Bears' GMCT win is déj vu all over again Monroe boys starting a trophy collection BY RICHARD JEROME Staff Writer PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above, East Brunswick's Melissa Demko beats Woodbridge's Allison Janiga to the ball during Sunday's GMCT final in Sayreville. Below, East Brunswick's Carly Lenger fights her way through two Barron players to get to the ball. Coach Kevin Brady had some big shoes to fill when he came over from Spotswood to head the East Brunswick High School girls' soccer team. After all, he was succeeding Lou Kosa, who led the Bears for the first 26 years of the school's existence, and left behind cases full of trophies. So it was satisfying, then, for Brady to see his club go 18-4-1, capped off by last week's Greater Middlesex Conference title, clinched with a 2-1 overtime victory over Woodbridge. "The girls did a great job," he said. "The amazing thing is that last year the result in the title game was exactly the same, a 2-1 victory over Woodbridge in overtime. But this year, they had every player back, they were the same team. We lost six starters, including Kristy Lang and Arielle Teager, who are now playing for Division I schools. It was tremendous to repeat with a brand-new team and a brand-new coach, to duplicate the successes of previous years." The Bears' team leader, in a quietly confident way, was Casey Caruso, who went on a tear in the last 10 games, scoring 13 goals - at least one in every one of those contests. "She was incredibly consistent," Brady said. "Those were all challenging games against tough opponents, and Casey rose to the occasion. She found a way to lead us." Caruso played the hero on Sunday once again, netting the game-winner off a long throw-in from Rachel Penn just 2:12 into the extra session, to give the Bears the win. EB took the lead early on when Melissa Demko score on a partial breakaway just 2:08 into the game, but the Barrons came back with a Mo Olivo goal off a Karol Gomez pass with just 4:37 to go in the first half. The second half presented scoring chances for both teams, but neither squad was able to capitalize, sending the game into the extra session, where the Bears emerged victorious. As for the rest of the squad, EBHS had three main forwards, starting with Demko, who in her first varsity campaign was second on the team with eight goals while adding seven assists, taking pressure off Caruso. Also up front were Monnica Farag and Carly Lenger, who both provided solid support. The substitute forwards, meanwhile, were Katie Chace, a sophomore, and senior Kirsten Gash, both of whom came up with clutch goals in the early part of the season. In the middle, Brady fielded Shannon Mastrogiovanni and Naomi Stahl, both hard-working players who kept the pace going on both offense and defense. "They're both talented," Brady said. Also playing in the middle was a group including Lauren Swissman, Christine Noppenberger, Kathryn Smith and Samantha Robin. And for defensive midfielders, the Bears had Mariam Bestawros and Carly Breining. "They really disrupted opponents and handled the punts and goal kicks," said Brady. Indeed, the East Brunswick defense was formidable, registering no less than 13 shutouts and giving up just 15 goals in 23 games. Also on D were backups Sam Citron and Morgan Brown. And in the defensive backfield, the Bears had Caitlin Flaherty and Rachel Penn, both adroit players who marked opposing forwards in the last few games of the season. "They both shut down high-scoring teams, which is a real credit to the defense," said Brady. Bolstering the defense was Gabrielle Barbato, who gave the team "experience and presence," according to her coach. "She didn't worry about expectations," he said. "She just worked to be the best she could be." In goal, Alyssa Sotomayor showed fine leadership and did an excellent job organizing the defense, setting up the game and keeping things flowing smoothly, Brady points out. Also in goal, versatile freshman Rebecca Kent has a bright future, her coach says. "She's tremendously athletic, and you can really see her potential," Brady points out. Assisting Brady on the bench was veteran Brian Merrigan. "He's a familiar face, of course, and he helped keep the girls on an even level," Brady noted. So all in all, the rookie coach has no complaints about his first campaign as a Bear. "It was just an excellent year," he said. 'We had some very tough games, and we learned something in every match." Monroe boys keep rolling along The Monroe High School boys soccer team is certainly enjoying the postseason. After winning the GMCT title with a 3-2 win over St. Joseph's on Sunday, the Falcons continued to move forward in their pursuit of a state title to match, knocking off Moorestown, 1-0, on Tuesday, in the Central Jersey Group III semifinals. Monroe will take on Princeton tomorrow for the sectional title in Princeton. Sunday's GMCT title-clinching win was an exercise in resiliency for Monroe, as the Falcons twice erased one-goal deficits to win their first GMCT title since 1993. St. Joe's grabbed the quick lead when senior Christopher Yip scored on the first shot of the game, before Monroe answered with a Frank Carr tally 12:35 before the half. St. Joseph regained the lead 7:43 into the second half on a header from Bryan Gilmartin, but again Monroe tied it, this time on a Mike Buffalino goal on a rebound. Monroe then got the game-winner near the end of regulation when senior Spencer Lawrence scored on a feed from his brother Sean. A tired Falcons team then returned home on Tuesday to host an inspired Moorestown team that was coming in fresh off an upset of top-seeded Lakewood. After the two teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half, Monroe was finally able to get on the board late in the second half. Once again, Carr was in the middle of things, sending a through-ball to Brandon Sebastian, who then crossed the ball to Ryan Miller. Miller then sent the ball across the front of the net, where Garret Bayer was able to beat a Moorestown defender to the spot and deposit the game-winning goal. With the Monroe offense struggling to find the net the rest of the way, it was up to the Falcon defense to hold the lead. Fortunately, that is exactly what they did, allowing the Falcons to advance to their second consecutive CJ Group III final (they lost to Hopewell Valley, 2-1 in overtime last year).