Monroe girls soccer makes program history with first GMCT title in overtime win
PISCATAWAY – The shots on goal were piling up for Monroe High School’s girl’s soccer team Monday night in the second half of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final. These weren’t of the long-distance kind, these were in the dangerous-just-missed category, but East Brunswick senior keeper Claudia Volino and those in front kept it scoreless.
In fact, it was scoreless into overtime when senior midfielder Jennifer Ward’s goal – her 18th of the season – went high over Volino’s reach and into the net. Monroe’s players stormed the pitch at Piscataway High School to celebrate a 1-0 triumph and the Falcons’ first-ever Greater Middlesex Conference title. East Brunswick was denied a seventh straight title.
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“These girls were putting such great opportunities all throughout the game from the first 10 minutes of the game to the last five minutes before we went to overtime, you felt the momentum, you felt it coming, but once you go to overtime anything can happen,” said Monroe coach Christian Jessop. “For us to find a way to do it, and do it right away was awesome.”
The game-winning goal started on the foot of Junior Misan Uduaghan. She controlled the ball, dodged a couple of Bears and got it to Ward.
“I called for it because I was wide open on top of the box,” said Ward. “I hit it right on the sweet spot, right where it needed to be hit and it went right into the net.”
Ward recalled last season’s final when East Brunswick won on penalty kicks. She said it was a season-long objective to win a title.
“It didn't go our way last season, but I knew from how the first half and the second-half had gone that this was our game,” said Ward, who’ll play at The College of New Jersey. “We were dangerous from the beginning. They weren’t crazy long shots, they were right there,”
Ward said it was “nerve wracking,” but being a first-ever county championship team was worth it.
“It felt amazing,” said Ward when asked how it felt to be on a first-ever county title team. “I knew as I soon as I stepped on the field this year that after last year and what happened that I was gonna make school history. I told myself this year is the year we were going to do it and we did.”
Perhaps East Brunswick (16-2-1) and Monroe (18-0-1) will see each other a fourth time. The two played to a 1-1 tie in the season opening game Sept. 7 at Monroe before the Falcons beat East Brunswick 1-0 Oct. 11 at East Brunswick. Monroe is seeded second in the upcoming NJSIAA Central Group 4 tournament and East Brunswick is fourth.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ girls soccer: Monroe tops East Brunswick in GMCT final
