Moorestown Girls Soccer Earns Shot At 5th Group Title

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The relentless defense that has propelled the Moorestown girls soccer team all season has one more task ahead of it: the NJSIAA Group 3 final.

That's because the Quakers (20-4) shut down a hard-charging Brick Township team, winning 2-0 in the Group 3 semifinal on Tuesday night at Toms River High School North.

Moorestown, the South Jersey Group 3 champion, advances to meet Northern Highlands, which defeated Middletown North 1-0 in overtime Tuesday night, in the Group 3 final on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Kean University. Moorestown is seeking its fifth group championship and its first since 2005, when it shared a title with Montgomery.

The Quakers put Brick (17-5-2), the Central Jersey Group 3 champion, on its heels with its first-half effort that had a helping hand from a stiff wind that blew in the Dragons' faces and added loft to both goals scored.

Ciara Imhotep put Moorestown on the board in the 13th minute, drilling a shot into the upper-left corner of the net from just outside the 18, out of reach of Dragons' keeper Molly Tully.

Moorestown kept the pressure up, challenging every touch on the ball, and in the 28th minute it looked like the Quakers were going to add another until Tully stopped a shot point blank near the top of the box as a Moorestown forward tried to blast a loose ball past her.

Just a minute later, however, Julia Dalmass added the insurance goal off a direct kick from just beyond midfield. The wind carried the ball over the line of Brick and Moorestown players hoping to pounce on it and it took a huge bounce inside the 18 that went just under the crossbar into the net to give the Quakers' a 2-0 lead with 11:32 remaining in the first half.

Brick's Tierney Garkowski put a direct kick on net late in the first half but Moorestown goalkeeper Nicole Quintero made the stop, one of three saves on the night for the junior.

In the second half, with the wind at their backs, the Dragons pressed and looked for a crack in the Moorestown defense, which now has allowed just one goal in five state playoff games. But the back line blanketed Brick's top scoring threats, Reese Beggs and Danielle Christ, never allowing them the freedom to take a quality shot.

Photo by Karen Wall, Patch staff