11/4/11 AC Press: Stockton falls to TCNJ in women’s soccer final
By AARON BRACY, For The Press pressofAtlanticCity.com | 0 comments
EWING TOWNSHIP – They gave away the New Jersey Athletic Conference trophy last night and, once again, the engraver will carve a familiar name.
For the 15th time in 18 years, second-seeded The College of New Jersey won the NJAC title, this time beating fourth-seeded Stockton with a 1-0 victory in a tense, physical match at Lions’ Stadium.
A perennial NCAA Division III powerhouse, TCNJ (12-3-2) earns the NJAC’s automatic berth to the national tournament after capturing its third straight league crown. The three-time national champion Lions will make their 21st straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
Having played the Lions tough was little consolation for the disappointed Ospreys (13-6-4), who were riding the momentum of Tuesday’s upset of top-seeded Rowan in the NJAC semifinals and an unblemished record (7-0-2) in their last nine games.
“TCNJ is a quality program,” Stockton coach Nick Juengert said after his team fell in the final for the fourth time in the last five years. “It’s no disgrace to lose to them. It’s just tough losing when the girls fought.”
Fought they did.
The Ospreys ran through 50-50 balls with the passion of a team hungry for an upset and their first league title. The referee issued three cautions in the hotly contested game – all to Stockton.
“It was definitely a battle the whole time we were out there,” Ospreys co-captain Melissa Eiding said. “We couldn’t put it in. They’re a good team, no doubt about it.
“TCNJ is very finesse. We go in hard to everything. We gave them a game but wished for better results.”
The Lions controlled the play in the opening 45 minutes, with Stockton struggling to cross midfield. So it was no surprise when TCNJ opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Brittany McGinley scored on a rebound after Nikki Migliori’s rocket direct kick from 40 yards out bounced off Ospreys goalie Sarah Hinkle.
Hinkle kept it a one-goal game with a terrific save on a corner kick in the final minute of the first half.
The Ospreys carried that momentum into the second half, as they controlled the play for much of the second 45 minutes. The two best chances after halftime came off the foot of Stockton’s Jess McQuillen.
McQuillen’s best opportunity came with a little more than nine minutes left when her volley from 16 yards out was cleared away by Lions defender Maria Grady after goalie Cristina Gacos had punched the ball away from the 6 on a long crossing pass.
Earlier, 10 minutes after the break, McQuillen drilled a shot from 20 yards out that went just over the crossbar.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they couldn’t generate much offense otherwise against the stingy and talented Lions back line.
“The hardest thing is to score a goal and we didn’t do it,” Juengert said. “We fell a goal short and we have to live with that.”
It’s an especially tough pill to swallow because the defeat likely eliminates the Ospreys’ NCAA hopes. They were looking to get back to the NCAA tournament after last season’s absence followed four straight appearances.
But Stockton likely will have to settle for an expected berth in the ECAC tournament.
“It’s sort of surreal still,” Eiding said. “It’s disappointing to say the least.”
Still, the Ospreys walked off the field knowing they didn’t leave anything on it.
“It’s always a battle. We come to play and they come to play. It’s always physical,” Stockton defender Ashley Battilana said. “We have a lot of heart and we go in hard every time.”
