West Morris girls soccer wins first state title since 1994, ends Wall's dramatic turnaround
UNION – West Morris is partying like it’s 1994.
It had been nearly 30 years since the Wolfpack won a state title. That changed on Saturday night.
Behind the power of an Alexa Murawski goal and some stout defensive play, West Morris held on for a 1-0 victory against Wall in the Group 2 final.
It’s the Wolfpack’s first state crown since 1994. It’s also the program’s first ever outright title after the Wolfpack shared a co-championship in the Group 3 tournament with Notre Dame.
“It means so much. We’re a family here,” West Morris senior Alexa Murawski said. “We’ve been working for this championship. We had to put in the work, and it showed we put in the work. It’s what we all dreamed of.”
It was a special moment for the entire community. Forty years of alumni wrote letters to each player on the team in the week preceding the game, reminding them just how unique their accomplishments have been. They came out in droves to watch the game.
It was a perfect sendoff for a one-of-a-kind group.
“You just know when the magic is there,” West Morris head coach Ken Rossi said. “You just know when it’s clicking. I’m super proud of what these kids have done.”
Murawski shines
Murawski dazzled all game long with her exception technical ability and great speed. She also game the most crucial play.
With no score four minutes before halftime, Murawski took on a defender one-on-one. She beat the defender by going to her weak side and fired a shot with her left foot. Her goal completely swung the momentum in the Wolfpack’s direction.
“I hear Coach Rossi say, ‘take her 1 v. 1,” Murawski said. “Sometimes, I’m a little hesitant taking people 1 v. 1 but when I heard that, I knew I had to.”
It was Murawski’s 15th goal of the season and 22nd in her career as she capped off an impressive high school career.
“Anytime you get a key offensive player, they’re game changers,” Rossi said. “She can change a game like she did today.
Defense coming up big
Wall flipped the script in the second half. The Crimson Knights made some adjustments, settled in and put a great amount of offensive pressure on West Morris.
The Wolfpack help up to the heat. First-year center backs Jillian Nester and Kelsey Commerford played excellent games while goalkeeper Hayden Scotti consistently swarmed to the ball and made six saves.
“They have stepped up and become ball winners and finding easy passes out of the back,” Rossi said. “We really played the ball through the back well today.”
Wall's turnaround ends in defeat
Wall’s up-and-down season came to a disappointing end. Still, it was an impressive run considering the Crimson Knights lost six of seven games, including a Shore Conference Tournament first round loss to Trinity Hall, in the middle of the season to fall to 7-7.
“I felt like at the beginning of the year, I had the players to make a run,” Wall head coach Mike Juska said. “The pieces weren’t in the right spots, and we weren’t playing to our potential.”
In the two weeks between the conference and state tournaments, Juska scrapped everything and revamped his team. He wanted his group to play tougher and wanted to maximize their talent.
That led to a six-game winning streak that led Wall through the sectional tournament and into another state final.
“They started to believe,” Juska said. “It was awesome for them. They never gave up. After losing that many games going from 6-1 to 7-7, they could have easily give up. They didn’t. They were willing to go back to the drawing board.”
Danny LoGiudice has covered local sports across New Jersey since 2014. Contact him at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com or @danny_logiudice on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ girls soccer: West Morris upends Wall, clinches state title
