By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
Lauren Mazich and the Hillsborough High School girls’ soccer team were just looking for a win Tuesday against Pingry.
The Raiders earned it, 3-2, in overtime and they will have the same mindset next week. Win pretty or ugly, they just want to win when the state tournament starts.
“We feel pretty confident,” said Mazich, a sophomore forward who is tied among Raiders in scoring with nine goals. “We’re having a pretty good season competing with some of the top teams in the state. As long as we keep our ‘A’ game, I think we’ll do pretty well.”
The win Tuesday was their third of the season over Pingry to improve to 8-7-1. Carly Swetz headed in the game-winner off a feed from Amelia Curtis, who earlier had scored a goal. Swetz also had an assist, while Maddie Vailhe added a goal. Barely a week and a half before, Hillsborough had defeated Pingry, 3-0, in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals.
“It was a little closer this time,” Mazich said. “After last year it was the first time we’ve beaten them in a long time. We beat them last year for the first time in about 10 years.”
The Raiders have their number this year. Their previous win over Pingry had earned them a spot against top-seeded Ridge. They stayed close at 1-0 through halftime before falling, 4-0.
“They’re very, very talented,” said Hillsborough head coach LeeAnn Best. “Winning becomes contagious. I know they were not comfortable with a 1-0 lead at halftime. They made some personnel changes. The way they celebrated their second and third goals, it showed they were relieved. We defended them well. It took some adjustments, like any good team would make, and perseverance until they broke us down.”
The loss came to a Ridge team that is ranked tops in the state and among the best in the nation. That level of competition has the Raiders ready for the state tournament. Hillsborough will enter the tournament with the same mentality it’s held all year — that it will have to play its best to win.
“It definitely keeps our competitive spirit up,” Mazich said of the schedule. “There’s no weak team in our league. We have to go in and fight to the end.”
The Raiders proved they could do that in their latest win over Pingry. Despite not being at full strength due to some injuries, Hillsborough pulled out the win. They relied on a defense that has been consistent all year and an offense that shows sparks and can catch fire after building around a young nucleus that includes Mazich.
“Last year, we did have a lot of scorers,” she said. “Everyone had at least one goal or an assist. This year, we’re still creating a lot of opportunities to score. We just have to be more productive with the opportunities we create.”
Mazich has helped the Raiders be productive. She came in as a freshman to score a promising seven goals and contributed five assists. This year, she’s learned how to deal with the increased attention of opposing defenses who recognize her as an established scoring threat.
“You know what you’re going to get with her,” Best said. “She’s going to work hard. And she’s going to try to use her speed and try to get herself one on one with the keeper.”
Mazich scored twice in the SCT quarterfinals win over Pingry. Her goals have come in bunches. It’s the fourth time this season that she has scored twice in a game.
“I can’t do it without the rest of my team,” Mazich said. “It’s also the defense and the midfielders creating opportunities. I’m doing my job, but I can’t do it without the rest of my team.”
Mazich’s job has always been to create goals. She has been a forward her entire career, whether in youth soccer leagues, with the Raiders or with her club team of the last five years, FC Coppa, which draws from around the state and plays out of Rutgers University. She showed a bit of her variety in scoring in the SCT win.
“On one of them she stole the ball as one defender went to pass it to another,” Best said. “She created a breakaway. That was great since she worked hard to create it. The other she followed up a rebound, which again shows she’s working hard. She’s strong in the air. She’s been able to finish some head balls. She’s getting it in for us.”
Her second goal came with Hillsborough holding a 1-0 edge when Raiders goalie Olivia Bandola deflected a shot over the net, and the Raiders scored on the counterattack on the ensuing corner kick.
“She seems to be a little more confident each outing and a little more finding her own,” Best said. “She’s gotten great at any close range shots and with the longer shots, we’ve been working on her parrying the shot over. Any time you get a good save, it inspires the rest of the team.”
Bandola is the lone freshman in this year’s starting lineup, and she is in a big spot at the back of the defense that is full of veterans — a tough spot for someone on the shy side.
“We’ve been working on her,” Best said. “Finding your way on varsity is enough. I’ve been working with the defense to show her the support she needs to give. She’s getting more vocal and becoming the backbone. Our defense definitely believes in her.”
Mazich can identify with learning on the fly. She learned a lot during her first season of high school soccer. She transitioned well with some experience around her.
“To come in as a freshman and play teams like Central and Ridge, it’s a big change,” Mazich said. “The players, they’re bigger and faster and stronger. I had the rest of the team on my back to help.”
Mazich picked up the level of play that was necessary to succeed and took that into this season. It was the most important thing that she took from last year.
“The mentality,” Mazich said. “There’s no light conference games. Every game is a challenge and you just have to stay mentality focused in every game.
“It definitely gave me more confidence,” she added. “I knew I could compete with other teams and the defense going against me.”
The Raiders will be looking to capitalize on a higher percentage of their scoring chances to support a defense that has the bulk of the team’s experience. Together, they have been playing well down the stretch.
“We made a few adjustments to our strategies when we approach the game,” Best said. “That seems to be helping us. It takes some pressure off our backs. We’ve been able to apply pressure all over the field. Now it’s a matter of being able to build forward as a team.”
Playing – and beating – Pingry twice in the last week and a half helped. Hillsborough entered those matchups with a good mentality.
“We had already played them and won so we had a little confidence going into the game,” Best said. “We seem to play pretty well at home. I think with their style, we can play our style a little easier. Our natural instincts take over with possession and some of the ways we can get in with some shots.”
The Raiders will try to duplicate their performance when the state tournament starts. Brackets were scheduled to be released Wednesday with Hillsborough expecting to be a No. 6 seed.
“We have to get our confidence,” Best said. “We go in knowing it’s going to be a battle. If we play together and do our individual job, we should be fine. We’re a talented team. We’re too humble. If we can play our best for 80 minutes, we should have no problem. We haven’t had too many full 80-minute games.”
Convert their chances and cut down any defensive mistakes, and the Raiders are confident that they can keep winning and advancing and make up for a few that got away this season.
