Montville Girls Soccer Wins One for Bertoli

It’s tough to say which was the tougher battle on Monday: the game between Montville and Morris Hills girls soccer or the rivalry between the Bertoli sisters.

Both were palpable. In this round, Dana Bertoli and her Montville Mustangs emerged as narrow winners. Sophomore forward Jamie Intile scored off a pass from Carly DeNigris in the final seconds of double overtime to lift Montville to a 1-0 victory over Morris Hills on the turf at the Montville Recreation Center Field on Monday.

Junior goalkeeper Rosie Hauser made eight saves to earn the shutout and help Montville soccer coach Dana Bertoli earn her first varsity victory. The Mustangs players helped her defeat her former high school team which included her younger sister, starting senior center midfielder Jaime Bertoli.

“It was a big, big win,’’ Bertoli said. “We just wanted to make the (Montville players) feel that they are worthy of winning. … They dug deep and found it and knew that they could pull it out. It was the same thing as the Morristown game (a 1-1 tie on Saturday). They are beginning to believe in themselves.’’

Jaime Bertoli is the last of four soccer-playing sisters for Morris Hills. All four of them were at the game, as well as their proud parents. When it comes to soccer, the Bertolis are ultracompetitive and don’t take losing very well, especially against each other.

“There’s been text messaging and Facebooking and trash talk all day long,’’ Dana Bertoli said. “The funny thing is that some of my girls play club soccer with her so they’ve been talking away.

“I feel so bad for Jaime. She is so upset. She didn’t even talk to me when we lined up after the game.’’

Jaime Bertoli didn’t make it easy on her sister. She helped initiate several of the better Scarlet Knights offensive chances. Montville midfielders Carly DeNigris and Christa Ceconi worked hard to mark her, but she still got touches on the ball. She also had the best scoring opportunity of the first 10-minute overtime—a hard, low shot that Hauser was able to deflect to keep the game scoreless.

“She has skills, speed,’’ Dana Bertoli said. “She’s fantastic off the ball. She really is. I haven’t seen her play in a long time and she impressed me. She was very, very good. She knows how to play the game and she knows where to put the ball.’’

Morris Hills coach Dana Schwartz is familiar with the Bertoli family and their competitive nature. She also knew the game would be quite a battle before it started.

“Their mom was at our pasta dinner saying that she hoped it was a tie,’’ Schwarz said. “It came down to—they finished and we didn’t—that’s the way it goes.’’

Although disappointed with the loss, Schwartz was pleased to see one of her former players giving back to the game and stepping up to teach it on the varsity level.

“It’s nice,’’ Schwartz said. “Sam Boschetti  (Bertoli’s assistant coach at Montville), is a former player, too. Dana has done a nice job. She went to William Paterson (in Wayne) and I went to William Paterson. It’s a nice thing to see some of your former players come back.

“When Dana played for us you could tell that Dana was going to be a coach. Right from the beginning you could tell that she was going to be a player and leader in the program. All the Bertoli sisters have been captains. The Bertoli family has been nice to have in Rockaway.’’

The victory gave the Montville players a huge boost of confidence. The team had only two wins all of last year and do not have a history of girls soccer success. The good start has given the Mustangs a lift.

The contest, for which there was no score for two 40-minute halves and nearly both 10-minute overtimes, was very competitive. It included outstanding saves by Hauser and Morris Hills goalkeeper Elizabeth Hill.

Hauser, who spent most of her time scrambling during many of last year’s losses, made some of her best stops late in the contest. 

“It was the best game I’ve ever seen her play,’’ Dana Bertoli said. “And I’ve been watching her for three years.’’

Intile gave the Mustangs the win they desired. She was running down the right side of the field and took a feed from DeNigris and found some space to place the ball in the low left side of the net.

“It was a perfect pass,’’ Intile said. “Carly has very good ball control. It was a one-touch into the back corner. We had a tie last week and we were just hungry for a goal. It’s always been a big rivalry against Morris Hills so it is fun.’’

The sophomore forward is being counted on to help boost an offense that scored only 10 goals all of last year.

“When the game is on the line, she’s going to come up big for us,’’ Dana Bertoli said. “She’s a big game player.’’

Of course, Jaime Bertoli and the rest of the Scarlet Knights are already plotting their revenge. The Mustangs are scheduled for a rematch against the Scarlet Knights on Oct. 10 in Rockaway.