Cougar Girls Soccer Back on Winning Track

The Columbia girls soccer team snapped a miniature two-game losing streak on Monday afternoon at DeHart Park, defeating the visiting Millburn girls, 2-0. A pair of second half scores from Margot Kleinberg gave Columbia its first win in 10 days and improved the girls to 2-4 this fall.

"I'm happy to get the win. It was a good game and I thought we played well, in the second half especially," said CHS co-head coach Mark Gillott. "First half we started well, but then we started to slack off a bit and we let them come back into it."

Six minutes into the second half, Columbia co-captain Jessie Matalon sent a deep free kick from the Cougar side of midfield, all the way into Millburn's goalie box. Kleinberg beat the defense down the field, tracked the ball down and beat the Miller keeper to the right for Columbia's opening goal.

"I was a little disappointed [with the goal]. It came from a free kick, which I think 22 players and two coaches were trying to work out what it was for when the kick was taken," said MHS head coach Andy Sones. "Unfortunately I think it distracted us from clearing it properly."

In the closing minutes of the game, with Columbia fighting for the knockout goal and Millburn trying to tie the score up, Cougar co-captain Amy French took the ball downfield and ripped a hard shot at net. Millburn's Courtney Brosnan made a falling down save, but was unable to hold on to the ball, and an opportunistic Kleinberg put the rebound in the net for the final score.

"It felt really good to break the streak. We've been playing really hard and we needed that breakthrough. It felt great," Kleinberg said of her first two goals of the season. "I think I just had to be extra aggressive. On one of the shots, I followed it up, you just have to want it."

Both teams entered the contest with one win and having had a lot of trouble scoring. The Millers had scored just twice in its last six games, while Columbia had only managed three goals through its first five games. For the Cougars, this could be the jumpstart they've been looking for.

"We're getting there, we're getting there. We still have a long way to go, but we are getting there," Gillott said.

"I definitely think this was the win that we needed," Kleinberg said. "Millburn was a really strong team last year, so we definitely just needed a good clean win to boost our confidence."

Millburn continues to struggle during the first half of the season and despite playing relatively well on defense, the inability to score or to possess the ball for long periods of time has made the defense's job very difficult, if not impossible.

"I thought it was a good close game, I thought both teams tried to play, both teams were competitive. It was unfortunate, sort of where a couple of quick moments could've gone either way," Sones said. "I think we're competing. Offense isn't just about forwards, it starts from the back and then develops through the team. We're not scoring enough goals but we're not creating enough chances and we're not getting enough possession up there."

During the first 40 minutes of play, both teams took four shots on goal, though Columbia came a bit closer to scoring than the Millers did. Brosnan made two excellent diving saves within the first 10 minutes to keep the game scoreless. Late in the opening half, French seemingly had a breakaway opportunity, but good Miller defense deflected the shot and made it an easy save for Brosnan.

In the first minute of the second half, it looked like Columbia had a shot at a wide-open net, with Brosnan drawn out. However, Katria Tomko got a foot on the ball at the last second, as the ball was inches from crossing the goal-line.

"I thought they were great," Sones said of the keeper and defense. "I thought the first five or 10 minutes we were a little shaky, after that I thought we looked really solid. I thought we dealt well with a direct physical threat today, I was very pleased with the defenders today."

But Columbia's offensive attack and its ability to possess the ball and keep the pressure on Millburn's defense proved to be too much after a while. Columbia outshot Millburn 7-3 in the final period.

"They won the loose balls today. In the second half we won the loose balls, which is all I ask them to do," Gillott said of his midfield and defense. "They closed down, they put pressure on and that allowed us to get the ball forward and give our offense chances."

Columbia keeper, Eliza Gray, made seven saves in the game, while Brosnan also registered seven. Columbia is in action again on Monday against Morris Knolls. The Millers, who fell to 1-7, face Montclair Kimberley Academy on Tuesday.