By Rich Fisher | Correspondent
Don’t let the “co” fool you. When a team emerges from a game in which it never led and, in fact, trailed three separate times and still has a share of a championship trophy, they have won a co-championship that deserves to be celebrated.
SEE A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE GAME, HERE.
That was the scenario for the Red Bank Catholic girls’ soccer team on Nov. 13 at Kean University in Union. The Caseys battled back from three one-goal deficits to earn a 3-3 tie with Oak Knoll, making the two teams co-owners of the NJSIAA Non-Public Group A state trophy.
“I’m just so happy because we came back three times,” said senior Sophie Demurjian, who scored RBC’s first goal and nearly had the game-winner. “It’s really hard to do that. I’m more happy about that. It shows how hard working we are. We ended up co-champs and I’m really proud of all the girls.”
Senior Emily Holtz, whose corner kick led to the Caseys’ third goal, wasn’t quite as chipper but still felt satisfied in the outcome.
“Obviously it’s hard because we worked so hard to get here and it stinks to leave as co-champions,” Holtz said. “But both teams worked really hard and it would be even worse to lose in PKs (penalty kicks) after coming all this way, so I think it’s fair.
“They put a few up on us in the first and second half. But we worked hard to get it back each time.”
In doing so, the Caseys earned a share of the crown for the first time in 2010. Their past three titles have been co-championships in 2005 and 2010 and they won undisputed Non-Public A titles in 2002 and 2003. This was their ninth finals appearance in 15 years and first since 2011, two years before Frank Lawrence took over as head coach.
Lawrence assured there was no disgrace in sharing a trophy.
“Obviously you want to win it all and say you won the game but you’re still champions,” he said. “Both of these teams played so hard. If I was sitting in the stands and paid to see this game I’d say I got more than my money’s worth. It was a great game to watch.
“Both teams deserve it. If we had gone to PKs and one team had gotten it on that I’d have thought it was a travesty. The game should be won on the field in the normal course of the game and if not, I’m OK with the way it works out.”
It’s not hard to understand the Caseys’ upbeat attitude. Afterall, they never once had the opportunity to say “OK, if we hold on now, we win it all.” Conversely, on three different occasions they had to say “We need a goal or we go home with nothing.”
They got it all three times.
Oak Knoll (20-2-3), which won a share of its first Non-Public A title, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute, but it took just 1:15 for Red Bank Catholic to respond. Jylissa Harris sent a pass ahead to Demurjian for a breakaway, and the Casey popped a shot high over the oncoming keeper’s head.
RBC (15-10-1) was livid later in the half when Harris was taken down with the ball while in the box and no call was made, and it remained 1-1 at halftime.
It’s doubtful anyone was prepared for the scoring onslaught after intermission, which began with 19:21 left and produced four goals within 5:13.
The Royals took their second lead on a controversial goal. Meagan O’Callahan’s shot went off the crossbar and came straight down. The referee ruled no goal, then stopped play and conferred with the linesman, who said it came down over the line.
The Caseys were mad, but also fired up as Demurjian’s cross into the box was tracked down by Marisa Rafaniello, who converted from in close. Once again it was a quick response as it came just 2:18 after Oak Knoll’s goal.
“We were definitely frustrated at first,” Demurjian said. “But then we realized if we kept working hard and pushing for it, that we came back the first time and we’d come back a second time. It’s definitely just hard work.”
“That call was definitely hard to have but we played through it,” Holtz said. “I think that made us want it even more. If we waited a little bit and didn’t score, I think our momentum definitely would have went down.”
Indeed, scoring quickly was key for RBC, as it didn’t allow the reversed call to fester and become frustrating.
“You could see where that could have completely deflated a team,” Lawrence said. “If it fell apart at that point you’d understand it. Because from our perspective it didn’t look like it was in to us, but those calls are those calls.
“Our kids immediately attacked and scored a great goal. I thought we scored three really good goals. Whether their ball was in or out I don’t know, but you can’t worry about that at this stage. The important thing was we didn’t hang our head we just went out and scored a goal.”
Oak Knoll took yet another lead on a goal that was clear to everyone when O’Callahan scored on a bomb from 20 yards out. Once again, the Royals did not have long to enjoy their lead as Juliana Rafaniello converted a far-post corner kick from Holtz with 14:08 remaining.
Interestingly, after that explosion, there was no more scoring in the final 34:08, including two 10-minute overtimes. Demurjian had the best chance in the first overtime, when she had a breakaway, but goalie Shannon McDermott came out at the last minute to cut down the angle. Demurjian felt McDermott stayed home longer than she did on her first goal.
“She didn’t come out as much,” the forward said. “I hesitated two steps and then she came out. Before the game our coach told us she loved to come out of the box. That’s like my favorite thing when a keeper comes out of the box and tries to play one. She didn’t do that too much in this game.”
For the most part, Oak Knoll dominated possession and had a 7-2 shot advantage in overtime, but never had a serious threat.
“We stepped back a little to get more defensive,” Demurjian said. “They have some fast girls up top definitely. We pulled through and we’re happy we came out with the tie and that it wouldn’t be a loss.”
Considering the way they kept battling back it almost felt like an outright win for the Caseys.
Had the situation been reversed, and they blew three leads?
“We’d be disappointed, 100 percent,” Demurjian said.
“I would be feeling a lot worse,” agreed Holtz. “We both worked really hard and deserved to be co-champs, but we definitely would have been mad if we gave up those three leads.”
“Coming back is not easy,” Lawrence said. “It’s a tough thing to do and that’s the thing that really makes me proud of them.”
In the end, both teams deservedly walked away with a piece of the championship.
“I don’t feel the least bit bad about this result,” Lawrence said. “They played great, we played great, if it ends up tied, it ends up tied. I’m excited. We won a state championship. How can you not be excited about that?
“Some of the girls thought it would still have been better to win it. But it’s better than losing it. As time goes by you know you’re a champion and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day.”