2007 New Providence Girls Soccer
Courier News Article - September 7, 2007
Varsity Girls Soccer Preview
NEW PROVIDENCE
Division: Valley.
Coach: Scott Murphy, fifth season.
2006 record: 13-5.
Forwards: Melissa Fink (Sr.), Rachel Schlo-bohm (So.), Robin Farrell (Jr.), Amy Marchisio (So.), Holly Tucker (Jr.).
Midfielders: Kim Closs (So.), Jenne Bulzacchelli (Sr.), Sarah Lowe (Sr.), Gina Caprara (Fr.), Jenne Fay (So.).
Defenders: Alex Ameen (Sr.), Megan Smith (Sr.), Caitlin Sneeden (Jr.), Alexa Lesnewich (So.), Nan Tucker (So.), Lindsay Rosenstein (Jr.), Laura Schiels (Sr.), Saumya Vaishampayan (Sr.).
Goalkeepers: Connie Haggerty (So.).
Outlook: After losing three of the top four scorers to graduation, as well as keeper Sarah Richter, there are some holes to fill in New Providence. Leading goal-scorer Kim Closs re-turns, but it's tough to think the Pioneers will repeat the kind of offensive year they had in 2006 when they tied Pingry to lead the area with four goals per game. The schedule will be tougher — Caldwell was added to the schedule, and Oak Knoll replaced Roselle Catholic in the division — but New Providence has dropped back to Group I. Murphy will juggle his lineup, as some of the more inexperienced players move in to take some of the offensive roles. Fink and Marchisio move up from the back, while Closs drops back into the midfield. Schlobohm, who scored seven goals off the bench last season, will start. New Providence will switch from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2, with Closs anchoring the midfield with Bulzacchelli, who will play more of defensive midfield. Ameen, a four-year starter, will play sweeper in front of Haggerty, who started nine games last year when Richter was hurt.
Game 1 - September 12th - New Providence 6, Roselle Park 0
Star Ledger Article
Kim Closs scored three goals in a nine minute span of the first half, spurring New Providence (1-0-0) to a 4-0 halftime lead in Roselle Park. Gina Caprara scored the first and last goals of the game. Rachel Schlobohm also scored once, while Alex Ameen, Sarah Lowe, Robin Farrell and Melissa Fink all pitched in one assist each. Roselle Park is 1-1
GOALS:
Closs (3), Schlobohm (1), Caprara (2).
ASSISTS: Ameen (1), Lowe (1), Fink (1), Farrell (1).
SAVES:Haggerty 4
Game 2 - September 14th - New Providence 2, Cranford 0
Courier News Article
Forward Rachel Schlobohm scored two goals for New Providence,
while goalkeeper Connie Haggerty tallied 13 saves.
GOALS:Schlobohm (2)
ASSISTS: Caprara
SAVES:NP - Haggerty 13, C – Boumann 7
Game 3 - September 17th - New Providence 2, Union Catholic 2
Star Ledger Article
Missy Villegas preserved the tie for Union Catholic (3-0-1) with a goal in the 39th minute before a scoreless second half in New Providence. Union Catholic‘s Stephanie Arrojade began the scoring 4 minutes in, but New Providence (2-0-1) surged ahead with two goals from Kim Closs, her second at 37:50. Villegas tied the match one minute later.
Courier News Article
Junior Missy Villegas' goal in the 38th minute knotted the game at 2-2 as Union Catholic earned a tie with New Providence. Sophomore midfielder Kim Closs scored both goals for New Providence, the first coming on a 35-yard direct kick in the ninth minute. Senior midfielder Stephanie Arrojondo also scored for Union Catholic.
Goals:NP - Closs (2), UC – Villegas, Arrojondo
Assists:none
Saves:NP - Haggerty 9, UC - 6
Game 4 - September 18th - New Providence 8, Hillside 0
Star Ledger Article
Robin Farrell and Gina Caprara both scored two goals each for New Providence (3-0-1) in Hillside. Caitlin Sneede, Sarah Lowe, Rachel Schlobohm and Kim Closs all added one goal. Jen Oliveria had 14 saves for Hillside (0-3)
Courier News Article
Freshman midfielder Gina Caprera scored two goals and assisted on another as New Providence won easily. Six different New Providence players scored a goal including junior forward Robin Farrell who netted two, along with an assist.
