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South Brunswick wins GMC title in overtime
South Brunswick wins GMC title in overtime
By MELISSA CHODAN • STAFF WRITER • May 13, 2009
EAST BRUNSWICK — The South Brunswick High School girls lacrosse team may be swapping out its Viking name for a new one … the Comebacks.
Coming back late in games and even in overtime has become routine for the squad and something they rallied around in Wednesday's Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final against Old Bridge.
Down throughout regulation, South Brunswick tied the game with 32 seconds left in the second half and scored the lone overtime goal to secure the team's first GMC title with a 13-12 victory.
"We worked so hard for this," senior attack Lisa BuonGiovanni said. "From Day 1 we said we wanted to win the GMC. We did it. I don't even have words for it."
The overtime goal came from freshman attack Kelly O'Brien with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in the first overtime period. It was her lone point of the game.
"I kind of just picked up the ball, shot it, and it went in," O'Brien said as the moment was still sinking in.
The Vikings trailed by as much as four goals in the game and were down by 12-9 with 2:16 remaining in regulation. Junior attack Jamie Scoff scored off a free position to pull South Brunswick within two goals and BuonGiovanni put in a long pass from Scoff to come within one goal with 90 seconds left.
Attack wing Jenna Bussiere tied the game, 12-12, with 32.6 seconds left.
"We've come back from more," Scoff said. "There was no doubt we could win this."
Old Bridge dominated on possession early and the team's shot selection -- converting 12 of 18 shots in the game -- helped the Knights jump out to a 5-1 lead.
Center Nina Veneziale and midfielder Sam Bartelli each scored twice in the run.
Scoff scored three of her four goals in the half to help South Brunswick close to within 7-4 at the break.
"We just had to keep out heads up," O'Brien said. "We worked so hard this season. We had to put it all out there."
South Brunswick was able to control more ground balls and gain possession off the draw control in the second half, often resulting in quick goals.
Midfielder Shannon O'Brien, midfielder Katie Rolwood, and Scoff were able to string together goals midway through the second half to help close the gap to 9-8.
Veneziale scored off the draw, and midfielders Mary Honan and Bartelli scored off a free position to help increase the Knights' lead before South Brunswick tied the game in the last two minutes.
"We knew we had to win the draw," Scoff said. "Shannon O'Brien did a great job the whole half getting us the ball."
Scoff finished with four goals and an assist, BuonGiovanni tallied three goals, and Rolwood recorded two goals and three assists.
Veneziale led Old Bridge with five goals and an assist, Honan tallied three goals, and Andrea Poppiti recorded two goals.
"They've always been a very solid team," BuonGiovanni said. "So our best had to be better than their best."
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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Vikings have comeback for the ages
Girls lacrosse team rallies from 9-2 deficit to top Raiders in GMCT semifinals
By Rich Fisher, Sports Editor
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 11:04 AM EDT
MONROE – Regardless of what South Brunswick High’s girls lacrosse team did in Wednesday night’s championship game with Old Bridge, its effort in the Greater Middlesex Conference semifinals can long be remembered as a shining moment in the program’s history.
The top-seeded Vikings spotted fifth-seeded North Brunswick a 9-2 lead before roaring back for a 12-11 victory at Monroe Township High School Monday evening.
That landed SBHS in the title game, which was played after press time but an account be found at www.southbrunswickpost.com or www.centraljersey.com.
“We’ve had three or four games where we’ve been down in the start, maybe by a little less than this but we’ve had some serious comebacks this year,” said Katie Rolwood, whose third goal with 9:56 remaining proved to be the game-winner. “This just shows what kind of team we are.”
Coach John Coppola isn’t sure if that’s good or bad, but he’ll take the results as South improved to 10-2.
“Sometimes I think we can play lower than our ability or potential, and we get sloppy,” Coppola said. “We pass the ball a lot too, so when you share the ball and move it as much as we do, you have more opportunities for turnovers. “We were a little sloppy at the start, didn’t protect the ball as well as normally. I don’t know if it was rust. A lot of it was nerves, it’s the first time they’ve been in this situation.”
The Vikes had not played since May 1, and that was apparent as the Raiders roared from the gate for leads of 6-1 and 9-2. At that point, a 10-2 SBHS run did not seem probable.
“We started out messy, very anxious,” Rolwood said. “By halftime we realized we really had to come through if we were going to win this.”
The Vikes actually finished the half on a high note by scoring two late goals to pull within 9-4, and they scored first in the second half to make it 9-5. But the teams traded goals for a bit and it was 11-6 with under seven minutes to play.
Then it happened.
Starting at the 16:24 mark, SBHS scored three goals in a 26-second span, four within 1:38 and six within 6:28 to take its first lead – which would last for the remainder of the game. Lisa Buongiovanni, who finished with four goals and exploded in the second half, tied it with 11:28 left when she came from behind the goal and flipped it past the goalie.
“We wanted to get her more touches offensively, we talked about that at halftime,” Coppola said. “That’s the strength of what she does. She rolls the crease well. That’s a shot where you reach around, use the angle of the shot to get it around the goalie. It was good execution.”
At that point, the Vikings were walking in on goal every time they had possession. Rolwood got South Brunswick completely over the hump when she tallied from in front.
“I had no idea that would be the winning goal,” she said. “At that point, you just want to have to control. It’s not about scoring more necessarily, because we’re up and you want to have control.
“That was the difference in the first and second half. Groundball control, draw control, it’s about holding onto it.”
The way South Brunswick was charging, it appeared this would turn into a blowout in the Vikings favor. But to the Raiders credit, they re-established themselves and had several shots on goal that Blaire Nathanson made some huge saves on.
