Wardlaw-Hartridge girls soccer wins on Ambrosio hat trick

EDISON - The Wardlaw-Hartridge High School girls soccer team’s offensive attack was just as hot as the boiling temperatures on Saturday afternoon.

Fueled by sophomore striker Sofia Ambrosio’s hat trick, the Rams exploded for seven goals and went on to defeat Metuchen, 7-2, as temperatures on the field reached triple digits.

“We met in the fitness center before the game, and once we walked out of the doors, nobody was allowed to say how hot it was,” Wardlaw-Hartridge coach Mike Romeo said. “We were hoping to have the better energy, and I think we did that. Our girls ignored the heat and played hard.”

The Rams (2-0) opened up the scoring 11 minutes into the game when freshman Jane Anderson-Schmitt buried a ball that was deflected off the Metuchen goalie into the back of the net. Ambrosio followed eight minutes later with a goal after receiving a beautiful cross from junior midfielder Mia Reyes to jump out to an early 2-0 lead.

Wardlaw-Hartridge dominated possession by keeping the ball on the ground and letting the Metuchen defenders chase the ball around under the scorching sun, tiring out the Bulldogs.

“We were trying to tire them out because we knew they were a physical team and couldn’t really keep the ball,” Ambrosio said. “We tried to keep the ball until we scored and play around them.”

Reyes and Ambrosio opened the second half with two more goals, extending the Ram lead to 4-0 and putting the game out of reach for the Bulldogs with just under 20 minutes to play. Sophomore Mia Sutton and senior Carlin Schildge also scored for the Rams in the second half with Sutton scoring from about 30 yards out.

After winning big on Saturday, the Rams have their biggest test of the young season upcoming on Monday when they face off against Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division powerhouse East Brunswick. Wanting his team to compete against the best the GMC has to offer, Romeo intentionally scheduled this game early in the season.

“East Brunswick is a chance to see what we can do against the best,” Romeo said. “It’ll be an honor to compete against them. Win or lose, it will put us at a higher level.”

For Metuchen, junior Kendal Schuchman scored with 15 minutes left in the game to cut the deficit to 5-1. After Sutton scored from distance to push the Rams lead to 6-1, Kerri Farrell assisted Natalie Tiu for Metuchen’s second goal of the contest.

Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.