Goals: NP - R. Farrell (2), K. Closs, R. Schlobohm, G. Caprara (2), S. Lowe, C. Sneeden
Assists: NP - Caprera, Closs, Farrell, Fay, Tucker
Saves: NP - Haggerty 0, H – Oliveria 14
Game 5 -Thursday September 20th - New Providence 4, Brearley 1
Star Ledger Article
Kim Closs assisted Holly Tucker for New Providence’s first goal in the 18th and scored two more, one in each half, in New Providence. Rachel Schlobohm scored for a 2-0 lead, while Megan Smith, Caitlin Sneeden and Sarah Lowe added assists. Hannah LoBello scored for Brearley (1-4)
Courier News Article
Sophomore forward Kim Closs led the way for New Providence with two goals and an assist. Goals also were scored by Holly Tucker & Rachel Schlobohm.
New Providence goalkeeper Connie Haggerty had 14 saves in the win.
Goals: NP - R. Farrell (2), K. Closs, R. Schlobohm, G. Caprara (2), S. Lowe, C. Sneeden
Assists: NP - Caprera, Closs, Farrell, Fay, Tucker
Saves: NP - Haggerty 0, H – Oliveria 14
Game 6 - September 25th - New Providence 4, Dayton 0
Star Ledger Article
Jenna Bulzacchelli, Gina Caprara, Rachel Schlobohm and Robin Farrell all scored once as New Providence (5-0-1) won its third straight in New Providence. Connie Haggerty earned the shutout with one save. Dayton is 2-4
Courier News Article
Four players scored for New Providence, which improved to 5-0-1. Senior midfielder Jenna Bulzacchelli scored first at 24:15 of the first half.
Goals: NP – Bulzacchelli, Caprara, Farrell, Schlodohm,
Assists: Sneeden, Tucker
Saves: NP – Haggerty 1
Game 7 - September 26th - New Providence 2, Caldwell 4
Star Ledger Article
BY RICH BEVENSEE
For offensive reasons, Caldwell absolutely loves working on a short field.
So when the team arrived in New Providence for its game at Roberts Elementary School -- the field is 20 yards shorter than the New Providence high school field, which is under construction -- Caldwell's leading scorer, Lauren Lehman, anticipated a big afternoon.
"It's my favorite thing, working on a shorter field," Lehman said. "And it's been our strength all season."
That's for sure. Lehman, a senior headed for Seton Hall, scored the game's first two goals and had a hand in two others yesterday in a 4-2 Caldwell victory.
Lehman, who boosted her season total to 14 goals, wasted no time getting started. She scored at 5:52 on a Becky Zaminskie assist and again at 12:52 on a beautifully placed, 25-yard direct kick.
Caldwell owned a 3-0 lead at the half thanks in part to Lehman, who caught New Providence off guard by dribbling in a corner kick play and firing a bullet at the near post. New Providence keeper Connie Haggerty stopped that shot and went to the ground to stop the first rebound, but that's when Molly Sellars took advantage of a loose ball at the far post.
"Normally we're a second half team," Lehman said. "But we do try to tire teams out, and that's what worked for us today."
Caldwell made it 4-0 at 2:58 into the second half when Lehman sent a crossing pass into the box and Katie Hennigan came flying in for a header.
New Providence (5-1-1) entered the game as one of Union County's stingiest teams, having given up two goals in a single game once while allowing three goals all season.
"I don't think we saw them coming," New Providence sophomore striker Kim Closs said. "Maybe we took them too lightly. When the score got to three and four, it was a downer, but we never stopped pushing."
New Providence actually outshot Caldwell, 17-6, in the second half after managing just four shots on goal in the first half. Closs broke through for New Providence with her team-leading ninth goal in the 58th minute. Rachel Schlobohm assisted Robin Farrell in the 77th for New Providence.
Star Ledger Article
Lehman lifts Caldwell by New Providence
BY RICH BEVENSEE
Sophomore striker Kim Closs said New Providence fancies itself as a second-half team and, boy, did Closs' team have its work cut out for it after 40 minutes of play yes-terday in New Providence.
