Marti Stewart was understandably nervous. A freshman at Brookdale Community College, she was joining the defending National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III championship women’s soccer team.
Whatever fears the Marlboro High School graduate had were quickly alleviated.
“My teammates were very welcoming,” she said. “We became a family real quick.”
Family is the essence of the Jersey Blues.
“We are really big on that [family]” sophomore Caroline Duerr said. “We like to have pasta parties. Everyone gets along, and we all respect each other.”
It’s this bonding that brings the Jersey Blues together and allows them to do something no other Brookdale sports team has done: win back-to-back national championships. The Jersey Blues captured their second straight NJCAA title on Nov. 16 at Ocean County College in Toms River, defeating Richland College (Texas), 1-0, on a golden goal from Meghan Begley nine minutes into the first overtime.
“Sheer joy,” Duerr said of the championship win. “It’s really hard to put into words. It is an amazing feeling. We really just rose to the occasion.”
Head coach Katie Miller said her feelings were “totally surreal.”
“It’s gratifying to come back with new student-athletes and win again,” she said. “The team jelled at just the right time.”
Miller was especially pleased by the way her team played throughout the three games in the tournament.
“We dominated,” she said. “We played possession soccer. We were moving the ball and talking to each other.”
Brookdale opened the tournament by scoring a 3-1 victory over Anne Arundel Community College (Maryland), with Duerr (Manasquan) opening the scoring. Midfielder Nicole Rodriguez (Union) then scored twice to cap the scoring.
In the semifinals, the Jersey Blues beat Rocky Valley College (Illinois), 3-0. Ashley Cafarella (Old Bridge) scored the first goal, and Duerr scored the final two to send the Jersey Blues back to the championship game, where they would meet up with a very defensive-minded Richland team.
Determined not to let Duerr and Rodriguez beat them with their speed, Richland double- and even triple-teamed them. That threw the Jersey Blues off their game at first. But as time went on, they began to control the game with their passing.
It remained scoreless through regulation. As the team huddled for overtime, Miller reminded her team that this was why they had run all those suicides (series of short sprints) in practice.
“Conditioning is something we do all year,” Miller said.
“We’re really an in-shape team,” Duerr said. “We never take fitness lightly.”
She pointed to Brookdale’s home pitch being one of the biggest in the region as something that helped the team’s conditioning.
Miller was confident that her team would get it done in overtime and avoid a shootout.
“I knew we were not giving up,” she said. “They wanted it. Their spirit and heart came through.”
In the 99th minute, Begley (Mater Dei) delivered a laser shot from 30 yards out that soared into the back of net, delivering the game and championship to Brookdale.
The golden goal couldn’t have come from a more deserving player than Begley, according to Miller. The coach called her one of the team’s unsung heroes.
“Meghan flies under the radar,” she said. “She never gives up and is always there. It was a great moment for her.”
Duerr, who was this year’s Region 19 Player of the Year, was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for the second straight year — a significant accomplishment in itself. Rodriguez was the Offensive MVP, and Amanda Anastasia (Middletown South) and Alexandra Montefinese (Monmouth Regional) were named to the All-Tournament team with Duerr and Rodriguez. Miller was cited as the Coach of the Tournament for the second straight year.
Brookdale finished the season with a 19-1 record and a 17-game winning streak to bring into 2015.