Chatham girls soccer topples West Morris to win second straight Morris County Tournament title
ROXBURY − Amanda Thornton has been playing soccer since Pre-K Kickers. She's been dreaming of playing in the Morris County Tournament final almost as long.
Reality was nothing like Thornton had ever imagined.
She scored twice as Chatham defeated West Morris, 3-1, to defend its MCT title on Saturday night. They were her first varsity goals.
After the first goal, the Chatham fans serenaded the 14-year-old redhead with chants of "She's a freshman." Thornton was subbed out of the game after the second. The Cougars' bench players leaped up and swarmed around her.
It is second-seeded Chatham's second straight MCT crown, and the second time they defeated the Wolfpack in the final. The Cougars and West Morris played to a 1-1 draw in the season opener. Chatham won at home on Sept. 30 by an identical score.
"(Playing in the MCT final) has always been a cool goal, but I never thought it would actually be real," Thornton said. "It's every little kid's dream. This is nothing I expected."
Girls soccer:2022 Morris County Tournament bracket, scores, schedule
Thornton had started the season on junior varsity. She was making plays and scoring goals, so new head coach Anthony Correale called her up to varsity in late September.
Before the MCT final, Correale patted Thornton on the shoulder and asked, "Ready today?" Before Thornton subbed into the match for the first time, Correale shifted her from outside midfield to striker, thinking she could dribble through West Morris defenders.
Thornton scored her first goal to the far post midway through the second half. West Morris midfielder Sofia Chan tied the score on a penalty kick with 10:39 to play, just the second goal Chatham allowed in four MCT matches.
Thornton gave the Cougars the lead for good with 5:20 left in the game. Paige Droner, Chatham's overtime heroine a year ago, converted a penalty kick in the final minute.
West Morris, the fourth seed this year, is 0-7-2 in MCT finals. The Wolfpack still holds a 9-4-1 all-time lead over the Cougars in the past five years.
The Chatham girls soccer team joins field hockey and boys cross country as back-to-back MCT champions. The Cougars girls tennis team claimed its ninth straight MCT title earlier this month.
"I was expecting an impact off the bench at first, and that's what she gave us. I was hoping and expecting," said Correale, a former Morris Catholic and Rider University midfielder.
"It's probably the biggest impact she could have had up to this point in her high school career. I have to give it all to her. ... She got her chance and she made it happen."
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ soccer: West Morris Chatham Morris County Tournament girls final
