@ColeTrain4Ever[/author_info] [/author]
EWING – Coming up short.
It’s a phrase many of us hear at some point in our lives, but it never feels right. It always leave a mark on you, whether it be the feeling of a pit being in your stomach or thoughts in the back of your head, and no matter how much you try you can never alleviate it – unless you try again.
The College of New Jersey’s women’s soccer team knows that taste after its 2014 season.
In last seasons New Jersey Athletic Conference Final, after three months of hard work, and after a hard fought game against Montclair State University that had the team tied 1-1 going into a shootout, one missed penalty shot by then senior Gina Caprara sent them home with no trophy and a feeling of “what could have been.”
Sophomore midfielder Jessica Goldman says the whole experience during her freshman year is something she uses as a reminder.
“The NJAC final last year left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, and coming out this year we knew how we felt in that final and didn’t want to feel that way again,” she said.
Fast forward to 2015, a new year, both with the addition of a new freshman class filled with potential, but also the loss of many key senior players who have graduated.
New players like midfielder Arielle Curtis and forward Kailey Russo had to come in and prove themselves while the team is trying to fill the shoes of players like forwards Korrie Harkins and Caprara, both of whom were critical on the offensive line for the Lions.
The 2015 Lions started off the year with a tie against Gettysburg College, but after that their team really started to come together as unit. They were able to split their games in the TCNJ Adidas Classic against opponents SUNY Oneonta and Johns Hopkins University, and after that went on a four game winning streak, two of which were against NJAC Conference members.
The entire freshman class has been stellar so far and their new midfielders working with a veteran defensive squad helped the Lions keep opponents out of their zone all season, and actually didn’t allow a goal for seven of their eight games.
Goldman believes the new class of players are talented enough to take any challenge.
“The freshman group this year are all technical in their playstyle,” she said. “They don’t just kick and run, they think every play out and are good under pressure.”
Recently, on Oct. 3, TCNJ traveled back up to Montclair, the same field where the team lost one year ago, to face the reigning NJAC champion Red Hawks.
The Lions showed exactly what can happen in one year’s time, both pros and cons.
They were tough offensively, controlling the ball most of the first half and scoring two goals in the first 16 minutes against an unprepared Montclair team. At the same time, the Red Hawks needed time to click, with their biggest offensive push coming in the second half after the damage had already been done.
Goldman, who scored a goal in the Montclair game, says what the team is doing now is exactly how it should be.
“It feels good, something’s clicking,” she said, talking about how her team is advancing. “We’re finally getting good chemistry with one another.”
But she will be the first to tell you this wasn’t about the past.
“We used our losses in the past to motivate us,” Goldman said. “We didn’t necessarily want revenge, we just wanted to prove how good we can be. We came out and I think it was clear we were the team that was more determined.
“As long as we keep working like this to keep our top spot (in the NJAC), we’ll be set.”
