Timely Goals Boost Watchung in County Tournament

The Watchung Hills Regional High School girls soccer team knocked off Bridgewater-Raritan High School in Warren on Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the Somerset County Tournament, winning 2-0.

In Short

The Warriors are working their way back to the Somerset County Final to defend their crown, as they knocked off bitter rival Bridgewater-Raritan at home.  The Warrior offense did not have a lot of flow, but when they did have high quality scoring chances, they buried them. 

On the defensive side, the backs for Watchung were tremendous as goaltender Alicia Maziarz was never under duress from the Panther offense.  It all added up to a grind-it-out style victory for the Warriors, as they move on to the semi-final round.

Warrior of the Game

Amanda Marques – The freshman broke the ice between the two squads with 3:10 left in the first half, as the Warriors capitalized off one of the few quality chances they had in they opening half.  Off a corner kick and deflection from teammate Amy Park, Marques banged the ball towards the upper part of the far post as it just snuck inside the post.

Other Key Performances 

Amy Park – Along with her assist on Marques’s goal, the senior defender thwarted every Panther ball that was sent into the attacking zone, as Bridgewater-Raritan had little-to-no high quality scoring chances on the afternoon. 

Monique Goncalves – The senior midfielder put the game away late in the second half, as with 5:04 remaining, Goncalves scored a near carbon couple goal of Marques’, as she slammed home a turnover inside the far post.

Coach’s Take

“We always bring Amy Park up on those plays.  We haven’t gotten one (a corner kick) yet, but we’ve been close.  She got the first head…the keeper had to make a save and then we rebounded so it was nice to see it pay off.” – Head Coach Dan Root on the team converting its lone scoring chance in the first half

“The second half was a little better.  We have two subs…we’re not a real deep team.  I said to them at half time, ‘I think we have to gut one out here.  It’s a matter of who wants it more, it’s a chance to get back at Montgomery.’  We gutted one out today, which was nice.” – Root on the team’s overall execution

“Rest your bodies.  Stay healthy.  Be ready to go Monday.  They know how to play good soccer, it’s just a matter of putting it all together.”  - Root on the team moving through postseason play

They Said It

“I saw the ball being crossed and I started inching towards the goal.  It hit off [Amy] and I just followed through and I hit it in the upper-90 [part of the net].” – Amanda Marques on her goal

“The game was very close.  We didn’t play our best, but we played good enough.  Hopefully we can step it up for the next game.” – Marques on the team’s play