Soccerfest Fall 2005

The Scotch Plains Blue Sharks U14 Girls intercounty team was nearly perfect at this past weekend’s Soccerfest Tournament at St. Joseph’s Metuchen, but in an ultra competitive division that took only four of 25 teams two shutout wins fell short of qualification for the semi finals.

Still the Sharks played heroically without their injured goalie Melissa McKenna. The defense was extra effective in helping replacement goalies Alyssa Young and Kara Gaynor avoid any extremely difficult shots and the offense scored twice in the first half of each game.

In the opener against Westfield, Amanda Rodriguez opened the scoring with a hard right foot and Lauren Buckley scored seconds before the half ended.

In the nightcap against South Mountain, Rodriguez tallied the second goal with another rocket after an own goal gave the Sharks an early lead.

The inability to score more goals kept the Sharks out of the championship round by a mere point but for those who braved the cold winds to watch, the Sharks came out looking like champions anyway.

Other standouts included Lauren Berk, Sarah Lazarus, Sarah Weber, Annie Rubin, Jessica DiGiacomo, Kara Gaynor, Rebecca DiGiacomo, Emily Cohen, Dominique Osterman, Giulia Mercuri, Jessica Feeley and Nikki Hodulik Although unable to play McKenna and Toni Ann Capece helped with their team spirit.

Fall 2005 Games 6-8

The Scotch Plains Blue Sharks U14 Girls intercounty team entered the week with one goal-to somehow play its last three regular season games by the deadline of October 23, which given the weather and shortness of day was no easy challenge.

Playing at the non-traditional times of 3:30 PM on a weekday and Friday night, they were able to accomplish their goal and managed to win two of three games to finish the regular season at 5-2-1. At press time, it was unknown whether this was good enough to make the playoffs.

On Wednesday, the Sharks had their second highest scoring output of the season in a 4-0 win. Amanda Rodriguez scored the only goal of the first half and Jessica Feeley, Kara Gaynor and Rebecca DiGiacomo added second half goals. Melissa McKenna played goalie and notched her fifth shutout of the season.

After a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat against a tough Clark squad Friday night, the Sharks bounced back to defeat Westfield 2-0 at South Side Firehouse Field in Scotch Plains, Sunday. Nikki Hodulik hard shot in the first half and Emily Cohen’s long high shot in the second half provided the margin of victory as McKenna completed her sixth shutout. The team has yielded only six goals this season, a testament to a strong defense.

Other standouts not previously mentioned included Annie Rubin, Alyssa Young .Sarah Lazarus, Giulia Mercuri, Sarah Weber, Dominique Osterman, Jessica DiGiacomo, Lauren Buckley, Lauren Berk, Toni Ann Capece and Erin Brown...

Game 4 Fall 2005 Westfield

The Scotch Plains Blue Sharks U14 Girls intercounty team finally ended their scoring slump with a vengeance as they routed Westfield 6-0 Monday at Houlihan Field in Westfield. The game was a makeup from the previous Saturday when monsoon rains cancelled most weekend events.
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The fourth consecutive shutout lifted the Sharks’ record to 3-0-1 but there was none of the tension evident in the first three games as a four goal first half made the result inevitable. Annie Rubin and Alyssa Young each scored twice and Jessica and Rebecca DiGiacomo added second half goals. For the first time this fall someone other than Melissa McKenna played goalie as Kara Gaynor split time.

Other standouts included Sarah Lazarus, Giulia Mercuri Sarah Weber, Amanda Rodriguez, Emily Cohen, Dominique Osterman and Nikki Hodulik.