Caldwell came off the bus ready to score. Taking advantage of the Roberts Elementary School field, 20 yards shorter than New Provi-dence's high school field, which is under construction, leading scorer Lauren Lehman scored twice in the first 13 minutes and Caldwell handed New Providence a 4-2 set-back yesterday.
New Providence (5-1-1) entered the game as one of Union County's stingiest teams, having given up two goals in a single game once, and three goals all season. Caldwell (6-1) owned a 4-0 lead before New Providence went to work.
"I don't think we saw them coming," Kim Closs said. "Maybe we took them too lightly. When the score got to three and four, it was a downer, but we never stopped pushing."
New Providence actually out-shot Caldwell, 17-6, in the second half after managing just four shots on goal in the first half. Closs broke through for New Providence with her team-leading ninth goal in the 58th minute, and Rachel Schlo-bohm assisted Robin Farrell in the 77th.
Lehman, headed for Seton Hall, had a hand in all four of Caldwell's goals. Her second goal was a per-fectly placed direct kick from 25 yards out at 12:52.
In the 35th minute, she began a corner-kick play in which New Providence keeper Connie Hag-gerty (nine saves) stopped Leh-man's shot and went to the ground to smother the first rebound. But that's when Molly Sellars took ad-vantage of a loose ball at the far post.
Caldwell struck again on a beautifully orchestrated play be-tween Lehman and Katie Henni-gan, who snapped in a header at 42:58.
"It's my favorite thing, working on a shorter field," Lehman said. "And it's been our strength all sea-son. Normally we're a second-half team. But we do try to tire teams
Courier News Article
New Providence trailed 4-0 before scoring, then rallied as sophomore forward Kim Closs and junior forward Robin Farrell scored at 57:40 and 70:00, respectively. New Providence later hit the goalpost twice but couldn't convert.
Goals: NP – Closs, Farrell, C – Lehman (2)
Assists: NP – Caprara, Schlobohm
Saves: NP – Haggerty 7, C – Szmak 10
Game 8 - September 28th - New Providence 0, Oak Knoll 0
Courier News Article
Sophomore keeper Connie Haggerty made seven saves for New Providence, but the game was called with 10:29 left in regulation because of thunder and lightning.
Saves: NP – Haggerty 7, OK – McCabe 6
Game 9 - October 2nd - New Providence 1, Kent Place 1
Star Ledger Article
Kesi Irvin served Meredith LaRose in the 10th minute for Kent Place (6-2-1), but Racgel Schlobohm marked the equalizer two minutes later on a Kim Closs assist for New Providence (5-1-3) in New Providence. Connie Haggerty recorded 10 saves for New Providence, while Margot Sirois had 9 saves for Kent Place
Courier News Article
Sophomroe forward Rachel Schlobohm tied the game for New Providence at 11:20, less than two minutes after the Pioneers had fallen behind, but neither team could break through the rest of the way. Sophomore keeper Connie Haggerty made 10 saves for New Providence.
The Independent Press
Sophs star in nets for KPS, Pioneers
Their sophomore goalkeepers are a significant reason Kent Place School and New Providence are two of the stronger soccer teams in Union County this autumn, and both those 10th-graders distinguished themselves last Tuesday afternoon when KPS and NP battled to a 1-1 draw at Roberts Elementary School in New Providence.
Goals: NP – Schlodohm, KP – Chang
Assists: NP – Closs, KP - Irvin
Saves: NP – Haggerty 10, KP – Sirois 9
Game 10 - October 4th - New Providence 6, Roselle Park 0
Star Ledger Article
Sophomore Kim Closs recorded her second hat trick of the season and the forth of her career as New rovidence (6-1-3) did all its scoring in the first half to celebrate the opening of its turf field in New Providence. Rachel Schlobohm had one goal and one assist. Amy Marchiso and Jenna Fay both scored and Robin Farrell contribute two assists. Roselle Park is 4-6
Courier News Article
Sophomore midfielder Kim Closs had three goals and sophomore midfielder Rachel Schlobohm had a goal and an assist to lead New Providence.
