DORAN, GUTIERREZ, TROMBETTA LED SPF SCORING
Stubborn defense and 11 shutouts highlighted the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School girls soccer team’s season. The Lady Raiders were on the top side of seven of those shutouts and finished their season with an 8-6-1 overall record and 3-2 in the wickedly competitive Union County Conference Watchung Division.
The Raiders, who outscored their opponents, 28-11, began their season with a 1-1 deadlock with the 9-7-1 Watchung Hills Warriors. The air looked a lot clearer next when the Raiders reeled off five straight victories and it began with a 4-1 taming of the Cranford Cougars. The first of the Raiders’ seven shutouts came in a 40 leveling of the Governor Livingston Highlanders.
Shutout No. 2 was next with a 3-0 win over the Kearny Kardinals. After a 1-0 shutout over the 13-5-2 Summit Hilltoppers, the Raiders picked up their fourth-straight shutout with a 30 victory over the Union Farmers. But the forward run ended with a 2-1 loss to the 10-7-1 Kent Place Dragons, a 1-0 setback to the 16-2 Westfield Blue Devils, winners of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Tournament, and a 1-0, double overtime loss to the 16-4-2 Hunterdon Central Red Devils.
The Raiders’ fifth shutout victory came over the highly improved 12-4 Elizabeth Minutemen in the quarterfinal round of the Union County Tournament (UCT) but a stunning 2-0 loss to the Hilltoppers in the UCT semifinal round was next. The next stunner was to the Oak Knoll Royals, 2-1, but the Raiders regrouped to top the Bayonne Bees, 3-0, in the regular-season finale.
The Raiders tallied their most lopsided victory in a 6-0 chilling of the Warren Hills Blue Streaks in the first round of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 Tournament but their season ended next with a 1-0, overtime loss to the 14-6-3 North Hunterdon Lions in the quarterfinal round.
The tough Raider backfield, led by senior co-captain Sara Lehman did a fine job of helping junior goalkeeper Joslyn Odim, who finished with 69 saves. Backup keeper Jenna Lourenco made one save.
Offensively, junior Juliana Doran led the Raiders with five goals and four assists for 14 points Senior cocaptain Jasmine Gutierrez-Solana and sophomore Mia Trombetta each netted three goals and five assists for 11 points. Junior Carina DiLollo recorded three goals and two assists for eight points and Sadie Shapiro netted four goals for eight points.
Senior Angie Amaya finished with three goals and an assist. JuniorAlexa LaRosa had two goals and an assist. Senior Carys Browne finished with a goal and two assists. Seniors Aubrey Gulbin, JNyyah Young and Abigail Elliott, and Olivia Dominguez each scored once. Lehman contributed a pair of assists. Senior Sophia Catalano and sophomores Natalia Lambert and Shae Trenery contributed an assist.
In the tie against Watchung Hills, LaRosa scored the Raiders’ first goal of the season. Doran netted a goal and an assist against Cranford and Trombetta dished out three assists. Trombetta scored twice and Doran had a goal and two assists in the win over Governor Livingston, while DiLollo had a goal and an assist. Doran scored twice against Kearny.
Doran scored the only goal in the win over Summit. Gutierrez, Browne and Shapiro each scored in the win over Union. Young scored the goal against Elizabeth. Trombetta, Shapiro and Gulbin scored in the win over Bayonne then against Warren Hills, Shapiro scored twice, DiLollo had a goal and an assist, while Gutierrez and LaRosa each scored once.
The Raiders do graduate a number of seniors so there will be a lot of jockeying for empty slots next year.
