For the first time in 2018, Metuchen High School lost a field hockey game.
Arthur L. Johnson High School upset the Bulldogs, 2-0, on Oct. 31 in an NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 sectional tournament semifinal match.
Metuchen was the No. 1 seed in the state sectional tournament. Arthur L. Johnson was the No. 4 seed. It was an upset, but not a shocking one.
The team from Clark sports a 14-4-2 record. The visiting Crusaders also controlled the ball and out shot Metuchen, 7-5.
After the clock hit zero, and the Crusaders stormed the field, the Bulldogs walked off slowly with long faces. Then, in their postgame meeting, the tears flowed.
Coach Beth McLaughlin choked up as she tried to soften the blow of defeat. “You girls should be proud,” she said. “You went all out…and came this far.”
But the Bulldogs were not so much upset about the loss. They were more upset about not having a reason to get together on Nov. 1.
Senior captain Maeve Kenny also had trouble speaking without choking up. “I just love…you guys,” Kenny said. “And I’m going to miss…”
The Metuchen players will miss each other because they accomplished so much in the past two years.
“I’m not crying, so I’ll speak,” said another senior captain, Sarah Jeney, to collective laughter. “Guys, we did so many amazing things the past couple years. We won GMCs twice. We went undefeated this year. We got to this point. We had a great time.”
When McLaughlin took over the program before the 2017 season, it had not won much of anything in over a decade. But in McLaughlin’s first season, the Bulldogs won the Greater Middlesex Conference tournament with a 1-0 victory over South Plainfield High School in the final. It was Metuchen’s first GMC title since 2006.
In 2018, the Bulldogs repeated, beating Old Bridge High School, 2-1, in the GMC final on Oct. 18. Metuchen also stayed undefeated, 18-0, through the regular season, the GMC tournament and the quarterfinals of the state sectional tournament. In those 18 victories, the Bulldogs’ goal differential was 82-6.
In just two years, led by a talented class featuring those senior captains, Kenny, Jeney and Emily Glutz, Metuchen became a field hockey powerhouse.
“We never thought winning the GMC was possible until we did it,” Glutz said. “This year we knew we could do it because we did it the year before.”
“I’m so proud of this team. We’ve literally grown so much in the past four years,” Jeney said. “I don’t think we really thought about it that much. We were just getting out there and playing to win. There was no pressure. We just had so much fun.”
Minutes after the postgame huddle broke, Kenny’s tears had subsided. She was ready to talk about what this experience meant to her.
“By far the highlight of my entire high school career,” Kenny said. “This program.”
Metuchen will miss the captains and their classmates. Kenny (20), Jeney (15) and Glutz (11) combined for 46 goals this year. Classmate Sophia Caposino had 16 goals and 10 assists. Another classmate, goalie Kamryn Chaudry, totaled 60 saves and 12 shutouts.
Some other key starters, like defender Lauren Hausser and midfielder Amelia Lorenzo, are also seniors. McLaughlin will have a lot of talent to replace from a team that went 35-3-1 in the past two seasons.
“I’ve known these girls since seventh grade, and the chemistry they’ve built since then was executed this entire season. It was a very similar lineup to the one we had last year, so it wasn’t a crazy rebuild year,” McLaughlin said. “But we have a lot of underclassmen, so for these sophomores, they won the GMC their freshman and sophomore years. Them having those leadership skills will definitely help. It will definitely be a competitive season again (next year).”
“And hopefully with seeing and hearing about our season (this year), other kids will want to join,” McLaughlin added.
The coach has plenty of talent in the pipeline. Metuchen’s junior varsity and freshmen teams also won their GMC tournaments in 2018.
