Wall Twp. - 1
FREEHOLD 2, WALL 1: Jenna Huskey’s goal with five seconds left in the first overtime — her second goal of the match — gave the Colonials the Class B North win over the Crimson Knights.
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Huskey delivers golden goal to lift No. 7 Freehold
Boro
by
Gregg Lerner on Wed, Oct 16, 2013 9:41 PM
Sacrifice isn’t something Jenna
Huskey feels compelled to do in a moment. This fall, it’s basically been a
daily way of life.
Playing on a wobbly knee that has
her scheduled for surgery in three weeks, the Freehold Boro sophomore has
discovered a temporary elixir to medicate the discomfort. It might not be
certifiable for a chapter in any journal of medicine, but, for the time being,
Huskey seems convinced the adrenaline rush that accompanies her heavy dosage of
scoring qualifies as a pretty good numbing agent.
Huskey exemplified the magical
healing power with one sudden and rewarding burst. Her surge to run down a long
feed from Meghan Holtz and willingness to throw caution to the wind in the face
of three converging Wall defenders enabled Huskey to apply just enough of her foot
to poke in a golden goal with four ticks left in the first overtime and lift
unbeaten Freehold Boro, No. 7 in the MSG Varsity New Jersey Top 15, to a 2-1
victory on Wednesday in Freehold.
In a match that had an intense and
physical undertone synonymous with a hotly-contested rivalry such as this one,
Huskey pondered the consequences of aggressively pursing Holtz’s pass out of
the midfield and opted to go for it, despite a hint of reluctance.
“I was definitely terrified,
especially with a bum leg, but I had to give it everything I had,” Huskey said
of her second goal of the match and 16th of the season. “And, it was
so worth it.”
Thus, with two defenders flanking
her sides and keeper Alex Panasuk charging off her line, Huskey manuevered
through the traffic and beat all challengers to the ball before knocking it
home.
Huskey put Freehold Boro (14-0) on
top in the seventh minute on a well-conceived corner kick. After initially
fronting Wall keeper Alex Panasuk, she drifted out before Holtz struck a
service from the left flag and planted a difficult header inside the near post
for a 1-0 advantage.
But, three minutes thereafter, Nora
Burdge produced an equalizer for Wall (11-3). The sophomore alertly tracked a
cross from the left side and was in the right place at the right time when a
miscommunication in the Freehold defensive third allowed the ball to drop and
invited her to put it away from 14 yards out.
Panasuk, who finished with eight
saves, denied a charge by Holtz in the 34th minute by taking the
ball off her foot at the six while lying on the ground and turned away a
redirect from Huskey midway through the second half.
Despite being outnumbered, Wall
selectively picked its spots when to be assertive to goal, driven by energetic
Heather Arbachesky. The junior forward trapped a short cross a minute into the
first overtime and unloaded a 12-yard shot that whistled inches wide of the
left post.
“We had to settle down but keep our
energy up,” Arbachesky said of Wall’s tactical design following the red card.
“They’re a really good team and so are we. If we could get the crosses in, and
make sure the midfielders were up, we knew we could play the way we like and
keep trying to finish to get the result.”
While the two assists from Holtz
were instrumental, it was her composure in the central midfield that proved an
invaluable commodity. Her poise on the ball, direction of flow and constant
reclaiming of unaccounted balls in the neutral third had a calming effect on
the Colonials.
“When they went down a player, it
meant someone was always going to be open for us,” Holtz said. “As long as we
kept playing the ball on the ground with one or two touches, we were going to
be fine.”
“There are a lot of reasons why
she’s been my captain for two years,” said Freehold Boro coach Elyse Ingui, who
picked up her 100th career win on Tuesday, of Holtz. “It’s her
knowledge of the game, the way she plays the game and her patience with the
game. She knows how to win.”
Gregg Lerner covers girls soccer for
MSG Varsity. Follow him on Twitter: @gregglerner
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