By Rich Chrampanis
MIDDLETOWN – Makayla Jaffe’s left thigh was heavily taped and there were a number of times throughout the Central Jersey Group 3 championship game when she fell and struggled to get back up. But the senior was feeling no pain when she delivered a spectacular goal in double overtime.
Jaffe’s second goal of the game gave Middletown South a 3-2 victory over Brick Memorial and the Eagles’ third sectional title in the last six years.
With penalty kicks looming, Abby Doherty took a free kick from 24 yards out on the right wing. Her service was picture-perfect and Jaffe plucked the ball out of the air and found the upper righthand corner of the net.
“I know that I can always trust Abby with those perfect balls,” Jaffe said. “I just saw it coming in and I was in the perfect spot and it just went in.”
With just 2:05 left in double overtime, the emotions flowed as the entire Eagles team piled on top of their junior hero.
“Makayla is the epitome of someone who has heart,” coach Megan Barry said. “When she is hurting or mentally struggling through whatever it is, like adversity on the field, she’s going to be the person to dig in and find it within her to get the job done. I’m so proud of her that today was the day that she really showed up and she’s a captain and she was really that leader for our team.”
Shore Conference girls soccer has built a reputation as one of the best leagues in the state and it was not surprising that seven of the eight section finalists came from the Shore. Brick Memorial and Middletown South tied 1-1 in the beginning of the regular season and both teams showed they were championship caliber in the title game.
Jaffe gave Middletown South a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute after taking a long feed from Jenn Schuster and drawing out the keeper. Brick Memorial answered in the 55th minute when Abby DeAlmeida scored on a rebound following a corner kick to tie the match at 1-1.
It appeared Middletown South had all the momentum when the Mustangs lost their starting goalkeeper to injury and freshman Bea Tinoco made a steal at midfield, dribbling the length of the field to score and give the Eagles a 2-1 lead with under 10 minutes to go. But a long shot off the crossbar that Mia Caruso pounced on tied the match at 2-2 and set the stage for the drama of overtime.
Jaffe had just one goal in the regular season and her two-goal outburst sparked the Eagles to the victory. Junior goalie Allie Greco had 14 saves and was a steady presence in the net for Middletown South.
“We’ve been working for this all season,” Greco said, “since May when we started in the weight room. We knew the first time we played Brick Memorial we tied them so we had to come out with more fire and that’s what we did.”
The Eagles’ season ended in the state semifinals with a 1-0 loss at home to Cherry Hill West.
While Jaffe and Doherty will be lost to graduation, the Eagles will bring back some key pieces from this championship team next year, headlined by Tinoco, who finished her freshman year with 21 goals, including eight in the state playoffs – headlined by a four-goal game on the road at Allentown.
“I have the best teammates,” Tinoco said. “I had a feeling even though the game was really tough I knew that we would pull through because we all have amazing character.”
The article originally appeared in the November 10 – 16, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
