County Win, Penalty Kicks Headline Girl's Soccer Season

Cranford's girl's soccer team lost to Millburn, 2-1, in the Group 3 North 2 semifinals on November 9, ending its attempt at a double title drive, but Lady Cougars head coach Jen Michewicz can point to plenty of success to balance out the season.

At the top of the list is the team's sits the first Union County Championship win in nine years.

“At the start of the season we committed to taking one game at a time,” said Michewicz whose team finished with a 17-3-2 record.  “Every team hopes to be in the county and state semifinal and final games.  We knew we could get there if we focused on each practice, each game, one step at a time.   We absolutely reached our goals.” 

The county title was even bigger for a team dominated by seniors.

“Our team was very unified,” said Michewicz.  “They were constantly supporting each other on and off the field.  The girls have been playing with each other for nearly 12 years and they really work well together.”

While the victory over New Providence ranks up there as one of the biggest wins this season, it was the 1-0 victory in penalty kicks over Westfield that got the town talking. And it was defender Taylor D’Antico who got the game-winning penalty kick that sent Cougars fans into a tizzy.

“Earlier in the season we lost to them 6-0 because we just had a game where nothing was going right for our team,” said Michewicz.  “In the county semifinal we were able to come back, hold them to a tie, and then defeat them in penalty kicks.  That is by far the win we are most proud of as a program because it truly showed how far we had come as a team.”

One of the quality aspects of the Cougars' play this season was its balanced offense. Four Cranford players had six goals or more. Leading the way was Jen Folger who collected seven goals. She also had the most points on the team with 13 that included six assists.

In addition to Folger’s scores, Michewicz had a nice helping of a trio of players in Natalie Englese, Sarah Dowzycki and D’Antico, all with six goals. Joining Folger with six assists was Jamie Webb. Michelle Gargiulo also chipped in five assists this season.

The Cranford junior varsity team also captured the county championship.

“It was exciting because it goes to show that with hard work and dedication Cranford can compete with the other larger schools in the county,” said Michewicz.  “It also sets an example and standard for players entering the program of the hard work and sacrifices that are expected to help the program become successful.”