Sophomore midfielders Amy Marchisio and Jenna Say each tallied goals for New Providence. Junior forward Robin Farrell had two assists, and sophomore goalkeeper Connie Haggerty stopped six shots for New Providence.
Goals: NP – Schlodohm, KP (3), Marchiso, Fay
Assists: NP – Farrell (2), SchlobohmCloss, Caprara, Schielf
Saves: NP – Haggerty 6
Game 11 - October 5th - New Providence 8, Hillside 0
Star Ledger Article
Ally Monte and Laura Schielf each finished with a goal and assist for New Providence in New Providence. Winning goalie Connie Haggerty also contributed with a goal for New Providence (7-1-3). Jen Oliveria made 14 saves for Hillside (0-9)
Courier News Article
Starting goalkeeper Connie Haggerty scored her first varsity goal 12 minutes into the second half for the Pioneers. Senior defender Laura Schiels and sophomore linemate Alexa Lesenwich each contributed a goal and an assist for New Providence.
Goals: NP – Marchisio, Smith, Lesenwich, Tucker, Sneeden, Schiels, Rosenstein, Haggerty
Assists: NP – Schiels, Farrell, Lesnewich, Ameen
Saves: NP – Haggerty 0, Ameen 0, Fay 0, Bulzacchelli 0, H - Oliveria 14
Game 12 - October 13th - New Providence 0, Cranford 2
Union County Tournament
Star Ledger Article
Kayla Montgomery connected in the first half and natalie Englese scored in the second half to lift 10th seeded Cranford (4-5-2) in the first round of the Union County Tournament. Erika Baumann made five saves for the shutout. Seventh seeded New Providence is 7-3-5
Courier News Article
Sophomore keeper Connie Haggerty made 11 saves for seventh-seeded New Providence, which was eliminated by 10th-seeded Cranford.
Goals: NP - R. Farrell (2), K. Closs, R. Schlobohm, G. Caprara (2), S. Lowe, C. Sneeden
Assists: NP - Caprera, Closs, Farrell, Fay, Tucker
Saves: NP - Haggerty 0, H – Oliveria 14
Game 13 - October 16th - New Providence 2, Rahway 2
Star Ledger Article
Rachel Schlobohm rescued New Providence (7-2-4) from a 2-0 deficit, scoring in the 30th minute and again in the 74th on a breakaway in Rahway. GuanJu Tao and Taylor Wilson provided Rahway (5-3-5) with its early lead
Courier News Article
Sophomore forward Rachel Schlobohm scored twice in the final 10 minutes of regulation to rally New Providence from a 2-0 deficit and force overtime. Sophomore keeper Connie Haggerty made nine saves for the Pioneers.
Goals: NP – Schlobohm (2), R – Tao, Wilson
Assists: none
Saves: NP – Haggerty 9, R – Harbienko 12
Game 14 - October 18th - New Providence 2, Oak Knoll 2
Star Ledger Article
Carrie Nolan’s goal in the 64th minute tied it at 2-2 for Oak Knoll (7-5-2) and it stayed that way through 2 overtime periods in New Providence . Rachel Schlobohm made it 1-0 for New Providence (7-2-5) in the 10th minute before Laura Zito scored early in the second half for Oak Knoll. Kim Cross’s goal in the 56th minute had staked New Providence to a 2-1 lead.
Goals: NP - R. Farrell (2), K. Closs, R. Schlobohm, G. Caprara (2), S. Lowe, C. Sneeden
Assists: NP - Caprera, Closs, Farrell, Fay, Tucker
Saves: NP - Haggerty 0, H – Oliveria 14
Game 15 - October 22nd - New Providence 6, Dayton 0
Star Ledger Article
Rachel Schlobohm enjoyed her third two-goal match of the season and Gina Caprara added two assists for New Providence (8-2-5) in New Providence. Robin Farrell, Kim Closs, Jenna Fay and Caitlin Sneeden each added one goal. Dayton is 4-12
Courier News Article
Sophomore forward Rachel Schlogohm scored two goals and junior forward Robin Farrell tallied a goal and an assist in a five-goal second half for New Providence. Caitlin Sneeden, Kim Closs and Jenna Fay added goals for the Pioneers while Gina Caprara assited on two goals. New Providence keeper Connie Haggerty stopped four shots to preserve the shutout
Goals: Schlobohm (2), Closs, Fay, Farrell
Assists: Caprara (2), Farrell
Saves: NP - Haggerty 4, D - Farber 15
Game 16 - October 23rd - New Providence 2, Johnson 4
Courier News Article
Junior Robin Farrell and freshman Gina Caprara each tallied goals for New Providence. Sophomore Rachel Schlobohm and senior Alex Ameen provided assists for the Pioneers.
