Cougars playing for history after repeat sectional title

By TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

As the Colts Neck High School girls took their turns sliding in the mud, it was an expression of sheer joy on their part.

They had seized their second straight NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III soccer championship, 3-0, over Toms River High School East and got there without losing a game all season, sporting a remarkable 22-0-1 record.

Cougars head coach Doug Phillips talked about the ride the team has been on all year as his players celebrated consecutive state sectional wins on their home pitch.

“I’m happy they got to experience what its like to be No. 1 [in the Shore] wire-to-wire,” he said. “They really are a together group. They have a lot of heart and tremendous work ethic.”

Phillips added that the entire season has unfolded as if the stars have been aligned.

“We’re good and we’ve been in the right place at the right time all year,” he said. “They are just rolling.”

Bridgett King, one of the senior tri-captains who scored the first goal in the finals Nov. 12, noted the Cougars were determined to repeat and they were committed all season.

“It’s really an incredible feeling,” she said. “We knew from the start that we wanted to come back and win the Shore Conference Tournament and the state sectional, and we kept working hard every day in practice.

“We were a lot more composed, more connected, this year. We always kept our heads up no matter what the score.”

The Cougars have been a relentless team all year, and they displayed the composure King mentioned against Toms River East. The Raiders played the Cougars to a scoreless tie through the first 40 minutes. Rather than be frustrated, the Cougars simply stepped up their game and won with panache.

King broke the ice before three minutes had gone by in the second half, finishing off a feed from Frankie Tagliaferri.

Five minutes later, Amanda Visco scored on a header off a Tagliaferri corner kick.

Phillips pointed out that the Cougars target Visco on corner kicks, and she couldn’t have come through at a more opportune time. After she gave the Cougars the 2-0 lead, the floodgates opened as Raiders goalie Jordan Ferone was under constant assault.

Nicole Loehle added the third and final goal of the match, assisted by Kara Camarco.

The Cougars’ relentlessness comes from the motto they adopted for the 2014 season: “Never end.” They never give up for a 50/50 ball, and they play until the match has ended.

On the way to the sectional finals, the Cougars had to get by their rivals, Wall High School, in the semifinals Nov. 9. The teams played an epic match.

The Crimson Knights took the Cougars into a second overtime before succumbing, 2-1.

Wall scored the first goal in the second half, but, as King noted, the Cougars never let their heads down. Visco headed in a pass from Tagliaferri to tie the match in regulation.

Amanda Russo scored the golden goal off a feed from King in the 96th minute to send the Cougars back to the sectional championship match.

Colts Neck was set to play South Jersey Group III champion Toms River High School South (17-5) Nov. 17 in the Group III semifinals at Toms River High School North.

The teams met earlier this year in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, with the Indians taking the Cougars into double-overtime. King scored both goals in the 2-1 triumph.

The winner of the state semifinals will play for the Group III championship Nov. 21 at Kean University at 3 p.m.

Colts Neck won in the semifinals last year before losing to Northern Highlands Regional High School in the finals.

Northern Highlands is again in the mix, scheduled to play West Morris Central High School in the other Group III semifinal. The Highlanders are 22-0 and considered the best team in the state.

The two combatants could be headed toward a rematch.

If the Cougars can win their final two games this week, Phillips said his team could be an historic one — one that people talk about for years — joining the likes of the Freehold High School teams that won back-to-back state titles in 2006-07.