Absegami Girls' Soccer Team Finishes Season Among Best in South Jersey

With so many key players lost from arguably the best girls' soccer team in Absegami High School history, many wondered what to expect from the 2011 Braves.

Absegami may have not rewritten the history books like the 2010 squad, but the Braves were still among the best teams in South Jersey.

The Braves recorded a 16-3-1 record with only one loss coming in a regular season game. Absegami won division and conference crowns while qualifying for both the Coaches Tournament and the Group IV South playoffs.

“We are very pleased with how the season went,” Absegami coach Elizabeth Lee said. “In the beginning, in the preseason we were concerned with replacing some players from last year. We needed to find some people to step up to score.

“As the season progressed Erica Skroski and Jenna Seddon stepped up to that challenge to score for us. We set up some pretty good goals and we reached almost all of them.”

Absegami was good enough to earn the No. 1 seed in the sectional playoffs, and made it to the semifinals, where the Braves lost 4-0 to Eastern.

“Even though we ended up losing to Eastern we realize they were a much better team,” Lee explained. “We prepared for them and knew what they would do, but they were a better team.”

That didn’t happen too often in the 2011 season. The Braves lost to Hammonton early in September, but won every other Cape-Atlantic League game.

Their only other losses came in the Coaches Tournament, and the semifinals of the playoffs. The reason why Absegami was so good is how balanced they were this year.

Seddon was moved from defense to offense, utilizing her speed to add to the Braves’ scoring punch. The experiment was a great success, as Seddon led the Braves with 17 goals.

“She had an unbelievable year,” Lee said.

Skroski, one of the best midfielders in South Jersey, who will continue her soccer career at Rutgers University, scored 15 times, and added nine assists, as the Braves scored 50 goals.

“She is a phenomenal player,” Lee said. “She is an all-around solid player. As a freshman she was sweeper and she was one of the best sweepers I’ve seen and I played sweeper in college so I know what it takes. She moved to midfield and she is a wonderful center-mid. She is so talented and a humble player. She is team-oriented and very coachable.”

The Absegami defense registered eight shutouts, including six by keeper Hayley Grimm. The Braves allowed just 19 goals, and just 13 in the regular season.