Goals: NP – Farrell, Caprara, AL – Syko (2), Zizza, Sortino
Assists: NP – Schlobohm, Ameen ALJ - LaRose
Saves: NP – Haggerty 11, ALJ – Murray 10
THE STAR-LEDGER Article
Syko, Zizza star for Johnson, 4-2
BY RICH BEVENSEE
Johnson has been riding the of-fensive talents of freshman striker Rachel Syko since opening day,, and did so again yesterday as Syko connected on two first-half goals and the Clark team roared to a. three-goal lead.
But in the second half it was a white knuckle ride for Johnson, which saw New Providence rally to within a goal before Johnson held on fora 4-2 victory in New Provi-dence.
Syko boosted her team-leading total to 10 goals by scoring twice in a six-minute span and Arianna Zizza, who assisted Syko's first goal, pushed in a loose ball in the 38th minute fora 3-0 lead for John-son (8-7-1).
"Coach (Sue Spencer) has been saying take every shot like it's your only shot," Syko said. "I actually felt like I was on my game, more than other days. I was glad I could help us get off to a fast start."
Robin Farrell caught Johnson off guard with a goal just 35 sec-onds later.
"That third goal was a mistake on our part and really put us in a hole, but our goal at the end of the half was critical to our second half comeback," New Providence coach Scott Murphy said.
New Providence (8-3-5) made things really interesting when, just 43 seconds into the second half, Gina Caprara converted a booming direct kick from Alex Ameen. New Providence, now trailing 3-2, began playing with an intensity that was missing in the first half, and John-son's fast start was just a memory. At one point late in the second half, New Providence had outshot John-son, 12-4.
"We did not come out fired up and they were pushing up the field at every opportunity," Spencer said. "I think our youth has some-thing to do with that — we start six freshmen — but the girls started playing like I knew they could."
Johnson survived two great op-portunities by sophomore Kim Closs, who fired wide once and also hit the crossbar, and earned an in-surance goal in the 78th after Syko slipped a perfect through ball to Cat Hanley.
Johnson's Brittany Murray re-corded nine saves in goal while New Providence keeper Connie Haggerty finished with 13 saves.the first half and scored on a pass from Kristen Scotti in the second for Cranford (8-6-2) in Cranford. Erika Baumann stopped six saves for her fifth shutout. Kent Place
Game 17 - October 25th - New Providence 1, Kent Place 1
Courier News Article
Junior forward Robin Farrell scored in the 28th minute for New Providence off a pass from Gina Caprara. Connie Haggerty stopped 18 shots
NJ SPORTS IMAGES - Posted by Alex
The Lady Pioneers of New Providence and the Kent Place Dragons played to a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods in front of a large hometown crowd. Both goalkeepers, Connie Haggerty for New Providence and Margo Sirois, played well in front of the net with 13 saves each. Not only was it Spirit Week at Kent Place but the game was for the conference title but since the game ended in a knot the honors will be shared by New Providence, Kent Place and Oak Knoll.
Goals: NP – Farrell, KP – Chang
Assists: NP – Caprara, KP - LaRose
Saves: NP – Haggerty 18, KP – Sirois 17
The Independent Press - October 31, 2007
Pioneers, KPS draw, share MVC soccer crown
By ART POLAKOWSKI
SUMMIT — The match that was to decide the Mountain Valley Conference girls soccer crown not only left things in a title tie but also intro-duced a third team to the co-champi-onship equation. For when New Providence and Kent Place School bat-tled to a 1-1 draw through two over-times last Thursday afternoon at the KPS field, the MVC pennant race con-cluded with three teams on top the standings. New Providence, Kent Place, and Oak Knoll School can each claim a share the 2007 league pennant.
