There was no bigger time for this SPFHS girls soccer team to bounce back after three straight losses. With the sun setting on this fall season, it was now or never for this team to show who they really are. They took advantage of the opportunity and won 1-0 against the Elizabeth Lady Minutemen in the quarterfinals of the Union County Tournament, Tuesday afternoon Oct. 10, at Shimme Wexler Field.
Being the two seed in the tourney, the Raiders were awarded a first round bye, making this their first match. Meanwhile, Elizabeth netted out a first round win against Arthur L. Johnson High School, 1-0, this past Saturday.
Early in the game the Raiders put pressure on the Elizabeth back line with unsuccessful runs made by juniors Juliana Doran and Carina DiLollo. All this pressure allowed for a legitimate chance for SPF, with sophomore Mia Trombetta just missing over the bar on an Alexa LaRosa cross.
The Raiders defenders were playing a high line, which helped in keeping the ball in the opposing half but also making the attackers shoot from farther out. Junior goalkeeper Joslyn Odim had her first test of the afternoon as Elizabeth’s Giovanna Echavarria tried to put it in just over her head with a shot from way outside the 18-yard box.
Doran and Trombetta seemed to be brewing up another opportunity with a nice ball through the defenders but Trombetta was barely past the last defender, making it offsides. A strong Raider midfield kept the possession mostly on Elizabeth’s side of the field for the first half, giving SPF all the chances they could have gotten.
Freshman Sarah Mihansky gave the ball to Sadie Shapiro who had a nice no-look pass to Trombetta but she was stopped by a diving save from opposing goalie Zoe Pite. More shots were put on goal from the Raiders but nothing was going in their favor.
This finally seemed like it was going to change when Pite came off of her line, leaving the goal open for any shots. LaRosa took a crack but somehow, Lady Minutemen defender Gabriella Cardona was there to stop it from hitting the back of the net and cleared it away.
“We had the opportunities and we had so many chances. We just had to finish it and I was determined to put it in,” senior J’nyyah Young told The Fanscotian. As the half ended, the Raiders were sure to be frustrated but they could not lose the momentum they had.
With Doran sustaining an injury in the first half, the SPF midfield began to let through chances and Elizabeth barely missed wide right and left on two separate occasions. More shots were taken but Odim was there for the saves. The Raiders felt like themselves again as senior Jasmine Gutierrez-Solana found LaRosa for a shot that just went wide left at the last second.
Doran came back in and a nice sequence between her, Natalia Lambert, and Trombetta allowed for another shot on goal. With 18 minutes left, it looked like the Raiders would have another shot on goal, this time in the form of a free kick. Defender Sara Lehman sent the ball to the back post where it was met by Doran but Pite was once again there to save it.
In the middle of a great night, Pite was injured on this dive, putting freshman Maria Carvajal between the goal posts. More back and forth play occurred with both teams putting the pressure on. With five minutes left, it seemed as if it was heading towards overtime. Not if Young had anything to say about it.
Doran found Young in the middle of the field and she chipped it over the keeper’s head for the game winning goal.
“I went numb [after the goal]. I was so surprised even though I knew it was going over. I felt extremely happy to put this game away and to move on to the next round,” Young said.
The referee blew his whistle three times and it was official: the Raiders were moving on to the semifinals. Playing both forward and defender, Young definitely kept the energy high throughout the game.
“[J’nyyah] is good in the back, she’s fast and strong. They were getting tired and when she steps on the field, she’s usually the fastest female there,” Head Coach Kevin Ewing said.
While they came away with the win, Ewing was still not satisfied.
“We didn’t play our best game but some of that is because of Elizabeth and some of that is just because we did not play well,” Ewing said.
With the win, the Raiders move onto the semifinals of the Union County Tournament and will play on Friday night against the winner of Cranford v.s. Summit.
Elizabeth will continue regular season play with games against Dayton and Kent Place for the rest of the week.
