East Brunswick girls soccer captures GMCT championship on penalty kicks
WOODBRIDGE – Claudia Volino is sort of an undercover agent when shooting penalty kicks.
The East Brunswick goalie knows the tendencies and mindset of a top keeper. Sunday, she used that intel to her advantage against Monroe in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament girls soccer final.
The junior scored the Bears’ first PK goal after the first 100 minutes went scoreless. Volino quickly turned around to face Monroe in net. The Falcons opening kick went high and Volino saved the second shot by going to the right with her right hand.
East Brunswick’s Mikayla Mandleur, Riley Smalley and Sydney Taha each added goals in the tense PK session as the Bears prevailed 4-2 for the program’s 38th county title.
After the trophy presentation and celebrations, coach Kevin Brady called for a group hug, in which the players locked arms in a circle and spoke about the game and the team and what it all meant.
“It’s literally the most amazing feeling, like I can’t describe it,” Taha said. “It’s just everything that we work for – it’s in that hug. In that one hug. All the excitement, everything.”
Volino said, “We came together as a team. That was kind of emotional. That was a lot.”
It’s like everyone needed to exhale. The final featured an anticipated third meeting between the teams at host Woodbridge High School. East Brunswick won 1-0 on Sept. 8 and Monroe got a stunning 3-1 win on Oct. 13.
Sunday’s final lived up to the billing with plenty of drama. East Brunswick put pressure on the first 10 minutes, then Monroe shifted the momentum and controlled the rest of the first half.
Both teams had chances in the final 40 minutes, with EB having a flurry midway in the half. East Brunswick created a corner kick in the 76th minute, followed by two throw-ins from 10 yards out. The fans gasped as the ball bounced around, but Monroe was able to clear it as the Bears couldn’t get a clean shot off.
Monroe’s Karly Winfough kicked the ball out of the Falcons territory in the final 15 seconds as East Brunswick attempted one last chance in regulation.
The first 10-minute, sudden death overtime session began with play mostly between the 40-yard lines, but Monroe got a clean shot off with 5 minutes left and dictated the action in the second half of the session. The second and final 10-minute OT session before penalty kicks had much of the similar type of action.
What does it mean
The top-seeded Bears (17-1-1) proved they’re still the Middlesex team to beat despite some tough challenges in recent years. EB repeated as champions and also won in 2018 and 2019 (there was no GMCT in 2020 because of Covid). East Brunswick outscored opponents 12-1 in the three GMCT games entering the final.
Second-seeded Monroe (16-2-1) fell just short of its first-ever GMCT title and had a dominant tournament by outscoring opponents 11-2 entering the final.
Key plays
Volino kept her team in the game by snagging shots. The junior had a handful of stops in a 5-minute span about midway through the first half. The Bears defense of Danielle Blaustein, Nicole Motusesky, Ashley Schropp and Allison Weiden also stepped up with midfielders Melissa Keenan and Riley Smalley playing key roles.
Monroe keeper’s Gracen Regan was also on point when needed along with teammates Paige Aikens, Jenna Elbaz, Sofia Gartner and Dani Lovaglio, among others.
They said it
Brady cautioned the program doesn’t take winning for granted and cherishes every title, saying, “It’s hard every single year. You saw how hard – 100 minutes and then PKs. It’s hard every single year. Ten days ago we played them, they were strong. They were fired up and we knew this was going to be a dogfight from the first moment to the last.
“Despite all the past, the ghosts don’t come back and kick it in, they have to do it themselves. I’m proud of them. Once again, they were able to kind of embrace that challenge, not get swallowed by that moment and find a way to elevate.”
Volino said about kicking the PKs, “I know how to kind of get in their heads a little bit. You act like you don’t care and then they’re kind of like, ‘Oh, she’s relaxed.’ And then I also know how the other goalkeeper sets up when I’m taking the PKs. I know where to go and I pick my spot and I stick with my spot no matter what because I’m confident in that.”
Volino on the team winning, “It’s unreal. I just think our team is a lot different from last year’s team and it’s just all about being with each other and playing with pride and representing East Brunswick. We communicated it. We played hard and we were that team today and it was just really cool coming out here.”
Taha joked the players almost feel like celebrities at school when they announce the results on the loudspeaker and they came out with an edge after losing to Monroe in the regular season, “We came out with so much fire. We were just so ready to go from the start. … It was a very even game. I was just happy with the result.”
What’s next
Both teams await the release of Monday’s NJSIAA playoff brackets.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Girls Soccer: East Brunswick wins GMCT title
