By John Beisser, Sports Writer
A rewarding season recently came to a close for a South Brunswick High girls soccer team that enjoyed its share of high-water marks, tempered by a handful of close, competitive losses.
The final record says the team went 8-9-1 but what that record does not convey is the amount of bonding that took place nor the depth of the friendships that were formed.
”It was a very rewarding season, that’s the best way to put it,” said head coach Nancy Ducko as she reflected back on her eighth year at the helm of the good ship Viking. “A lot of the girls had never played with each other before and I was very happy with how they came together.”
When Ducko thinks of the 2007 team, she thinks first of the five seniors of whom she will be bidding her adieus to at the upcoming banquet. The most honored of this quintet is goalkeeper Susie Miller, who earned first-team All-GMC honors and, as of this writing, was waiting to hear whether she was awarded a spot on one of the All-State teams.
”Susie was a great leader on and off the field and had a terrific senior season,” said Ducko. “She definitely has the talent to play in college and is looking at FDU as well as some other Division I and Division II schools.”
Rachel Gurney was another sparkplug for the Vikings who could continue her career at the college level. Ducko said she is leaning towards attending Rutgers and may consider attempting to be a walk-on within the powerful Scarlet Knight program.
Nicole Heyer was another seasoned veteran and true team leader who has aspirations of perhaps playing in college. Gurney, Miller and Heyer served as tri-captains this season and all did a superb job of helping the team rebound from a tough 1-4-1 start.
One player who is definitely bent on pursuing a collegiate soccer career is Amanda Previte, a midfielder/back who is being recruited by Kean, William Paterson and the College of Stockton, among others. Rounding out this special senior class was Chelsea Lanaido, whose team spirit and loyalty rubbed off on all of her teammates.
”They’ll be tough to replace,” said Ducko. “I’ve been doing this a long time and this team and this senior class, in particular, is among my favorites. They listed very well, were very coachable and were basically just a pleasure to be around.”
The Vikings narrowly missed achieving the requisite .500 record needed to qualify for the NJSIAA Tournament but, undaunted, they stormed through the GMC Tournament, upsetting Woodbridge and Sayreville to reach the semifinals where they were tripped up by third-seeded Old Bridge.
In 2008, Ducko will welcome back a core of players who contributed mightily this year. She is hopeful that next year’s squad will demonstrate the same type of chemistry and camaraderie as did her 2007 club.
”They were just a nice, well-rounded group of girls to be around,” she said. “They never let their egos get in the way and they all played for each other. This was just a great group.”
And then she added arguably the most important reason why this group was so special.
”Their parents,” she said, “they did a great job raising them.”
