Girls Soccer: East Brunswick breezes past rival Old Bridge

OLD BRIDGE Andrea Apostolescu waited patiently on the bench for her chance to contribute when the first whistle blew.

When East Brunswick girls soccer coach Kevin Brady finally called upon the sophomore to join the action, she came running onto the field with force and helped the Bears cruise by rival Old Bridge in dominant fashion, 4-0, on Thursday.

After East Brunswick came storming out of the gates and created multiple chances, it finally received a positive bounce with 28 minutes left in the first half. Katrina Nguyen-demary was able to place her corner kick in between the defense and Apostolescu was able to put on the finishing touches by hammering home a massive header.

“It was a corner from Katrina and I saw it right it away,” Apostolescu said. “I felt like I had to get my head on that, so I did what I had to do and rammed it into the back of the net.”

It was her first goal of the season, but in a rivalry that turned into a physical affair, that moment quickly became the top play of her young varsity career. And it was just the beginning of an offensive outburst for the Bears.

“I thought Andrea was tremendous up and down the field,” Brady said. “She started the game on the bench, but the second she stepped on the field she impacted the game from that moment forward. I thought she had a strong game today.”

East Brunswick played with a next-girl-up mentality against the Knights. Once one player scored a goal, it added fuel to the fire, leading to a momentum boost that was dangerous for Old Bridge.

Nicole Leseur was the next East Brunswick player to join the fun when she managed to find the back of the net after a hustle play from Apostolescu, who managed to find her teammate while falling to the turf for a 2-0 advantage.

Sabria Glasgow and Courtney Brancato put the exclamation point to the contest when they both added goals of their own in the second half. The balance for the Bears has been detrimental for their opponents through the first three games. After losing 10 key seniors to graduation, several new starters are taking advantage of the minutes they have been handed.

“We saw two seniors, Nicole Leseur and Courtney Brancato, who haven’t played much up to this point, step in and put the ball into the net,” Brady said. “They had to wait in the shadows last year because I had a core of 10 kids last year who played.

“These are kids who had to work hard with little pay off on the varsity field, but stayed positive and took advantage of their opportunities. All you can do in life is be ready when opportunity presents itself. Credit to those kids for not doubting themselves and being ready for their moment.”

Glasgow, who saw playing time last year, didn’t allow a let down in the second half. She made sure the Bears continued their consistent effort and played as a team, on her way to tallying her second goal of the season.

“The goalie was coming for me, but I was going for it either way and I put it in the back of the net,” Glasgow said. “As a team we are all working for each other and not for ourselves. We want to win for our team, that’s how we are on and off the field. We are a group at all times.”

Goalie Lauren Krinsky didn’t see many shots come her way, but she made sure to blank the opposing offense when they did land on target. The Knights made Krinsky work for her shutout in the second half when they sent a ball towards the top corner, but the sophomore knocked it away and out of harms way.

The defense smothered Old Bridge’s biggest scoring weapons all afternoon, not allowing them to find an opening. With three new starters in the back line, the Bears stepped up to the challenge and showed that they are beginning to understand the fast pace of the varsity level.

“We are a team defense,” Brady said. “We are replacing three starters on that back line, so the kids have to be able to communicate with each other throughout the game. I’m tough on them about staying connected and staying in every play. They played strong today, but I challenge them to get better. There’s a lot of games ahead on our schedule.”

Thursday’s showdown served as a rematch of the Greater Middlesex Conference championship game from last season. East Brunswick netted a late goal to grab the trophy. Old Bridge once again found itself on the wrong side of the result, but coach Rob Lozzi believes the Knights can learn from this defeat.

“We talked about it. We knew it was our first meeting since last year,” Lozzi said. “It’s different teams, and East Brunswick came out looking to create some confidence in themselves and they did that today. We just have to know that we have to get better. You have to hand it to them, they did a good job.”

The Knights are now on a three-game skid, but have a chance to turn their luck around against a tough Monroe squad on Saturday.

“We lost three games in a row and it’s not getting easier,” Lozzi said. “Whether you win or lose, you have to try to get better. We don’t want to be negative because after awhile you end up dwelling on that. So, you have to put it behind you.”

Staff Writer Steven Macri:smacri@gannettnj.com