Holmdel Girls Soccer State Champions

Photo: Credit Terry Boudreau/Boudmaster Productions

History was made November 22 for Holmdel High School as the Girls Varsity Soccer team won its first ever state championship by defeating Ramapo 1-0.

The scoring is simple to recount. At 23:59 on the scoreboard clock, freshman Abbey Flynn was fouled at the 18 yard line. The shot attempt would be taken by junior forward Gabby Bair. Bair has been the driver on this team all year, scoring an incredible 26 goals and 12 assists on the year coming into this game. Bair got set to take the penalty kick and took a textbook perfect shot to the upper corner of the far post, the ball sailing in above the outstretched leap of the Ramapo keeper. Bair’s teammates rushed to congratulate her, not yet knowing that it would be the only score of the game, the winning goal that would give them a piece of the record books in Holmdel High School.

It wasn’t an easy victory. While Holmdel and Ramapo mostly battled back in forth in the midfield for the first half, Ramapo had 2 very good shot opportunities that had the Holmdel fans holding their breath. Both passed just a fraction wide of the goal. Ramapo came out strong and composed in the second half and gave senior goalkeeper Helen Burleigh and the Holmdel defense led by junior Casey Matthijs, sophomore Maggie Matthijs and freshman Kathryn Rebele quite a challenge to keep them out of the net. Credit the girls on the Ramapo team as they were able to keep their composure for the entire second half and not panic, taking shot after shot on the Holmdel defense. But Burleigh had an outstanding game, making several diving saves on her way to pick up her 12 th shutout of the year. Casey Matthijs reacted to the intense pressure Ramapo was bringing to bare with true leadership qualities and pulled Abbey Flynn back to act as a fourth defender in the back. Matthijs, the center back, has stepped up into the role of a leader in the back field for Holmdel and her teammates depend on her to clear the ball away from the net and their keeper. While playing in the center was not a comfortable position for Casey when she first moved into it last year, it is a task that she has grown considerably more comfortable with this year, and has become a stand out there with her height and athleticism.

Matthijs, as many of her other teammates, has been motivated to prove those wrong who didn’t consider Holmdel as a serious threat. “We lost 14 seniors and everyone said this was a rebuilding year for us” overlooking Holmdel as a contender in the competition. But Casey and her teammates were all about overcoming adversity and coming together a a group to show everyone they could win. Casey is optimistic about what the future holds for this team. “We are losing Helen (Burleigh) and that’s a big loss but we have Maddie (Milkowsi) coming up and have a young strong team” and are looking forward to being back in the finals again next year.

It was quite a season for the Holmdel girls to get here. After starting off 10-0, Holmdel went on a slide, losing 4 in a row, handing Rumson Fair Haven the A central divisional crown, a disappointment after such an outstanding start. Holmdel had to regroup, and lost only 1 more game after that, the Shore Conference quarter-final game to Wall, the eventual Shore Conference champion. Holmdel started the state tournament run playing the first round game and just getting by divisional opponent Matawan 2-1 but then overwhelming Johnson 6-0, Bordentown 7-1, Governor Livingston 2-1 and Sterling 1-0 before beating Ramapo 1-0 to be called the NJ Group 2 State Champions.

Congratulations to the 2014 Holmdel Girls Varsity team. State Champions. Has quite a nice ring to it. The whole community is proud of your accomplishments, not just for the win, but displaying good sportsmanship and class in all of the games you participated in. Thanks for giving your community these happy memories to take with us until next season.