Bridget Cutty looks at the leading scorers in Colonial Valley Conference girls soccer, sees her name atop the list, blinks and shakes her head.
“Honestly, it’s surreal,” the Nottingham High senior said. “And I’m a midfielder, I’m out-scoring forwards. I’m like ‘What’s going on?’”
What’s going on is that Cutty saw the need to score goals this year after Brooklynn Samonski graduated after collecting 23 last year and 52 for her career at Nottingham. Cutty estimated that her highest goal output at any level prior to this season was “four or five.”
Oh how things have changed.
Entering the Northstars Oct. 19 Colonial Valley Conference Tournament game with Steinert, Cutty led the CVC in scoring with 16 goals; three ahead of Hopewell’s Liz Buchert. She also had six assists, placing her in the top five, while her sophomore sister Maggie was second in assists with 12.
Cutty and Stars’ coach Jess Belmont never had a sit-down talk stressing that Bridget had to fill Samonski’s void. It was more like a silent agreement that it had to be the case. And Maggie’s emergence as a distributor helped make it happen.
“Brooklynn was a huge goal scorer, I definitely knew I had to step it up,” Cutty said. “I have the opportunity now, with my sister playing, to play more offensive instead of hanging back and helping the defense. I knew I could take that opportunity and seize it and take the ball up.”
Cutty had been a defender her entire career, either as a back or defensive midfielder. She was a midfielder last year and her sister started in the back, but Bridget deferred to Samonski as the scorer
This year, Maggie is a center-mid along with Bridget and the two have made good things happen.
“My sister has assisted on so many of my goals, it’s just so special to have that,” Cutty said. “It’s kind of crazy to think about it. I’m not really that big of a goal scorer. It’s been so surreal to get these opportunities.”
Belmont doesn’t find it all that surreal, as she knew Cutty had it in her.
“She exploded on her own,” the first-year coach said. “I did have high expectations for her because I know she’s such a good player. I was excited to see how she developed from last year to this year. She’s come up big with some crucial goals for us. Those were just opportunities she didn’t have last year.
“She’s just developed all around, with having more of that leadership role, the communication on the field, just being all over the place.”
All over is right. Just because she has become a scorer, does not mean Cutty no longer defends.
“She’s willing to get back and help us when she can,” Belmont said. “She’s assisting and pushing forward when we need her; scoring goals. She’s also one of my best defenders. She really has helped in every way possible. Defensively, offensively, controlling the center of the field. She’s done it all.”
“Last year she was just as good defensively and reading the field. She just didn’t have the stats.”
Cutty said that, “Most of my game is defense when we play teams that are a lot stronger than us. But when I get a chance I’m taking the ball and I’m going up.”
When it comes to scoring, Cutty feels her biggest strengths are her speed and the ability to place the ball. Belmont loves to watch her get space to work with.
“Most of her goals have been breakaways, one v one with the goalie and under that pressure she’s able to place the ball into the corners,” the coach said. “She’s also able to take some nice shots outside the 18, but I would say most of her goals have been from her running onto the ball or getting past the defenders and going one v one with the goalie.”
Beginning soccer at age 5, Cutty was like a college transfer portal kid early in her career. She started in Hamilton rec, then played travel with the Hamilton Wildcats, Hibernians, West Windsor-Plainsboro, the New Jersey Rush and GAK.
“I just couldn’t find a team that suited me,” she said with a laugh.
That changed when she moved to Match-Fit and began playing for former Steinert star Lisa Pittaro.
“She’s a great coach, such an inspiration,” Cutty said. “I really think her guidance has helped me a lot with my position and coming into my own throughout high school.”
Cutty was also inspired by brother Aidan, who played for Nottingham before graduating in 2023.
“He played center back and he was my first big role model,” Bridget said. “I grew up watching him play. He’s just a fantastic player, one of my biggest inspirations to this day.”
And, of course, there were the backyard battles with Maggie.
“We fight but at the end of the day she’s still gonna be my best friend no matter what,” Cutty said. “We have such a strong connection, nothing can break that, it’s so super special.”
As she came up through the ranks, Cutty never had a set position, but that didn’t matter.
“Wherever they needed me,” she said. “I just wanted to play. No matter what position, what type of game it was, I just wanted to be on that field.”
She got a taste of scoring with Match Fit, playing outside back and attacking center midfield. Her first year at Nottingham she played in the back and scored one goal.
Cutty showed flashes of what she could do after being moved to defensive midfield, scoring four goals in both her sophomore and junior years while tallying six and seven assists in those seasons.
“We would get compliments from coaches last year about how composed she is and how good of a player she is,” Belmont said. “They liked her ball skills and how she helped us defensively. It was apparent that she had a lot of potential to grow and get where she is today.”
Cutty was willing to lay back and let Samonski score last season, and even this year she is not trying to hog the ball up front.
“Everything she does is natural,” Belmont said. “She’s out there to play the next best ball to whoever is open. She hasn’t been selfish on any of her goals, where I thought she could have given the ball to somebody else.
“She’s also provided assists to a lot of other girls. That speaks a lot to her character. She’s out there to win a game, to do what she has to do as a central midfielder and she’s been able to get some stats herself as well.”
Cutty feels that much of her offensive success comes from defending for so many years.
“One hundred percent,” she said. “Being in that defensive position I know where I’m going, so I’m assuming the person that’s defending me is gonna be in that same position so I just go the other way.”
It doesn’t hurt to have a playmaker like Maggie on the field.
“She’s fantastic,” Cutty said. “She’s got a wicked shot, hopefully they can get her up front when I leave. She’s also a fantastic defender.”
Belmont agrees, saying “ Maggie and Bridget control the center of the field for us really well. Maggie plays a little more defensively. Ball skill, attitude and effort are all there. I’m excited to see how Maggie develops over the next few years.”
The Cuttys efforts led Nottingham to an 8-8 record entering the CVCT, as the Northstars surpassed last year’s win total of seven. Bridget gives her new coach much of the credit.
“She’s so motivating,” Cutty said. “Everything she does has a strong purpose behind it. She wants everyone to be their best at all times, and that’s all you can ask for from a coach. She just wants 100 percent effort no matter how good of a player you are or if you’re still developing as a player.”
Bridget will continue to develop white playing at The College of New Jersey next year. A 4.0 honor student who is treasurer of Nottingham’s National Honor Society, she had a choice of schools and picked TCNJ for its health & exercise program. Cutty’s getting a head start on that in Nottingham’s Health Occupations Students of America club.
“I want to be an athletic trainer,” she said. “I watch a lot of Premier League soccer. I’m a huge Manchester United fan. I love watching the medics that come on the field. As soon as I saw them do that I said ‘That’s what I want to do!’ It just went from there.”
Cutty was hoping her high school soccer life could extend a bit longer as she was excited for the state and county tournaments. Nottingham sat at 12 in power points as of Oct. 18 and should be back in the states for the first time since 2019.
And while Cutty gives Belmont credit for the turnaround, Belmont does the same with Cutty.
“A lot of the younger girls look up to her as a role model,” the coach said. “She has been pretty motivational for them. When they see her taking things seriously and putting in the work, you could tell by the attitude of the girls around her that they’re looking up to her in that way.”
None of that is surreal. It’s how Cutty has gone about soccer all her life.
Nottingham midfielder and CVC goals leader Bridget Cutty. (Photo by Wes Kirkpatrick.),
