morgan Psiuk made 10 saves in the win. But then Friday, the Ravens took a step back with a 5-4 overtime loss to Ewing in a game they led, 4-2.
”We’ve had some great moments and some not so great moments,” said Ravens head coach Karen DeRossett, whose team is 1-2. “Hightstown was our first game, and Dakota Mills, she’s better than we anticipated. She was very good. Princeton was a great win. We came out strong. Then when we played Ewing, we played well. We were up 4-2, and we eased up. We lost in overtime on a direct kick.
”It’s still a work in progress,” she added. “We still have to switch some things around. Once we solidify things and get things working, we’ll be on the right track.”
Iorio’s spot is settled for the most part. After initially starting in the midfield as a sophomore, she is in her second full year back on defense where she is most comfortable.
”I actually was never defensive until on PDA, when the left center back actually tore her ACL,” said Iorio, who played on the South PDA Force club team that went to the State Cup final a year ago and this year won nationals. “Coach Jeremy (Beardsley) put me there because he said, he needed someone there. Ever since then, I started every game there. Even when she came back, I played there.”
This year, the Ravens are playing a flat back four formation. Initially, Iorio and fellow veteran senior defender Lauren Thompson were in the outside two positions of it. Now they will be moved inside this week.
”Our defense was kind of breaking down,” said Iorio, who is trying to be even more vocal this year after the graduation of sweeper Paige Motusesky. “We figured out how we’re going to rearrange the defense. I have been playing inside defender all of high school on my travel team. I really know how to play that spot. I didn’t really know how to play outside.
”I like the switch,” she added. “I’m glad she did it. Everyone loves the flat back four. Everyone for some reason did not like stopper, sweeper.”
The Ravens had a long talk at practice Saturday. They viewed it as the first step in getting their season going in the right direction.
”I think DeRossett believes in our team a lot more,” Iorio said. “She said she’s more confident about this team than any since Robbinsville won the state title a couple years ago. We mainly had that talk because she believes in us so much. She wants us to work it out and figure out what we’re doing wrong and fix it.”
Iorio believes in this team too. She sees critical pieces on offense and defense that can take the Ravens far. They showed it in their first win of the year.
”That win over Princeton, one thing with our team, we play up and down to the skill level of our opponent,” Iorio said. “That’s something we need to fix. Since Princeton is so good, there was a fire there and we all played that way all game.”
If the Ravens can bottle up that sort of effort for every game, they know they will have the sort of season they are expecting. They have big scorers in Hoffman and Newman who lead the offense.
”We have a girl, Kellie Hoffman, she’s a sophomore, who is very strong up top,” DeRossett said. “Morgan Newman, she plays in the middle. We’ve really been capitalizing on our opportunities. We miss our fair share, but overall, I’m happy with what I see offensively.”
Defensively, DeRossett is confident that they have players that can tighten things up for the Ravens.
”We have a very talented team,” DeRossett said. “We switched this year to a flat back four. We’re learning to adjust to that. We just need to figure out the right chemistry. We have to figure that out and where everyone needs to be and we’ll be pretty good.
”Usually I’m a man-to-man person. We have some speed on the team, but we don’t have as much speed to play man-to-man. Something had to give, so we went with a flat back four. A lot of them play it in travel. We just have to play together.”
Robbinsville features a core of five senior starters with Iorio, Thompson, Kate Coggins, Emily Langsdorf and Psiuk. There are seven seniors total on the team, though two are injured, and that experience will help bring the team up.
”The main thing we have right now is chemistry,” Iorio said. “Last year, there was something going on between the seniors and juniors. I didn’t feel as much chemistry as I do now. We’ve had talks about this is our favorite group of girls.”
Even a troubling loss like the one to Ewing can be used as a positive if it inspires Robbinsville.
”One of my teammates, Morgan Psiuk, said, we think this loss really needed to happen,” Iorio said. “It showed us what kind of team we are and what needed to happen.
”She made a really good point when she said that. It would have been nice to win, but because we lost to that team, it shows we have to improve on some things. We can’t just sit back and believe we’re this really good team. We thought too highly of ourselves. . . I still think highly of ourselves.”
So upset that they couldn’t talk, the players started texting each other immediately after the loss. There is a renewed approach to the year, and Iorio is hoping she can be a spark at the defensive end.
”She’s one of those feisty girls that never gives up,” DeRossett said. “She’s all over the place. She’s a ball of energy.”
Iorio is looking to have the best senior year possible. She is also exploring her options for beyond high school. She may play soccer in college, or she may just focus on a future in physical therapy while playing club soccer at a bigger school. For now, however, her focus is solely on getting the Ravens back on track for a big season.
”I think this is the best I’ve seen of a Robbinsville team since they won the state title,” Iorio said. “I’m hoping we go really far. We have so much potential. I really don’t understand why we lost that game. I think now that we got the kinks out, we’ll be OK.”