Oak Knoll's only chance to claim a portion of the honor was if NP and KPS played to their second draw of the campaign. And that's what happened, as these area rivals again went 100 minutes of soccer with each scoring one goal, the identical result as their first encounter three weeks earlier.
New Providence, 8-3-6 overall, went through its conference schedule undefeated but played ties in both matches with Kent Place (12-5-2) and Oak Knoll. The latter crosstown rivals had split their two contests, each win-ning one-goal affairs.
A fortuitous substitution by Coach Scott Murphy 28 minutes into the first half helped provide New Providence's goal. Robin Farrell was inserted as an extra forward for a Pioneer corner-kick, and this junior wound up scoring in what was to be the only eight seconds of action in which she was involved.
Sophomore striker Kim Closs boot-ed the CK from the right corner to the left sideline, from where freshman Gina Caprara deftly touched a pass to the front of the net. Farrell finished the play in traffic and ended up on the ground with a sprained ankle. It had been Robin's first entrance in the match, and she didn't return.
Still Farrell's injury wasn't termed serious, as Murphy's confident she'll be available for the upcoming State Tournament in which the Lady Pioneers are top-seeded in their Central Jersey Group I Section. The athlete who's more of a question is senior Megan Smith, NP's top best marking back who's presently side-lined due to a knee injury.
"We've still got another week (until our state opener), and we're hoping Megan will be cleared by then," Murphy related.
Nevertheless, New Providence was able to cover Kent Place's dynamic striker tandem of Kesi Irvin and Cassie Chang in commendable fashion, even if that senior duo did combine for the tying goal eight minutes into the sec-ond half. Irvin succeeded in beating two defenders on the left side, and she then chipped a perfect pass for Chang to knock into the net.
Senior Laura Schiels, normally a substitute, replaced Smith on the right side of the defense and thus marked Irvin (who normally operates from the offensive left) most of the match. Sophomore Alexa Lesnewich is the Pioneers' left marking back, meaning she was normally guarding Chang.
Kent Place's standout center mid-fielders, Meredith LaRose and Amanda Rhodes, joined the attack on virtually every push throughout the second half, leaving the New Providence defense a huge task. Yet with goalkeeper Connie Haggerty sup-plying quality saves and sweeper Alex Ameen adding her solid presence in the middle, the Pioneers were able to hold on.
"I thought we played well the entire match, but it seemed to fire up our girls even more when New Providence scored first,". Kent Place Coach Phil Wolstenholme reflected. "We had sev-eral great opportunities to get a win-ning goal. It was one of our best matches all season, and I'm really proud of our players, even though we're forced to settle for a co-champi-onship."
The `winner-take-all' scenario would have excluded Oak Knoll from the title picture - except there wasn't a winner. Thus when OKS Coach Martyn Rushmore learned NP and KPS were headed for OT and a poten-tial draw (as he was riding back with his team from a prep tournament match at Peddie), Rushmore drove over to Kent Place to view the last couple min-utes. He was rewarded with the tie.
SOPHOMORE STANDOUT — Arguably, the match's top performer during the
New Providence-Kent Place 1-1 draw, NP striker Kim Closs (21) looks to fend
off KPS defender Rachel Gordon.
(Photo by Amy Horowitz)
Game 18 - October 26th - New Providence 5, Brearley 1
Star Ledger Article
Rachel Schlobohm scored twice and Kim Closs, Saumya Vaishampayana and Jamie Baker once each for New Providence (9-3-6) in Kenilworth, Hannah LoBello converted a direct kick for Brearley (7-9-1)
Courier News Article
Rachel Schlobohm scored two goals and Kim Closs added a goal and an assist to power New Providence. Saumya Vaishampayana and Jamie Baker also scored for the Pioneers.
Goals: NP - Schlobohm (2), Closs, Vaishampayana, Baker, B – LoBello
Assists: NP - Vaishampayana, Bulzacchelli (2), Fay, Closs
Saves: NP – Haggerty 3, B – Vaz 10
Courier News Article
By SIMEON PINCUS, STAFF WRITER
B-R, Gill, New Providence drew top seeds
The NJSIAA Tournament brackets were released Thursday evening, and Bridgewater-Raritan, New Providence and Gill St. Bernard's were top seeds in their respective sections.
