GLEN RIDGE, NJ (updated Sunday Nov. 20, 2:13 p.m.) – For the Glen Ridge High School girls’ varsity soccer team, it felt like de ja vu.
Same site. Same opponent. Same final game for the Group 1 state championship.
That was the scenario for the Lady Ridgers for the second straight year.
But unfortunately for the Ridgers, it was the same outcome as they lost to Shore, 3-2, in the Group 1 state final at Kean University in Union on Saturday night, Nov. 19.
Despite the disappointment of coming up short again, the Ridgers certainly can look back at the season with great pride, as they finished with an impressive 16-7-1 record under the guidance of head coach Oscar Viteri, in his 16th year at the helm. The Ridgers were red-hot with a seven-game winning streak which included winning their fifth straight section title.
Indeed, GRHS and Shore are quite familiar with each other. Not only did the teams meet for the second straight year in the final, it was also the fourth time in five seasons that they battled for the Group 1 state crown.
In Saturday’s final, the Ridgers found themselves down 1-0 before junior midfielder Liz Hauschild tied it in the 22nd minute on a header off a corner kick. But Shore scored two straight goals for a 3-1 halftime lead. Shore allowed an own goal to make it a one-goal game in the second half and held on for the win.
Viteri was proud of his team’s effort in the game, especially for battling back.
“It was a good battle,” said Viteri. “The girls played their hearts out. They left it out on the field. As a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”
The Ridgers featured a special senior group that included midfielders Colleen Grady, Merritt Davie and Taylor Kulick; defenders Olivia Schwern, Galen Lew and Meghan Marhan, and forwards Leslie Jaiyesimi and Katie Liu.
Along with Hauschild, the Ridgers had underclassmen contributors such as junior forward Lindsey Jaiyesimi, junior goalie Victoria Woznick, junior defender Daphne Patton, junior goalie Gabby Sanchez, sophomore midfielder Jenny Lisovicz, sophomore midfielder Jessica Muney, sophomore defender Halinka Prussak, freshmen midfielder Tara Feenaghty, freshman defender Madison Grady; freshman forward Samantha Lovitt; freshman midfielder Taylor Townsend, freshman forward Evie Faucet, freshman forward Gemma Barrata, sophomore defender Claire McMahon, and freshman goalie Eva Rollo.
Sophomore Lily Kinley served as the team manager.
Brian Ianni and Lindsey Deptula continued to serve as valuable longtime assistant coaches.
The Ridgers and Shore have met in the state Group 1 finals in 2012, 2013, and last season. GRHS beat Shore, 2-0, in 2012. The teams played to a 1-1 tie in 2013 to become co-champions. Shore defeated GRHS, 2-1, in double overtime last season. The 2012 and 2013 finals were played at The College of New Jersey, while last season’s final was played at Kean.
Lew, who will play lacrosse at Stanford University, scored two goals and Lindsey Jaiyesimi had the other goal to lead the Lady Ridgers to a 3-1 win over Park Ridge in the state Group 1 semifinals on Tuesday night, Nov. 15, at Indian Hills High School in Oakland, located in Bergen County. Colleen Grady, Leslie Jaiyesimi, and Liu each had one assist and Woznick made three saves for the Ridgers.
In the previous game, GRHS won its fifth straight North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 tournament title with a 3-0 win over Belvidere on Nov. 11 at Watsessing Park.
Viteri will miss his seniors, who had put together a great four-year run.
“This senior class is a good bunch of kids,” Viteri said. “They’re leaving with four sectional titles and one state championship, and being in the final three times and being runner-up two times. That’s not too bad.”
The season was also very rewarding in the way the team regrouped from a tough start to the season. The Ridgers were 5-5-1 before winning 11 of the next 12 games heading into the state final against Shore. The lone loss in that stretch was against then-unbeaten Livingston, 1-0, in the Essex County Tournament quarterfinals.
“We turned it around,” said Viteri, noting the team got red-hot at the right time. “We made a great run.”
NOTE: Colleen Grady and her brother, Tyler Grady, also a GRHS senior, last week signed National Letters of Intent to continue their lacrosse careers on the Division 1 collegiate level. Colleen will play at Drexel University in Philadelphia, while Tyler will play at Wagner College in Staten Island. Madison Grady is their younger sibling.
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