Ocean City girls cruise through first round
LINWOOD — Mustang goaltender Riley Townsend was the only thing standing in the way of an upset.
It was the 10th penalty kick in a shootout and her team was down a goal. A save was necessary to extend the game.
Clapping her hands together in preparation, the sophomore eyed the hips of her solo opponent, standing just 12 yards away, for any indication of where she may aim her kick.
“That helps me out a little bit to try to figure out where they are going, but most of the time you just have to pick a side because it’s such a short distance,” Townsend said.
Senior midfielder Elle Dworzanski had other ideas. A goal would win the match for the Raiders in the opening round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III girls soccer tournament.
Eighth-seeded Mainland Regional High School (12-7 overall, 8-4 in a Cape-Atlantic League American Division) played host to ninth-seeded Toms River East High School (13-8-1, 4-1 in Shore Conference B South) on Nov. 4.
After two scoreless halves and a pair of goalless extra periods, the game was decided by penalty kicks.
“It’s stressful, especially when everyone else is watching and it’s only up to you,” Townsend said. “You’re not really expected to save it but you’ve just got to do your best.”
She guessed wrong, leaning to her right as the ball sailed past her to the left, securing the victory for the visitors.
Assistant coach Dan Williams called a goaltender’s position in a shootout “one of the most difficult in all sports” in which even a single save is commendable.
Head coach Bill Horner said Townsend, in her first season as a varsity goalkeeper, learned the position as the season progressed.
“The growth over the season with her has been exponential. She’s grown so much, as you saw there. We didn’t know what to expect; that’s a big positive,” he said.
The shootout was like a roller coaster of excitement for both sides.
Mainland shot first, with junior Savannah Jones calmly putting the ball past Toms River freshman goaltender Emma Mastriano for the 1-0 lead.
Next up for the Raiders was senior Grace Crowley, who also fired her shot into the back of the net for the 1-1 tie. Townsend dove to her right and nearly got a hand to the ball but it was placed perfectly into the corner.
Sophomore Emma Tenaglia, the team’s leading scorer, was up next. Aiming for the top right corner, her shot hit the crossbar and was trapped by Mastriano’s outstretched hands for the save.
Senior Isabella Alfonso, Toms River’s top scorer, had a chance to put the Raiders ahead and did so for the 2-1 lead.
The pressure was on for junior Emma Preissman, who netted her shot to keep the Mustangs’ hopes alive and even the tally at 2-2 on the fifth shot.
That’s when Townsend, facing junior defender Addy Gallagher, made her first big save, robbing the Raiders of their advantage.
Each team had two shots remaining and two goals scored, so it was anyone’s game to win.
Mainland junior Maddy Taylor, whom Horner called “probably our hardest worker; she doesn’t come out, doesn’t get tired,” fired low to her left, evading the hands of a diving Mastriano, but hit the upright, putting Toms River back in the driver’s seat with a chance to go ahead.
But Townsend wasn’t having it, making her second consecutive save on a shot by senior Maria Hayduk to keep the score at 2-2.
Mainland’s Tyler Connell now had to score to keep her team’s playoff hopes alive, but Mastriano made her own clutch save to give the Raiders the chance to win.
Toms River East advanced to play top seed Shawnee in the second round of the tournament.
Horner said the Mustangs had an unexpectedly successful season following the loss of 10 players to graduation.
“We didn’t really know what to expect, and we grew throughout the season,” he said, noting that of the team’s seven losses, only one was by more than one goal.
Horner said the team has a lot to look forward to in the future, with only two seniors graduating.
Ocean City advances
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 seed Ocean City (18-4) shut out No. 14 Winslow (7-11-1) 7-0 in their opening round match.
Brooke Liebrand recorded the hat trick, Naomi Nnewihe added two goals and Liv Adams and Delaney Ireland had one each. Six different players recorded assists in the game including Nnewihe, Adams, Emily Swan, Jaida Dooley, Shaela Gannon and Coryn McDonnell.
On Thursday, the Red Raiders will host No. 6 seed Toms River South (13-5-1), a 2-0 winner over No. 11 Hammonton.
– STORY by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
