Girls soccer: Monroe-Woodbury takes care of business to defend Class AA championship

MIDDLETOWN — 'TCB, TCB!' the Monroe-Woodbury girls soccer team cheered postgame.

And 'taking care of business' they did.

No. 2 Monroe-Woodbury blanked top-seeded Valley Central, 2-0, on Wednesday night at Middletown High School to defend the Section 9 Class AA championship. This was a bounce-back win for the Crusaders, who fell 1-0 to the Vikings in their only matchup of the season on Sept. 28.

“'TCB' was our motto going in," Monroe-Woodbury senior goalkeeper Olivia Shippee said postgame. "Coach’s [Mpasiakos] favorite character is Rocky Balboa. Rocky preaches ‘TCB’ which means ‘take care of business’ and going into this game that’s what we knew exactly what we had to do tonight.”

After a scoreless first half, the Crusaders broke through.

Class D championship: Mount Academy opens bid to repeat as state champion

Boys soccer: Top-seeded Warwick uses senior leadership, newcomers to repeat as champions

Last season: Monroe-Woodbury reclaims Section 9 Class AA championship, defeating Newburgh

Valley Central goalkeeper Grace Suchy beat a lead pass as Monroe-Woodbury's Ella Natal tried to speed ahead to the ball. She was down for a minute but headed to the sideline under her own power. Suchy left the game briefly after the play with Natal. Grace Del Pilar entered as the backup goalie. She faced that chance before Suchy entered right back in.

Senior Francesca Donovan weaved her way into scoring position and got taken down as the referee's whistle blew a penalty. Emily McGee was brought in to take the penalty kick and she capitalized, giving Monroe-Woodbury a 1-0 lead with 25:44 to play.

“I was a little nervous," McGee said. "I tried to not let it get to me, just focus on the ball and the goalie and just tried to block out everybody screaming from the stands and it worked out well.”

Donovan would net one of her own with her hustle, as she beat a Vikings' defender up field and beat Suchy for a 2-0 lead with 21:01 left in the second half.

The Crusaders would put more offensive pressure on as Lily Anna Bandel was wide-open on the doorstep with 11 minutes to play. They would hold on.

What it means

This was Valley Central's third appearance in the finals in the last four years. They played Monroe-Woodbury all four times and split the previous two. Last season, the Vikings lost to the Crusaders in the semifinals according to Valley Central coach Jonathan Walsh. Monroe-Woodbury has 11 seniors on the roster and coach Billy Mpasiakos is hoping for a deep run in the state playoffs.

Player of the game

Francesca Donovan's hustle set up the penalty in which Emily McGee would open the scoring. She would add an insurance goal as she beat the last defender to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead with 21:01 left in the second half.

By the numbers

No. 2 Monroe-Woodbury (14-2-1) — Goalkeeper Olivia Shippee made five saves.

No. 1 Valley Central (12-2-1) — Goalkeeper Grace Suchy was faced with 17 Monroe-Woodbury shots.

They said it

“That was a very disappointing loss for us because we came off beating Massapequa, and they were the second-seeded team in the state and we beat them 4-1. So they did a good job that day of defending us, and we came out flat and they were very aggressive that day and it kind of woke us up. I think we learned something from that loss and I think we knew to be better prepared for the next time we’re going to face them and I think the girls stepped up and did a nice job with that.” - Monroe-Woodbury coach Billy Mpasiakos explained how the team rebounded from losing to Valley Central earlier in the season.

What's next

Monroe-Woodbury will face the Section 1 Class AA champion in a subregionals matchup at Arlington High School on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 4:30 p.m.

MKramer1@th-record.com

Twitter: @MKramerTHR

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Monroe-Woodbury girls soccer defense Section 9 Class AA title