“She had a rough time in the first half,” Coppola said. “My goalie coach gave her a talk at halftime, got her more focused and built her confidence up and she made some key stops at the end.”
Nathanson made one last save with seconds remaining before the Vikings could collectively exhale. Coppola felt a big difference in the second half, aside from crisper offensive production, was some defensive adjustments.
“Defensively, we were confused with some things we were trying to do,” he said. “We were trying to play a little combination of zone and man to man and sometimes we got lost and gave up some easy shots.
“In the second half we made a double team adjustment. We always wanted to apply pressure on the ball and not allow them to pass it easily. Then we caught fire, the girls started getting more confident. It was more indicative of how they’ve been playing all year.”
And it provided one of the great wins in program history.
OVERTIME: Jenna Bussiere had two goals in the game while Shannon O’Brien, Jamie Scoff and Ali Sisco each had one. Rolwood and Scoff had assists and of Nathanson’s seven saves, at least three preserved the lead down the stretch.
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SO. BRUNSWICK REACHES THE GMC FINAL !
May 11, 2009 --
Katie Rolwood's third goal, with 9:56 to play, broke an 11-11 tie for South Brunswick (10-2) in the semifinals of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament in Monroe. South Brunswick, which received four goals from Lisa Buongiovanni, faces defending champion Old Bridge in the final, 6 p.m. tomorrow at East Brunswick.
North Brunswick 9 2 11
South Brunswick 4 8 12
Lisa Buongiovanni 4. Katie Rolwood 3. Jenna Bussiere 2. Shannon O'Brien. Jamie Scoff. Ali Sisco.
Assists: Katie Rolwood. Jamie Scoff.
Shots: North Brunswick 18. South Brunswick 35.
Saves: Blaire Nathanson 7.
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This week in Middlesex County girls lacrosse(May 5,2008)
This week in Middlesex County girls lacrosse (High school Girls Lacrosse news)
by THE STAR-LEDGER
Tuesday May 05, 2009, 5:34 PM
TEAM TO WATCH
South Brunswick (9-2) is quickly becoming a favorite to win the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, which begins on Saturday.
The club has won six straight games, beating last year's GMCT champion, Old Bridge, 11-9, on April 25, and the GMCT runner-up, North Brunswick, 11-7, on April 27.
Second-year coach John Coppola's club has a trio of top scorers in Lisa Buongiovanni, Katie Rolwood and Shannon O'Brien and a talented goalie in Blaire Nathanson. Nathanson had a career-high 22 saves in a 13-12 overtime victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on April 20.
With a 14-10 victory over East Brunswick on April 30, South Brunswick avenged a 9-8 defeat on April 8. Its only other loss was out of conference, to Montgomery, 16-14, on April 18.
Jenna Bussiere is a solid midfielder for South Brunswick
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Rolwood's late scoring spree powers South Brunswick
Katie Rolwood scored four of her five goals in the final 15 minutes of the game to send the South Brunswick High School girls lacrosse team past Old Bridge, 11-9, Saturday.
Rollwood broke an 8-8 tie with two straight goals, then Lisa Buongiovanni added another goal to make it 11-8 as the Vikings (6-2) prevailed in a game featuring 25 shots by each team.
Buongiovanni finished with four goals, while teammates Jenna Bussiere and Shannon O'Briwn added single goals. Kelly O'Brien chipped into the winning attack with two assists, while Shannon O'Brien, Jamie Scott, Bussiere and Rolwood had one assist each.
For Old Bridge (5-5), Nina Veneziale tallied five times and Mary Hannon twice, while Katie Mullen and Christie Cannon had one goal each. Cannon added two assists, while Kerry Soder had one.
South Brunswick goalie Blaire Nathanson and counterpart Kayle McDonald each recorded 13 assists.
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Big Win in Double Overtime
Senior midfielder Shannon O'Brien scored the winning goal with 2:03 left in sudden death overtime and Blaire Nathanson came up with 22 saves to lead South Brunswick to a 13-12 victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South yesterday in West Windsor.
Katie Rolwood added three goals and one assist for South Brunswick (4-2).
1st 2nd OT1 OT2 OT3 Final
South Brunswick 4 6 0 2 1 13
West Windsor So 8 2 1 1 0 12
Goals: South Brunswick Katie Rolwood 3. Lisa Buongiovanni 2. Angie Goff 2. Shannon O'Brien 2. Ali Sisco 2. Jessica Airey. Jenna Bussiere.
Assists: South Brunswick Kelly O'Brien. Shannon O'Brien. Katie Rolwood.
Shots: South Brunswick 25. West Windsor South 39.
Saves: South Brunswick Blaire Nathanson 22.
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This week in Middlesex girls lacrosse
This week in Middlesex girls lacrosse (High school Girls Lacrosse news)
by THE STAR-LEDGER
Tuesday April 14, 2009, 5:22 PM
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior Lisa Buongiovanni is the top attacker for South Brunswick, one of four teams with a legitimate shot at winning the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship.
Buongiovanni has come up with nine goals and four assists for South Brunswick (2-1), which has beaten Monroe, 10-5, and defending GMCT champion Old Bridge, 12-10. Buongiovanni missed the second half of last season with a knee injury but is back to full strength, according to coach John Coppola.
``Lisa looks very good," Coppola said. "She's moving well and passing well. She's back to 100 percent.''
GAME TO WATCH
Old Bridge, which won the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship a year ago with a 10-9 overtime victory over North Brunswick, looks to avenge an early-season loss when it visits South Brunswick for a key GMC matchup Tuesday at 3:45 p.m.
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