Freehold Township shows playoff potential in girls’ soccer

Freehold Township High School and Middletown High School South were recently playing a girls’ soccer game that was tied.

The Patriots had given up a two-goal lead on their home field in Freehold Township, and they needed a big play to take momentum back.

Then, as the second half clock ticked under 15 minutes, Taylor Dove made the big play her Freehold Township team needed.

Dove won a bouncing ball in the box and muscled past a defender. The goalkeeper, with no defenders left to shield her, ran out to rush Dove into a bad shot. But Dove blasted the ball into the top right corner of the net to break the tie.

She ran back toward midfield and hugged her teammates.

“I just went around the girl, held it for a second, saw the open net and went for the top corner,” Dove said. “At first I thought it was going wide. Then I saw it go in and was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was big. They had the momentum but we took it back and controlled the rest of the game.”

The Patriots held on for a 3-2 victory over their Shore Conference A North Division rival on that Oct. 2 afternoon. Freehold Township also hung on to first place in the A North standings, improving to 4-0-1 in division play.

Middletown South entered the day in second place behind Freehold Township with a 2-0-1 division mark.

The Patriots went on to clinch the A North title two days later, on Oct. 4, with a 4-0 victory over Long Branch High School.

“It’s really good. You always want to win the division because it gives you good seeding for tournaments to come,” said Freehold Township defender Jessica Judge. “And it’s just a good feeling. We won it last year and it would be nice to win again.”

Freehold Township also won the Central Jersey, Group 4 state sectional tournament championship and then went on to become the Group 4 state tournament champion in 2017. Freehold Township shared the Group 4 state title with Ridge High School last year when the teams played to a scoreless tie in the championship game.

Despite losing nine seniors and seven starters from that state championship team, the 2018 Patriots look capable of making a similar run. In their win over Middletown South, they showcased the kind of playmaking ability that can get teams very far in postseason tournaments.

Dove’s goal sealed the victory. But Freehold Township’s first two goals were just as impressive.

Early in the first half, sophomore Lindsay Lloyd crashed the box and stuffed home a rebound. Lloyd charged so fast into the box that no defender had a chance to mark her.

“It was a shot by (Freehold Township’s) Gabby (Zuczek) that went straight to the keeper, but it was a really strong shot, so the keeper dropped it and I just ran through it,” Lloyd said. “Nice hustle goal.”

About three minutes later, Freehold Township forward Ryann Leohner was taken down in the box, earning a penalty kick. Freehold Township coach Dave Patterson chose Judge, a tall defender with a big leg, to take the kick.

Judge jogged up to the ball with her body facing the goal. She did not turn to a side and tip her shot. The senior booted the ball with her left foot into the left corner of the net.

Middletown South’s goalie did not even move. She had no chance at the ball because she had no idea where it was going.

“I did go straight on, and I always jog up to it. I don’t even know why. That’s just how I take PKs,” Judge said, laughing. “It helps me keep calm. I don’t know. It’s just how I do it.”

Judge and her fellow defenders never allowed the Eagles behind them on Oct. 2. The Eagles scored because they made two big plays, booting one ball and heading another over the defenders and goalkeeper.

But Freehold Township won because it made one more big play than Middletown South. In close playoff games, that is often the difference.   

“We’re not a bad program just because we lost a lot of our seniors (from last year),” Judge said. “We can still win championships.”