While Saturday's heart-breaking 5-4 loss in penalty kicks to Ocean County College in the Region 19 North Atlantic District B championship proved tough to digest, the Roadrunners' Women's Soccer team nonetheless enjoyed a successful 2023 season.
First-year head coach Stephen Hart noted the squad overcame several early-season injuries while enduring a new coaching system. In addition, Hart did not begin official coaching duties until the start of training camp -- he lost out on the busy recruiting season and was faced with building his roster up in a limited time prior to the start of the regular season in late August.
"These young ladies missed out on quite a bit that our training camp and regular reason normally offered the players -- but they persevered and I'm proud of their efforts," said Hart.
In the Region 19 championship game, there were plenty of opportunities to take a lead, especially in the first half, when the Runners outshot the Vikings by a wide margin. But the hard-fought contest ended in a 0-0 tie after regulation and a first overtime, sending the outcome to penalty kicks.
"We kept up the pressure, but the shots just wouldn't fall," Hart noted. "I thought we played well enough to win the game without even going to penalty kicks. It was a shame either team had to deal with that situation."
Bolstered by the fine play of Region 19 All-Stars Kayleigh Shuff, Alaina Villari and Rayael Marshall, the Runners went on the attack in the first half and continued their pressure in the second half.
Goalkeeper Lauren Graham also did a solid job in keeping the game a scoreless tie through regulation, turning in her usual seamless performance.
The two teams played one scoreless 10-minute overtime before the Vikings outshot the Runners 5-4 in penalty kicks on 6 attempts by each squad for the triumph and a berth in the upcoming NJCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.
Looking ahead to the Fall 2025 season, Hart and assistant coaches Leigh Swietanski and Kenyatta Collins will have more preparation time to continue building the program.
"We have a year to recruit and the program will look different and more organized now that we've seen the Region 19 landscape," said Hart. "Our team this year did a fabulous job, especially with the circumstances they were presented. Now we're digging in for the long-term, and it's exciting!"