Central Group I: Top-seeded New Providence will play host to the winner of Monday's game between fifth-seeded South Amboy and fourth-seeded Robbinsville, while third-seeded Middlesex faces No. 6 seed Highland Park in Monday's first round. Our pick: New Providence over Middlesex; Sleeper: Robbinsville.
Game 19 - Monday, November 5th - New Providence 0, Robbinsville 4
State Group 1 Central Semis
Star Ledger Article
Brittney Notor scored two goals for Robbinsville (14-7) in the semifinals of the Central Jersey, Group 2 tournament in New Providence. Connie Haggerty made 11 saves for New Providence (9-4-6)
Courier News Article
Connie Haggerty made 11 saves for New Providence, but Brittany Notor scored twice for fourth-seeded Robbinsville as it upended the top-seeded Pioneers
Goals: R – Notor (2)
Assists:
Saves: NP - Haggerty 11, R
The Independent Press - November 14, 2007
Tracking the Pioneers by Tom Wolf
Setback won't deter soccer girls
NEW PROVIDENCE - As the final whistle blew, the Lady Pioneers trudged off the field, their heads low. The day had begun with such high hopes, but now an up-and-down season had ended in a lopsided defeat. The New Providence High School girls soc-cer team had just lost its State Tournament match against Robbinsville, 4-0.
Although the NP girls enjoyed a strong season overall - finishing with a 9-4-6 record and a share of the Mountain/Valley Conference title - they looked apprehensive playing in a game with such high stakes.
"I was a little surprised and a little disap-pointed with how we played in the first half," acknowledged Head Coach Scott Murphy. "But we settled in and looked sharper in the second half. The second half really showed our ability. I think we were a little nervous in the beginning of the game."
Of course, it would be very unfair to judge the Lady Pioneers based on one loss. They proved to be competitive against just about every opponent this autumn; unfortunately, they couldn't translate some of those match-es into wins.
Six ties are a lot, and this may have result-ed from the inexperience of a relatively young team. As the season progressed, how-ever, the underclassmen stepped it up and performed very well.
"Playing in so many tough games this year provided experience to help turn those ties into wins next year," Murphy said.
With seven returning starters next autumn, New Providence should be a stronger squad. Still, the Pioneers will miss six graduating seniors, including a trio of captains. Jenna Bulzacchelli, Alex Ameen, and Sarah Lowe brought a lot of energy to the program, and the younger girls especially appreciate the way they supported the underclassmen. Yet although they'll be tough to replace, the return-ing athletes will surely improve next year.
Sophomore forwards Rachel Schlobohm and Kim Closs led New Providence with 14 goals each this season. Their play will be paramount to the success of the 2008 Pioneers. Another key player is junior forward Robin Farrell, a key substitute who provided a third striker up front.
Sophomore Connie Haggerty is the NP goalkeeper She started nine games for the Pioneers last season after then-senior Sarah Richter suf-fered a broken leg. As a fulltime starter in her second year, Haggerty continued to improve, and she made some truly spectacular saves. Although the game against Robbinsville was a couple notches below her top performance, it will serve to make Connie even more determined next sea-son, and hopefully her attitude will be conta-gious.
Meanwhile, New Providence's most improved player this autumn might have been Caitlin Sneeden, a junior defender who operated at the stopper position most of the season. In the Robbinsville match, Sneeden was hit very hard by a Robbinsville player yet insisted on staying in to play through the pain. This tough atti-tude will serve Caitlin and her teammates well next year.
Although the season ended on a sour note, there were plenty of sweet times for the Lady Pioneers. With another year of experience, the underclassmen will be poised for a great campaign. And the returnees will be joined by members of a jayvee squad that went 11 -2 this fall. Meaning there should be some healthy competition for playing time a year from now.
It's too bad the campaign ended the way it did, but that's how the ball bounces some-times. Pioneer fans should look forward to another exciting season next year.
Editor's note: Tom is a senior at New Providence High School
