Brookdale Community College’s women’s soccer team has answered every challenge to date.
With first place in the Garden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) and a top seed in the Region 19 Tournament on the line, the Jersey Blues flashed their championship pedigree, beating Ocean County College in Toms River, 1-0, Oct. 6.
Simone McEnough’s (Neptune) goal in the 73rd minute off a pass from Aubrey Jones (Manasquan) held up, and Brookdale now has sole possession of first place in the GSAC.
Goalkeeper Marti Stewart (Marlboro) registered her eighth shutout of the season.
The Jersey Blues are 6-0 in GSAC play,and Ocean is 5-1.
“It was a huge win for us,” head coach Katie Miller said of the road victory against Ocean. “I think the girls on the team knew what they needed to get done. We took care of business.”
With the Region 19 tournament on the horizon (Oct. 31 in Union County), the Jersey Blues record-wise (11-1 overall) are where they would like to be. Overall, Miller said her team has been playing well. But it’s uncertain if that will be enough for the two-time defending National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III national champions in the one-and-done tournament.
The concern moving forward for Miller is whether her team can up its game. They Jersey Blues had a tendency to play down to the competition this season, and that can be a dangerous trap to fall into.
“We’re in a little bit of a rut; we’re not playing to our potential,” she said. “We’re playing well enough to win.”
The mistakes the Jersey Blues can get away with against lesser teams might be exposed come tournament time against top teams.
“There are a few things we have to work on: spacing and moving without the ball,” the head coach said.
Miller likes to control the ball, and that is one thing the Jersey Blues are doing very well.
“Our forwards never give up,” she said. “We have speed up top.”
The Jersey Blues have not lacked for creating scoring chances. They just haven’t cashed in on them as often as they would like.
In Brookdale’s lone loss to No. 2 ranked Herkimer College Sept. 26, the Jersey Blues outplayed the New York school but failed to deposit a goal and lost, 1-0.
Looking back, Miller thinks it was a positive for her team — in part because it took the pressure off pursuing an undefeated season.
The Jersey Blues also learned what it’s like to outplay a team and still fall short.
“They know what the feeling of working so hard and not winning is like,” she said.
That is a feeling they don’t want to repeat. Their win against Ocean in a playofftype setting was an indication that these Jersey Blues know what it takes to win a big game.
With only six sophomores on the team, the Jersey Blues don’t have as much veteran leadership that a national championship contender would like to have. The team is still learning everything it takes to pursue a national title.
Miller has emphasized that these Jersey Blues are not the 2014 team, and that this year’s team has to forge its own identity.
“We have to work for [the national championship]; we have to earn it,” she said. “The ball is in their court.”
The identity of this year’s team thus far has been hard-working forwards and an All- Region goalie who is a difference-maker.
“Marti always shows up,” Miller said of her standout goalie. “It’s nice having her back there. Her presence is important. She’s got the mindset I like.
“Having her in the lineup every day, I don’t worry [about goalkeeping].”
Stewart has eight clean sheets and a .912 save percentage. Her 0.42 goals against average ranks among the best in the country. The Marlboro High School graduate has played every minute of every match.
Up front, the Jersey Blues have a lot of talent on the forward line.
“Our forwards never give up on a play,” Miller said. “They work very hard.”
Wall High School graduate Heather Arbachesky leads the Jersey Blues with 27 points on 10 goals and seven assists. Ashley Cafarella (Old Bridge) also has 10 goals. McEnough has six assists to go with 10 goals. Amanda Karabin (Wall) has eight goals and four assists.
Cafarella and Claire Begley (Mater Dei) lead a midfield unit that is instrumental to the success of Brookdale’s possession game. Begley is the team’s top playmaker with a team-high eight assists to go with two goals.
Alexandra Montefinesse (Monmouth Regional), Colleen Branagan (Matawan) and Meredith Parleman (Middletown North) anchor a defense that has allowed just four goals.
Brookdale will play its final home GSAC match Oct. 17 against Camden County College at 12 p.m. Its final home game of the season is Oct. 22 against Hartford Community College at 4 p.m.
Brookdale men vie for playoff spot
Brookdale’s men’s soccer team is currently in the race for a playoff spot in the region. The Jersey Blues are 9-4 overall and 7-3 in region play. They are currently in seventh place in Region 19 and in fourth place in the GSAC (7-3).
Alex Cella (Matawan), with eight goals and two assists, leads the Jersey Blues in scoring with 18 points. Stevenley Joseph (Neptune) has 11 points (three goals and five assists) and Doug Silva (Long Branch) has 10 points (four goals and two assists).
Keeper Luis Aguirre (Red Bank Regional) was recently named the GSAC’s Soccer Player of the Week and Goalie of the Week. He has made 81 saves on the season.
Scoring goals has been Brookdale’s biggest problem. The team is allowing fewer than two goals a game, but it has scored just 28 goals in 13 games.