South River still alive in Blue Division race
Rams remain one of GMC’s elite despite heavy losses to graduation
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI staff Above, South River’s Christine Mongelli looks to blast the ball past Spotswood’s Lauren Spiegelhoff during the Chargers’ 2-1 win in Spotswood last Thursday. At left, the Rams’ Tara Takac and the Chargers’ Noelia Romero battle for the ball.

Though her team lost its second game of the year on Tuesday, South River girls soccer coach Sarah Stout took something positive from the defeat.

"In the first half, we played the best soccer I’ve seen them play," the first-year head coach said, after her team dropped a 3-2 double-overtime thriller to JFK-Iselin. "We’re just missing that one spot, and I don’t know who to put here just yet. I’ve been juggling the line-up, which is never good, trying different people in different spots. But I think we’ll be OK."

The loss to JFK came on the heels of another tough division loss, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of rival Spotswood last Thursday.

"We played well in both games, and lost by just one goal in both games," Stout said. "We’re evenly matched with both teams, and we’ll see them again down the line."

Despite the two losses, the eighth-ranked Rams are still very much alive in the GMC Blue Division race.

"I don’t want to hear that the season is over because of this second loss," Stout said. "There are a lot of games left, and a lot can happen."

For now, the Rams will look to up their all-around play in the midst of a competitive schedule.

"We have a solid defense, a pretty solid offense, but we just need to strengthen our midfield play," Stout said. "The problem there is, when I put certain players in the midfield, we can’t score."

Among the players who the coach has moved to midfield is senior Christine Mongelli, one of the top players in the state. Mongelli has already established a new school record for career goals with 90, and will likely pass the 100-goal mark by season’s end.

Stout said that by moving Mongelli to the midfield, it immediately strengthens the Rams play there, while also helping her develop as a player.

"I think she’s becoming more of an overall player, because she needs to distribute the ball more," the coach said. "But she plays a more offensive midfield, although I may have to move her to the outside midfield spot because she is generally triple-teamed every game."

Stout said that, while Mongelli is being recruited by a number of schools at both the Division I and Division II levels, she thinks Mongelli would benefit more from playing Division I soccer.

"She still has a lot to learn, but who doesn’t," Stout said. "I think she would be an amazing Division II player, but she would develop into a better player playing against Division I competition."

Mongelli is currently joined in the midfield by seniors Lauren Harrick and Christina DeCorso, and the Petruska sisters — Kristin and Sarah. Kristin is a senior, while Sarah, a sophomore, is the quickest player on the team.

"She advanced to the Group I finals in the 100 last year, and is very quick," Stout said.

The defense is anchored by senior keeper Tai Clark, who moved up from the jayvee squad to replace the graduated Tammy Wood.

"She’s got some big shoes to fill, but she’s looked very good thus far," her coach said.

Sophomore sweeper Millie Kahse is back to help sure up the defense, and is a very skilled, tough player, according to her coach.

Junior Tara Takac, a three-year starter, returns at the stopper position.

The offense is made up seniors Jasmine Pobon and Desiree Perinni, and junior Heather Durgos, as well as Gina Banerjee. Banerjee is deaf, and although she doesn’t attend the high school, she is able to play for the team as a South River resident.

"This is Gina’s fourth year on the team, and she is just a great kid," Stout said.

With such a small team (14 players), Stout is able to use all of her girls on a regular basis, which helps with the continuity of the team.

Looking ahead, Stout said that while her team is still focused on repeating as Blue Division champs, the Rams are also anticipating the upcoming postseason tournaments.

"The county tournament should be interesting this year, because a lot of the teams that have been the strongest in the county over the last few years have lost a lot to graduation," she said. "There are no undefeated powers that are as strong as in years past. It seems to be a lot more fair all around, and there’s not such a big discrepancy between the top Group IV school and the top Group I schools."

As for the state tournament, the Rams move up to Group II this year after advancing to the CJ Group I finals the last two years, where they lost to Spotswood in 2001 and Shore last season.

"The move up is a big change for us because we’ll be facing teams we haven’t seen before," Stout said. "But that’s always kind of fun, to play teams you’re not familiar with."

What was supposed to be a rebuilding year for a team that lost 11 players to graduation has been anything but that so far. The Rams have proven to be competitive with some of the GMC’s elite teams already, despite being an admitted work in progress.

South River will be dangerous yet again, once Stout puts all the pieces together.