State Semis CJG4 #4Rancocas Valley at #1 Freehold Township

 In a rematch of what may have been the game of the year last season, Freehold Township was able to defeat Rancocas Valley for the second season in a row 2-0 to advance to the CJG4 finals. Unlike last year where the Patriots were trailing late in the game and were able to tie it and win in overtime, they were able to take the lead in the opening minutes and did not look back.

Freehold Township was able to score two minutes in when RV had a hand ball in the box and senior captain Kayla Wong buried the penalty shot to put Freehold on the board. Credit the ref, who took a minute to make sure it was the right call in such a big game. The Patriots then added a second goal around the 35th minute when sophomore Sophie Tonino was able to score from junior Ainsley Moy corner kick.

Last year the Patriots were in the same position, up 2-0 at halftime, but RV was able to score three unanswered. This season the Freehold Township defense was ready for RV to attempt another comeback and was able to hold on to the shutout.

"We knew they were going to come out with energy in the second half," Moy said. "After last year we were able to anticipate that and defensively we did our job and not allow goals and not allow service."

The only good chance RV had was in the later part of the second half on a corner kick, which sophomore goalie Ashley Moore came off the line to play the ball and the Freehold Township defense was able to clear it out. 

"We wanted to make sure we continued to follow the game plan and make sure we track their dangerous players," Freehold Township coach Dave Patterson said. "Not just the RV game last year, there were other games where we got out to an early lead and other teams came back on us. That was a point of emphasizes all season long to understand even if it was a good 40 it was only a good 40."

Freehold Township's defense was strong all game and were able to control RV star Kennedy Garcia and prevent her from having any chances on net. Senior Gaby Koluch continues to have an MVP season for the Patriots and when she makes a play and moves out of position, junior Grace Miraglia, is right there stepping in to make a play. 

"Gaby is doing a great job controlling it back there," Moy said. "She is making sure everything is denied and the most important thing in this game was her defensive communication. Grace and Gaby did a great job shutting it down."

What goes unnoticed for Freehold Township is the development of Moore from her freshman year and the fact she posted her 15th shutout of the season gets overlooked. All game you could hear her give direction to her team to make sure they were in the correct positions. 

"She controls from the back and she leads with confidence," said Patterson about Moore. "Everyone trusts her back there. To have her in the back with Grace and Gaby is a real comforting thing from a coach's standpoint."

Player of Game - Ashley Moore - She was not tested a lot, but when she was tested on the corner she came up with the biggest save of the game. Her communication to her defense could not go unnoticed either.