Post by admin on Nov 18, 2007 16:57:27 GMT -5
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Mayrose, Colonials capture Group III title
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/18/07
BY ROBERT ZIEGLER
STAFF WRITER
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EWING — The season came full circle for Shannon Mayrose, who was the best player in the Shore Conference over the first month of the season and was the best one, by a large margin, on the field in the state championship.
Mayrose scored her second goal of the game in the 96th minute, carrying the ball about 20 yards down the right side before unleashing a perfectly placed 25-yard shot that gave the Freehold girls soccer team a 2-1 win against Ramapo in the NJSIAA Group III final on Saturday at The College of New Jersey.
It was the second straight title for Freehold (21-2), which played to a scoreless tie with Ramapo last season, and its first outright.
Moments before Mayrose's goal, Ramapo (16-2-4) let a golden opportunity slip away. After Colonials goalie Ashley Lewis came off her line to punch away a cross, the Green Raiders had two shots at an empty goal, but the first was blocked by a defender and the second sailed over the goal.
"For a minute I was in outerspace," said Lewis, who also made a brilliant save on a corner in the first half. "I made the save and then I was just there watching for a couple seconds. But they say defense always comes through for championships."
Their defense played well, as usual, but it was Mayrose who came through for the Colonials, consistently finding space between her and her defender and creating scoring opportunities, many of them of high quality.
"I knew coming in there would be a mark on me, but the first couple times I got the ball I felt behind me and there wasn't anyone there," said Mayrose, who leads the Shore Conference in scoring with 30 goals and 10 assists. "And I just took advantage of it."
Freehold outshot Ramapo, 10-2, in the first half, but the teams remained scoreless at halftime. The Colonials fell behind 10:30 into the second half when Allison Maresca redirected Amy VanDyk's corner from the right side through traffic and inside the left post. Maresca's goal ended a 150:30 scoreless streak between the teams.
But Mayrose kept working up top and was rewarded about 13 minutes later when she beat Shiel with a 27-yard shot from the right side after another long run.
"I don't remember a time when I saw a player stand out like that," Colonials coach Elyse Bizzozzaro said of Mayrose. "She started falling apart at times, but she just tore it up."
"I think my keeper was exceptional," Ramapo coach Paul Heenehan said. "Those two goals, there's not a keeper in the state that could have stopped either one of them."
Mayrose was assertive in the attack from the opening kickoff, running onto a long ball from Jackie Scalgione and playing a cross into the 18-yard box from near the right end line in the game's first 15 seconds. Alexa Rozzi's touch went over the goal, but it was just the first of a handful of first-half opportunities created by Mayrose.
The junior took four other shots in the half, the most dangerous coming in the 27th minute. Shiel appeared surprised by Mayrose's shot from about 22 yards, which was destined to go in at the far-left post, but the junior was able to knock it away with a dive to her left.
Bizzozzaro has already turned her attention to her second season, when the Colonials will return nine starters. They returned eight from last year's co-championship squad.
"I'm excited," she said. "I'm ready to get back to work."
Mayrose, Colonials capture Group III title
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/18/07
BY ROBERT ZIEGLER
STAFF WRITER
Post Comment
EWING — The season came full circle for Shannon Mayrose, who was the best player in the Shore Conference over the first month of the season and was the best one, by a large margin, on the field in the state championship.
Mayrose scored her second goal of the game in the 96th minute, carrying the ball about 20 yards down the right side before unleashing a perfectly placed 25-yard shot that gave the Freehold girls soccer team a 2-1 win against Ramapo in the NJSIAA Group III final on Saturday at The College of New Jersey.
It was the second straight title for Freehold (21-2), which played to a scoreless tie with Ramapo last season, and its first outright.
Moments before Mayrose's goal, Ramapo (16-2-4) let a golden opportunity slip away. After Colonials goalie Ashley Lewis came off her line to punch away a cross, the Green Raiders had two shots at an empty goal, but the first was blocked by a defender and the second sailed over the goal.
"For a minute I was in outerspace," said Lewis, who also made a brilliant save on a corner in the first half. "I made the save and then I was just there watching for a couple seconds. But they say defense always comes through for championships."
Their defense played well, as usual, but it was Mayrose who came through for the Colonials, consistently finding space between her and her defender and creating scoring opportunities, many of them of high quality.
"I knew coming in there would be a mark on me, but the first couple times I got the ball I felt behind me and there wasn't anyone there," said Mayrose, who leads the Shore Conference in scoring with 30 goals and 10 assists. "And I just took advantage of it."
Freehold outshot Ramapo, 10-2, in the first half, but the teams remained scoreless at halftime. The Colonials fell behind 10:30 into the second half when Allison Maresca redirected Amy VanDyk's corner from the right side through traffic and inside the left post. Maresca's goal ended a 150:30 scoreless streak between the teams.
But Mayrose kept working up top and was rewarded about 13 minutes later when she beat Shiel with a 27-yard shot from the right side after another long run.
"I don't remember a time when I saw a player stand out like that," Colonials coach Elyse Bizzozzaro said of Mayrose. "She started falling apart at times, but she just tore it up."
"I think my keeper was exceptional," Ramapo coach Paul Heenehan said. "Those two goals, there's not a keeper in the state that could have stopped either one of them."
Mayrose was assertive in the attack from the opening kickoff, running onto a long ball from Jackie Scalgione and playing a cross into the 18-yard box from near the right end line in the game's first 15 seconds. Alexa Rozzi's touch went over the goal, but it was just the first of a handful of first-half opportunities created by Mayrose.
The junior took four other shots in the half, the most dangerous coming in the 27th minute. Shiel appeared surprised by Mayrose's shot from about 22 yards, which was destined to go in at the far-left post, but the junior was able to knock it away with a dive to her left.
Bizzozzaro has already turned her attention to her second season, when the Colonials will return nine starters. They returned eight from last year's co-championship squad.
"I'm excited," she said. "I'm ready to get back to work."