MCT: Girls Soccer Preview
Girls Soccer – Morris County Tournament Preview
Sept. 28, 2007
For Complete Brackets with Times & Dates: Click Here – A job well done by the AD in charge, Scott Rosenberg from Kinnelon.
The 2007 Morris County Tournament begins this weekend with six preliminary games. The top ten seeds, based on the coaches voting, have received a bye in this round and will begin MCT play on (or about) Saturday, October 7th. Morristown is the defending Champions.
A familiar top seed, Morris Catholic, will take on the winner of the 16/17 match-up between Morris Hills and Whippany Park. All games are scheduled for at the higher seed’s home field for the 1st three rounds. The Quarterfinals will be held at Morris Catholic on Saturday, October 21st at 12:00 and 2:00. Please note that the boys games will be held at the same time, so get there early because parking will be at a premium and seating at the Upper Field is very limited. The championship match will be held at Chatham’s Cougar Field at or about 2:00. The Boys play 1st at 12:00, followed by the Girls.
The preliminary round:
(17) Morris Hills at (16) Whippany Park: The Scarlet Knights have been struggling to find the net. Casey Sherwood has been swarmed with shot lately and the Knights will need to solidify their defensive efforts if they look to advance. The Rockaway-based school went into the seeding meeting at 2-5, but notched a quality tie with Mt. Olive yesterday (9/27). The 2-2 tie may give the Scarlet Knights enough inspiration to begin a turn around and start a march back to 500. The Wildcats are coming off a 7-1 victory over Verona and should be well rested. Whippany may have had their best win in the school’s history upsetting perennial power Pingry 2-1 early in the month. Senior Mikaila Weaver may cause a bit too much trouble for the Scarlet Knight defenders. Look for Whippany to advance and meet up with CHC-foe Morris Catholic.
(21) Butler at (12) Parsippany: The Red Hawks are coming into the match-up off a strong win over West Essex and a tough 3-0 loss to Chatham.. Junior Sara Cramer knocked in two goals for Parsippany before freshman Janice Wong converted on the game winner. Butler recorded their 1st win on that same day against Montville. The Bulldogs bombarded Montville’s keeper with 20 shots and were able to notch the win on a goal by Val Roosma with only ten seconds left in regulation. Look for Parsippany to advance, despite matching up with Hanover Park in what looks to be a tough battle the day before this MCT game.
(20) Pequannock at (13) Hanover Park: Both teams will play on Friday (as far as I know, there have been no schedule changes) and that will favor the Hornets. Hanover has a handful of weapons, as seen in a 4-0 victory over Morris Hills. Four different players scored for the Hornets in the victory. Hanover was then stymied by the Scarlet Knights from West Essex. The a 4-1 loss evened Hanover’s record at 3-and-3. Pequannock played an virtually even 1st half with undefeated Villa Walsh. The Hornets should have too much fire-power for the Panthers – no surprise here. Hanover advances.
(22) Dover at (11) Mt. Olive: The Marauders sport a 2-5-1 record, with one of those wins over Morris Knolls. Mt. Olive falls victim of a loaded conference schedule. Outside the IHC-Iron, Mt Olive fell 3-0 to Kinnelon and tied Morris Hills 2-2. The host team must not overlook the upset minded Tigers and should advance to meet up with West Morris in the next round.
(18) Madison at (15) Mountain Lakes: Quite possible the bets preliminary match-up. Mountain Lakes just fell to Verona (the day after the seeding meeting) and fell to 3-4. This bodes well for the Dodgers. Madison improved to 4-and-4 with 3-1 victory over Butler. Junior Abby Shoaf, who now has 8 goals on the season, maybe too much for the Lakers. Look for Madison in an upset.
The contenders: This is solid field. It must be when Villa Walsh comes in undefeated and gets voted the 9th seed. Who would have thought that an undefeated team could not even be rewarded a home game.
(1) Morris Catholic
· Why they could win?
The undefeated Crusaders are deep and experienced, not to mention the #1-seed will play all home games until the final. A team like this on turf spells danger for the lower seeds.
· Why they could get knocked off?
They win one game and they face either Chatham or undefeated Villa Walsh. Again, it would just be funny if the only two undefeated teams in the county Meet in the quarterfinal round. But if Chatham advances, you have an upset in the making. The Cougars are good, a very good 8-seed. Chatham’s home games are on turf, so that negates the home-turf advantage for the Crusaders.
(2) Roxbury
· Why they could win?
Many coaches I have spoken with told me that Roxbury is the team to beat. An early season loss at West Morris may have just made the Gaels stronger and more determined. The Gaels have it all, coaching, scoring, defense and a solid goal keep.
· Why they could get knocked off?
Have you not seen Mendham or Morris Knolls. The #1 and #2 seeds were not rewarded here. Mendham is now 4-2 and just won impressively vs. Par Hills. Knollsboasts two top players in the county with Nicolette Radovcic & Stephanie Wirth. Wirth, the current and future Eagle can be a game breaker and that spells trouble in a one-goal game.
(3, 4 & 6) Randolph, Morristown & West Morris:
· Why they could win?
Yep, I am grouping all three. How can you not? You know you’re getting game from anyone one of those team and a potential run through the MCT is very likely. West Morris has beaten Roxbury. Morristown was match up very well with Roxbury, but fell 2-0 in a game that was a lot closer than the scores leads to. The Colonials are strong and work the ball well around the field. Lade has been solid in net and could be the difference to get Morristown back to the County Finals. Randolph is a quiet 4-2. With all the focus on WMC, Roxbury, Livingston and Knolls, the Rams have nudged their way nicely into the three seed. Randolph has already beaten Morristown and West Morris. Theirs is plenty of potential here and you may as well throw Knolls in this category too. Why Knolls? Radovcic already has 10 goals, the highest tally in Morris with Flood from Kinnelon) and that’s with senior being doubled while Wirth heals up.
· Why they could get knocked off?
These teams consistently beat up on one another. There are not enough games in the week to heal between the Iron-battles. Don’t forget, Livingston is solid and has really taken it to many of these Morris teams. Roxbury is the only to have beaten the Lancers.
(5) Kinnelon
· Why they could win?
Another team that could potentially make a run. They won the overall Group I last year and cannot be taken lightly.
· Why they could get knocked off?
Historically, smaller schools do not bode well in the MCT – and I do not consider private schools smaller schools. The ability to pull from a unlimited geographically area negates the head count honored by the NJSIAA. – But how tested are the Colts? Kinnelon did face Clifton, but lost. Assuming Parsippany wins, that could be one of the most interesting match-up in the MCT. Get past that game and you’re looking a tough & physical Morristown team that Kinnelon may not have seen the likes of all year.
No Shows:
- Morristown-Beard
- St. Elizabeth’s
- Jefferson
It always irks me when Morris County schools do not enter the Morris County Tournament. I do not know why these teams do not enter, but I wonder if things were different, say they boasted a 6-1 or 7-0 record, would they have entered? If the answer is yes, then they are crossing a line that coaches have very little respect for. You always enter, or you never enter. It maintains the integrity of the tournament. If you do not enter because you are afraid of being under .500 at the state cut-off, that maybe even worse. The only legitimate I will even entertain is if a private school is looking to play in that other parochial state association’s tournament and not go over the maximum allotted number of games.
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