Franco’s late goal lifts South Brunswick to GMC title

WOODBRIDGE - The South Brunswick High School girls soccer team is no stranger to late game heroics. It’s had to scratch and claw for every victory during its march to the Great Middlesex Conference Tournament final.

The Vikings have carried adversity since the inception, but instead of hiding from the situation, Beth Barrio’s group has continued to work through every moment. On Saturday afternoon against East Brunswick at Nicholas A. Priscoe Stadium in Woodbridge, they once again saw a high pressure situation dealt their way. One play during the final minutes of regulation put South Brunswick over the top with a 1-0 victory.

The Vikings were looking for answers after controlling the possession for a majority of the second half. Julianna Franco gave her team the proper solution when she came streaking down the field wide open into enemy territory. Francesca Dimitrakis placed a perfect pass, which allowed Franco to select her destination in order to get the ball past the opposing goalkeeper. The score ultimately came down to accuracy.

“I saw Francesca running with the girl, she had two on her, and my defender was one of those two girls, so I was open wide,” Franco said while wiping away tears of relief. “I called for it and she played it. It’s all about the accuracy going into the shot.”

Franco had the opportunity to lead her young program to new heights coming into the season. It was a long and difficult road, but Franco was able to excel. It may have come a year late, but Franco now has the label of GMCT champion.

“We knew we had to make up for last year,” Franco said. “Katrina Morales, a player from last year, wrote me a letter before the beginning of the season, and I read that before the game. It helped me get into the game and have some motivation for it.

“It feels amazing because it’s my senior year and this is one of the most important games. To be able to win the county championship, something we haven’t been able to do in 14 years, is truly amazing.”

“It truly was amazing because that will be with her forever,” Barrio said about Franco’s game winning goal. “That shot, make or miss, was going to be something she would hold on to. It was almost like it was frozen in time for a minute. To see the ball hit the back of the net and hear everybody screaming, it was a beautiful moment.”

Barrio made a switch at halftime that would pay dividends for the Vikings. She switch Dimitrakis from her typical outside spot, to the middle of the field. Dimitrakis, who tied the semifinal matchup against Monroe with a goal in the final five minutes, ignited the offense in the second half. Her hustle in the middle of the field helped open up an opportunity for Franco to score.

“Switching Francesca to middle was a big x-factor for us,” Barrio said. “She’s little, but she’s tough. Her feet is as fast as you can get. Having her out wide, she wasn’t getting enough touches. So we talked about that and we changed things around at halftime. We moved Francesca to the middle so she could be that work horse and I think that made a big difference for them.”

Sydney Schneider had a lighter work load in net in the championship game, but her clutch performance in the previous games of the tournament helped South Brunswick battle to the next round. She especially came up big in the semifinal game against Monroe when she helped the Vikings escape the No. 1 seed with a stellar performance during penalty kicks.

“I knew once we got into penalty kicks a lot of the pressure would be on me,” Schneider said about the previous game. “I was willing to put myself in a position to help my team because they do so much for me. That’s the least I can do for them.”

The two sides have met twice before during the regular season. They both were able to walk away with one win by a score of 1-0. With the loss in the championship game, East Brunswick saw its three game win streak in the GMCT final come to an end. All together, the Bears have won the tournament 32 times since 1979.

“The girls have a lot of respect for them,” Barrio said. “We don’t usually say anything to motivate them because they appreciated the legacy of East Brunswick. They want to battle, they want to compete, they want to be known on the same playing field as East Brunswick.”

The last time South Brunswick won the GMCT championship was in 2001. As the 14-year drought comes to an end for the Vikings they hope this is something they can build off of heading into the Central Group IV Tournament, and for years to come.

“We have definitely worked hard to build the program so that it’s not a one season thing,” Barrio said. “I think this year was the first year we didn’t have a lot of girls with the turnover, it was uncharted waters. Something like this remind you that you are never out of it.

“I don’t know if they necessarily thought they would be here, but they worked to get better. The work helped them get into the tournament with a good enough seed where they could battle one game at a time. It became 80 minutes, and nothing else mattered. It doesn’t necessarily have to translate into a 20-3 season to be successful, a tournament like this you have that one day. They certainly made the most of it.”

Staff Writer Steven Macri: smacri@njpressmedia.com