By Jim Hintelmann
Middletown Township – With the two teams entering the game with almost similar records, the Middletown South-North girls A Division North soccer game had figured to be a close battle, and that was the way it turned out,
In a well-played game between the two rivals, it was South (5-4) that came through with a big victory as it edged the Lions (3-3), 2-1, Monday.
The game was the first of a twin bill with the North boys scoring a 3-0 shutout over the Eagles in the second game with Justin McKenna, Ryan Harmon and Elliot De La Rosa each scoring a goal and an assist. “It’s always a big rivalry when we play Middletown North,’’ said South coach Megan McDermott. “I feel that my girls did a good job of passing the ball and this was a big win for us.
“We started out the season strong, and then lost a couple of games in the middle,” she said, “but we were able to come back and beat North tonight.”
The two teams battled to a scoreless first half with South almost scoring midway in the half when Gabrielle Triolo had a head shot near the North goal, but the ball bounced off of the left post.
South finally broke the deadlock early in the second half when Carlyn Hymanson lofted a high, arching shot from about 25 yards away with the ball just clearing the outstretched hands of North goalie Haley Martin.
“I thought that as soon as the ball left my foot, I knew it was going in,” said Hymanson, a senior captain. “This was amazing because it was my first varsity goal, and it was nice that it came against Middletown South.”
South scored what proved to be the winning goal at 13:32 after a shot by Molly Ryan was deflected by Martin and South’s Haley Dalonzo was there to put the rebound in.
“I just came down the field and was there when the ball was knocked away,” Dalonzo. “Fortunately, I was able to kick it in.”
North, however, had something left and Jenna Reid scored her fourth goal of the season with 3:34 remaining to cut the lead to 2-1. The South defense, though, tightened up and North was unable to get a clear shot in the remaining time.
“It was a high pressure game all around,” said Middletown North coach Michelle Misciagna. “South was able to take advantage of two good scoring opportunities.”
Misciagna, however, has been pleased with the way her team is playing this year.
“We’ve been very good so far,” said Misciagna. “We haven’t given up in any game and I’m very happy with the performance of our girls this season. They are working very hard and I hope to continue to build on this.
‘We have a nice mix of players,” she said. “We have a couple of freshmen out along with a few seniors.”
South had a 14-12 shot advantage with South goalie Taelor Rivera stopping eight shots.
