MRHS goes head to head with Lacey for 100 minutes in S.J. championship
LANOKA HARBOR — Goalkeeper Genevieve Morrison made two more big saves in a penalty shootout but it was not enough as the Mustangs fell 4-3 to the Lions in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III championship game Nov. 13 in Lacey Township.
Morrison had made two saves earlier in the week to help Mainland Regional High School (16-4-3), the tournament’s fifth seed, upset cross-bay rival Ocean City in the semifinal (see story online at ocnjsentinel.com). The difference this time was her opponent, Lorynn Leporino, also made two saves, setting up a dramatic final round in which second-seeded Lacey High School’s Marley Besser scored and Mainland’s Alyssa Turner missed.
Lion forward Natalie McGovern, a freshman, opened the scoring off a pass into the box from senior Abby Stephens midway through the first half, beating Morrison from in front of the net at 18:59. Mustang senior captain Camryn Dirkes headed in the equalizer in the 74th minute assisted by Turner. Mainland had a free kick from the midfield circle and Turner sent an arcing shot into the box, where Dirkes headed it high and into the hands of Leporino, who was judged to have been inside the goal when she juggled then caught the ball.
“A had a few backward head flicks throughout the game and one just happened to go in,” Dirkes said of the goal, noting she couldn’t see because the sun was in her eyes.
Following two scoreless overtime periods in which Lacey had the better chances, the contest went to penalty kicks.
Lacey senior Rosio Cardenas shot high at Morrison, who reached up and easily knocked the ball over the bar for a save.
Dirkes was up first for Mainland, shooting right and scoring to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead.
Freshman Reece Paget, who had been issued one of the Lions’ two yellow cards during the match, then shot left, freezing Morrison and leveling the score at 2-2.
Mustang forward Kylie Smith, who had missed in the match against Ocean City, didn’t hesitate but fired her shot right into the hands of Leporini, losing the advantage.
Next up was senior Katie Patterson, who shot left just out of the reach of a diving Morrison to give the Lions their first lead of the shootout at 3-2.
Defender Sydney Kaes then scored for the second straight game, shooting left and knotting the score up again at 3-3.
Stephens was up next with a chance to put the Lions ahead again but shot high left, right into Morrison’s gloves.
Mustang senior Julia Kaes, who scored twice in the match against Ocean City, failed to do so again, leaving the score tied with just one shot left per team.
Besser shot left and scored, taking a 4-3 lead and generating a small celebration.
Turner, who had worked hard controlling the midfield all game, had to score to tie but fired just over the bar.
Lacey had 17 shots on goal to 14 for Mainland. The Lions also led in corners, with six to Mainland’s two. Each team had eight direct kicks.
Morrison made 11 saves while Leporino had seven.
Mainland head coach Chris Meade said they just needed a little bit more to pull off the upset.
“We won by one of these, you lose by one. It’s not a terrific way to decide things, but then do something in the 100 minutes,” he said. “We needed to make a couple more plays — both teams had their chances and they just didn’t go — we certainly for a while put a lot of pressure on them and felt like we could have had a couple more.”
Lacey head coach Jack Mahar said he expected a battle.
“We knew going in we were going to have a very hard game, and you saw that it was,” he said. “The girls played their absolute hearts out the entire game. I was just praying for them that something good was going to happen for them after putting in all the hard work they have all year.”
Mahar said the Lions, the tournament’s second seed, learned at halftime in their semifinal game, down 2-0, that Mainland had knocked out top-seeded Ocean City and that if they won they would play for the championship at home. They scored three unanswered goals and won 3-2.
“They were lights out in the second half,” he said.
Dirkes, who will be hanging up her cleats for good, with no plans to play collegiately, said she has no regrets.
“I think we gave it our all. That was our intention the entire time, especially going into this game,” she said. “It’s a crappy way to lose a game but we held them off for 100 minutes but weren’t able to put it up in PKs.”
She said this was one of her favorite teams.
“This year more than any other year that I’ve been on the team, our chemistry was just so strong. We really are so close, our friendships are the best.
“It makes it even more sad that we’re done now, but I think that’s the secret formula that got us so far,” Dirkes said.
She lauded Morrison for her hard work.
“She’s amazing. We rely on her, sometimes a little too much, but she does more than enough for us,” Dirkes said.
“She has been hurt in the past couple of games and still gives it her all. She’s a great leader, a great teammate and she’s super talented.”
“They’re a tough, tough team. They win balls like we do, and we knew it was going to be this type of game — a low-scoring, defensive battle. We just fell short,” Meade said.
He said the team accomplished some goals but fell short on others, but says things look bright for the future.
“We’re losing some tough, really tough, talented great kid seniors. We have a nice underclassman group, some juniors that play well, a boatload of sophomores that got a lot of playing time. It looks good for us in the future but I am going to miss the seniors terribly,” Meade said.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff