It was a grand ride for the High School North girls soccer squad, which won the Patriot Division title of the CVC, winning the Central Group III title, and soaring into the first round of the state semifinal in Neptune before falling to earth against Moorestown. North finished with a 15-3-1 record.
Starting the playoffs out on November 5, with wind gusts approaching 30 miles per hour, the Knights faced Nottingham. (The game had been rescheduled after a driving rain the night before.)##M:[more]##
Nottingham took an early 1-0 lead. But North’s Erika Mitos tied the score, 1-1, early in the first half. Then Suzanne Haggerty scored what became the game winner by taking Mitos’ cross pass and putting it past Nottingham goalkeeper Amanda Marrazzo with 4:30 left in the half. Mitos added an insurance goal in the second half and the Knights advanced, 3-1.
On November 8 the Knights faced Hopewell in the Central Jersey Group III semifinal. Emily Grato scored early in the first half to give North a 1-0 lead. Then with 5:30 left in the half, Jessica Carnevale battled for the ball and blasted a shot into the corner of the net.
The Knights defense — including Regina Potter, Shannon Bulk, Stephanie Lally, Jaclyn Orloff, and Nicole Forant — played aggressively the rest of the way. Along with goalkeeper Amy Hashem, North came away with a shutout victory, 2-0.
The Knights then went on to face top-seeded Wall in the Central Jersey Group III sectional final on Veterans day, November 11. Hashem, who has emerged as one of the top goalies in the CVC, was the star of the day. In a defensive battle that remained scoreless after regulation, the game came down to penalty kicks. Hashem was one save better than her counterpart from Wall, and the Knights earned a 1-0 shootout victory.
In sudden death overtime, North missed several big chances to put the game away. Lauren Lentine narrowly missed in the first overtime, Emily Grato lined a shot just over the goal in the second overtime and Shannon Bulk later hit the outside of the post.
In the penalty kicks, Hashem made an outstanding save on the Wall’s first shooter, Amanda DeBonis. Then North went on to put the game away by converting on penalty kicks, 4-2. Erika Mitos, Suzanne Haggerty, Jessica Carnevale, and Lauren Lentine all scored.
The Knights finally came back to earth on November 16 in the first round of the state semifinal in Neptune against Moorestown, losing 3-1. Moorestown scored in the first three minutes to take an early lead, but North fought back when Potter scored on a pass from Mitos with 15 minutes left in the first half. But Moorestown began pummeling Hashem, the Knight’s goalie, with scoring chances, sneaking one in with just under 13 minutes remaining in the half. The Quakers continued applying the pressure, with Hashem making some saves from point-blank range, before scoring again in the second half to put the game out of reach. Hashem had 15 saves in the game.
