Hunterdon Central girls soccer rallies, deals Watchung Hills first loss

The Watchung Hills Regional High School girls soccer team picked up its most impressive win of the young season on Tuesday as the Warriors defeated perennial powerhouse Ridge, snapping the Red Devils' 25-game winning streak.

On Thursday, the Warriors looked to put up another impressive win against an equally talented Hunterdon Central team. Watchung Hills continued its great play by scoring the first goal early in the first half, but the fast-paced Hunterdon Central offense responded by scoring the next three.

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Although Watchung Hills (3-1) was able to come back and tie the game late in the second at 3-3, the Red Devils' offense quickly responded with a score and were able close it out, handing the Warriors their first loss of the season, with the final score 4-3.

“I think we kept our composure, and we were able to find seems in their backline in the first half,” Hunterdon Central coach Jeannine Calhoun said. “In the second half it got a little bit more ugly and a little bit more desperate, but I’m so proud of how my team battled against adversity and found a way to win.”

Warriors junior Melanie Cunha scored the game’s first goal with just five minutes in the first half but Red Devils sophomore Brianna Floyd quickly responded four minutes later by rocketing one in the back of the net off a beautiful assist by junior Luciana Zullo.

With momentum on its side, the Red Devils (3-1) were able to hold possession for the rest of the half and it payed off as freshman Corinna Zullo put one in the back of the net to give Hunterdon Central a 2-1 lead.

Sophmore Kylie Roesler would add to the lead off a pass from Caitlyn Adams in the 29th minute, giving the Red Devils a 3-1 lead heading into the half.

Beginning the second half, the Warriors seemed like a rejuvenated team as they were able to hold possession with several scoring opportunities. Cunha scored her second goal of the game just six minutes into the second half, putting the Warriors down 3-2.

Just five minutes later Watchung Hills was rewarded a corner kick where midfield Sarah Strehle crossed it perfectly to Chloe Ferreira for the equalizer.

With momentum now on the side of the Warriors, the Red Devils quickly composed themselves and retook the lead off the foot of their shifty freshman who scored the game winner in the 52nd minute.

“It was all a team effort the ball was just bobbling in the back and I just put it in," Corinna Zullo said.

With the Warriors' starting center-back defender out, the Red Devils were able to take advantage of the unexperienced lineup.

“Unfortunately we plugged in a player without any experience at the center-back position, and it’s against Hunterdon Central, so it was a tough learning curve,” Watchung Hills coach Brian Figueiredo said.

With no return date for the all-important defensive player, Figueiredo says the defense proved in the second half that they can play great defense without its’ senior defender.

“We got a very resilient group, there was a ton of adversity here today,” Figueiredo said. “It was a positive way to go out here at the end so we’ll move on from here.”