Girls Soccer – Colonials Charge into SCT Semis

By Liz Matakevich
Shore Sports Network Contributor

Freehold Boro’s Jenna Huskey knows a thing or two about scoring on Wall, the Colonials' Shore Conference Class B North division rival.

Freehold sophomore Jenna Huskey scored her fourth goal against Wall this season and her 18th overall in the Colonials' 2-0 SCT quarterfinal win over the Crimson Knights. (Photo by Matt Manley)

The sophomore struck first in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal game to help the tournament's No. 1 seed earn a 2-0 victory against No. 8 Wall in Freehold yesterday, her fourth goal in the three matches between the two teams this season, all Wall wins.

“My girls are unbelievable they just come in day in and day out and do what they are supposed to in order to get wins,” said Freehold coach Elyse Ingui, whose team dropped decisions to Ocean and Bishop Ahr in its two games before the tournament after starting the season 14-0. “We went through a little rough patch so it’s nice to bounce back from it and get a win in the quarterfinals.”

Huskey’s 18th goal of the season came in the 10th minute of the game for Freehold when she was front and center at the net, tapping in the rebound after Sarah Grace Johnson took a shot that Wall goalkeeper Alex Panasuk saved with a dive to her right.

1 - Jenna Huskey gives Freehold a 1-0 lead from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

“Jenna (Huskey) has a knack for scoring against Wall,” Ingui said. “She’s just in the right spot at the right time and she had a phenomenal finish for us today with her goal.”

“It felt really good knowing that we were able to work together as a team and get that first goal early,” Huskey said. “After getting the goal we were able to calm down and settle into the game a little bit.”

Freehold’s defense was dominant throughout the whole match, holding the Crimson Knights without a scoring opportunity until the 34th minute of the game when Lauren Sanders made a textbook pass to Heather Arbachesky up the middle of the field. Arbachesky was fouled and awarded a free kick at the top of the 18, but her shot would hit the defenders wall inside the box and the threat was shut down.

Freehold would not wait long in the second half to find another opportunity to score, as Johnson was right in the action again. This time, she punched the ball into the back of the net out of a scrum off a corner kick from Meghan Holtz in the 42nd minute.

2 - Sarah Grace Johnson (F) goal makes it 2-0 from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

“It felt like we really locked in the game when I was able to score,” Johnson said. “Even though we were winning we knew anything could happen in the game because Wall is a great team, so when I put in that second goal I was just so happy.”

Wall would have a few more opportunities to score late in the second half off a header by Arbachesky and a cross by Katie Hyde, but Freehold goalkeeper Meghan Hurler came up with two big saves to preserve the 2-0 shutout victory.

Freehold Boro had 11 shots to Wall’s five on net in the game. Panasuk came up with seven saves in net while Hurler stopped five shots for the Colonials.

Freehold Boro moves on to the semifinal round of the tournament where it will play No. 13 Central on Wednesday in Neptune. The Golden Eagles upset No. 5 Holmdel on Monday after stunning defending champion and No. 4 seed Toms River North on Friday. The Colonials made it to the championship of last year's tournament before falling to Toms River North.

The Colonials will not get their rematch with the Mariners, but they will have to beat the team that took out the defending champions.

“These girls want a championship so bad that they’ll do anything to be able to get back there and get things done.” Ingui said.

Box Score

Freehold 2, Wall 0