Monroe Township High School will have a defensive girls’ soccer team in 2018.
Coach Peter Ruckdeschel is sure of that.
The Falcons return starting defenders in Gianna Porpora, Paige Magee and Megha Jain, and their starting goalkeeper, Emma Bodmer, from 2017.
Those players helped Monroe reach the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinals and the Central Jersey, Group 4 state sectional tournament.
Monroe fell to Manalapan High School in the opening round of the state sectional tournament, 2-1, in penalty kicks last fall.
“The defenders are absolutely solid. They are physical and know the game. They don’t just defend and clear. They defend and control,” Ruckdeschel said. “They are also aggressive and get into the attack when needed.”
The third-year coach is just as bullish about Bodmer in goal. He should be. The junior plays in the United States Olympic Development Program.
“Emma is a fantastic, confident young lady. She knows how to control the game, and the box,” Ruckdeschel said. “Her reaction time is superb.”
Monroe will be the host to Old Bridge High School in its season opener Sept. 6.
Ruckdeschel is pretty sure about five of his 11 starters for that game, the defenders, Bodmer and a returning forward starter, Hannah Van Dusen.
Since the Falcons lost six starters from 2017, those spots are up for grabs. The bench roles are also open for competition. Monroe lost 16 seniors total from last fall.
Porpora, Magee and Bodmer, though, are juniors. So Monroe can compete and build for the future in 2018.
“My juniors have so much potential,” Ruckdeschel said. “They are a great class to work with and have a bright future ahead of them.”
Three seniors, Van Dusen, Jain and Jena Beer, complement Monroe’s juniors. In 2017, Beer played on junior varsity and rotated between forward and midfield. She is a varsity captain this year.
Van Dusen scored two goals on varsity last year. Both will need to keep possession and generate offense in 2018.
“We need to work on chemistry to connect up the field and get shots on goal,” Van Dusen said.
“There’s a lot of people who have played together before, like five years. We can connect and score goals,” Beer said. “We hope to play at a very fast pace.”
Sophomore Brigitte Bussiere should also help generate offense. Ruckdeschel is really excited about her.
“We have a number of girls coming up who are showing great promise. But Brigitte is one absolute standout,” Ruckdeschel said. “She just has great control. She knows how to turn in traffic, head up and go to the goal. She’s a true forward.”
If the Falcons get enough offense, Ruckdeschel thinks they can compete for the GMC Red Division title.
“We want to win the division. From there, we’ll take it one game at a time. But our focus is the division. Last year was nice because it was the first time the girls could remember that we beat Old Bridge both times,” Ruckdeschel said. “We had some trouble with East Brunswick (High School) but with the girls they are losing, we are confident we can make noise in the division.”
