Senior forward Jacqueline Ventricelli is enjoying another big season for the Sayreville War Memorial High School girls’ soccer team.
Ventricelli has recorded 17 goals and four assists for the Bombers this fall. She has three hat tricks, or games in which she scored three times. She also recorded two goals and three assists in a Sept. 19 home victory over Perth Amboy High School.
Over the course of her career, the senior has set such a high standard that these numbers aren’t even that remarkable. Ventricelli is already a two-time All-New Jersey selection after collecting 18 goals and six assists in 2017 and 17 goals and three assists in 2018.
Her 2019 numbers are undeniably impressive, but it’s Ventricelli’s rare consistency for a high school athlete that truly stands out.
“She’s our attack,” said Sayreville’s coach, Jillian McGarry, before the season started.
It was a true statement in 2017 and ’18, but it has become even more true in 2019.
Sayreville is only 4-8 this fall. The Bombers lost 12 seniors after making the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 sectional tournament last fall, though they lost in the first round to Monroe Township High School, 6-1.
As a team, the young Bombers are experiencing growing pains. That’s common after losing so many seniors.
But with Ventricelli driving the attack, these Bombers have shown an ability to score consistently. Ventricelli has 17 goals herself, but Sayreville as a team has 32, or more than two per game.
Sayreville’s all-state attacker has drawn defenders and opened the field around her for her teammates, and they are capitalizing on their opportunities.
The Bombers beat New Brunswick High School, 5-0, on Sept. 12, Perth Amboy, 7-0, on Sept. 19 and New Brunswick again, 6-1, on Oct. 3. This team can really score, especially on a good day, and that ability comes from a lot of different players.
Ventricelli is making her teammates better, and a lot of them aren’t seniors, so this season, despite the losses, could pay off for Sayreville down the line.
Junior Olivia Siveriio has three goals. Freshman Janai Negroni contributed on the score sheet in those blowout victories. So did sophomores Maureen Figueredo and Adrianna Westcott.
It’s basically a transition year for the Bombers. The team just so happens to have an all-state player in her senior campaign during that same transition year.
Anyone would have understood if Ventricelli got discouraged or lost some interest, but she has gone the other way. She has tried as hard as ever. Though it hasn’t led to a lot of victories, it has helped her younger teammates grow for the future.
“One thing I love about her is that she’s so trusting in her teammates,” McGarry said.
“Sometimes she even needs to be more selfish and just score,” the coach added, laughing.
But this season still has a chance to be more than just a moral victory for Ventricelli and the Bombers. They are still 12th in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 power points standings, and 16 teams will make the state sectional tournament.
Ventricelli and her teammates should at least get a crack at the postseason this fall. It will be a nice send off for the senior, and a valuable growth experience for her teammates.
“We have a core group that’s strong,” McGarry said.