Monroe girls soccer claims top spot in GMC Red Division
It’s official: The Monroe High School girls soccer team has entered the prime time.
The Falcons are sitting alone at the top of the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division. With two games remaining they now control their fate within the division.
“We are not going to stop working,” Monroe’s Kaitlyn Mascali said. “We know what is at stake and that this is our year and we are not going to let it slip out from under us. We want to win because we have been struggling the past few years. We all have chemistry on and off the field. We are all like sisters.”
Monroe continued to make a statement on Wednesday night when it swept the regular season series against county powerhouse East Brunswick, winning the second contest 1-0.
Fourteen seniors have made the Falcons’ march towards dominance a smooth one, but on Wednesday it was a sophomore who sent Monroe home with a win.
With the game tied 0-0 midway through the second half, Mascali and sophomore Paige Gandy came through for their team in the most crucial part of the game. Mascali raced down a ball in the corner and sent a picture perfect cross to Gandy, who did the rest by beating the East Brunswick keeper and finding the back of the net.
“I knew with Kaity’s speed she was getting to that ball no matter what, so I sprinted as fast as I could to the far post,” Gandy said. “I knew I couldn’t miss that.
“I always grew up with my older brothers and older friends, so I’m used to playing a year up. Anywhere I am put I mesh well, it’s a matter of chemistry.”
Mascali kept chipping away at the backline of East Brunswick. In the first half she caused havoc with her speed and hustle. The opportunities were presented, but the second half is when the offense finally pieced together a positive result.
“East Brunswick is a tough game so we had to take advantage of the chances that we had,” Mascali said. “It’s always a matter of who wants it more. We were competing the whole game and that one moment was exciting.”
With Erin Seppi in net for Monroe, anything is possible. She was heavily tested by the Bears in the second half, but became a wall and didn’t allow anything to get by her.
“I’m used to the pressure in the second half,” Seppi said. “Every team gets tired and every team gets exhausted, and they depend on me in the back. I have to do my responsibilities. Urgency and pressure is all good for me.”
Last week Monroe outlasted East Brunswick 2-0 and it was just the second time the senior class has defeated the Bears at the varsity level. They can now add another tally to their list with Wednesday night’s victory.
East Brunswick falls to 6-5 on the season with the loss. The Bears have lost five of their last six contests dating back to Sept. 26 when South Brunswick shocked them in the second half.
One area on the field that is not at fault is the play of sophomore goalie Lauren Krinsky. She reminds coach Dillon of someone else that was on the field.
“She impressed me tonight,” Monroe coach Kathy Dillon said. “She has good size, she has good footwork in there and she punts the ball very well. She is up and coming. She is a mini Seppi. She is exactly what Seppi was as a sophomore. She has the potential to do great things.”
A new atmosphere is circulating at Monroe. The team is on a mission to erase the memory of finishing at .500 or below in each of the past three seasons. The Falcons want to leave a mark. Together, Monroe envisions its team finding a place on the banners hanging in the gym.
“The big thing is to not lose track of what is ahead of us and what we are setting out to do,” Dillon said. “We went to the gym today and looked at the banners before this game. They all held hands in the gym looking at all of our division wins. We are here to make a mark, we want to get our names up on the banner in the gym.”
Staff Writer Steven Macri: smacri@gannettnj.com