(Central New Jersey) Tuesday, June 4, 2024 — Real Central NJ (RCNJ) suffered their first setback of the season in a hard-fought game, losing 1-2 to the Delaware Ospreys (DEL) at Abessinio Stadium, in their first away game of the season. After conceding goals early in the first and second half, RCNJ turned on the pressure, but it was not enough to earn points on the road.
“It’s never fun, never enjoyable losing, but the second half was definitely exciting,” said women’s sporting director Ben Chrnelich. “The play became a lot more direct; we created more scoring opportunities and minimized giving Delaware attacking transitions in our defensive third. It’s a very competitive conference we’re in, and we want to see games like this.”
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
DEL - Ashlee Brentlinger (Caitlin St. Leger) 14th minute: St. Leger offered a pass into the box for Bretlinger, who beat the keeper at the far post. DEL 1, RCNJ 0
DEL﹘Gabby Riley (Maddie Mosier) 52nd minute: Mosier sent Riley a pass over the top into the box, whose shot was just far enough to make it past the keeper. DEL 2, RCNJ 0
RCNJ - Jade Vieira 79th minute: As the Delaware keeper attacked the ball at Vieira’s feet near the penalty arc, Vieira sent a rolling shot low and quick enough to find the net. DEL 2, RCNJ 1
The player of the match was Jade Vieira.
The game began with a lot of back-and-forth as both teams felt each other out. The first bit of action came from RCNJ in the eighth minute, with Bella Miller mounting their first attack. The look came off a ball played into the box, with Josie Stockett taking the shot. Delaware’s keeper saved the shot.
As the back and forth continued, the Ospreys were able to take advantage of a free kick awarded near the center line in the fourteenth minute. Delaware’s taker delivered a short pass to their midfielder, who took a couple of dribbles and gave a look into the box for a shot to the far post that beat RCNJ’s keeper, Morgan Murphy. DEL 1, RCNJ 0
The Ospreys came back quickly in the sixteenth minute with two quick shots. Early in the sixteenth, Delaware got the ball within striking range and put a shot on target, which was easily saved. Their next shot came mere seconds after, as they put the ball back in the box and took a hard strike to the top left corner, but Morgan Murphy got a hand to it to evade another goal.
The Real Central NJ women got their second shot of the game in the thirtieth minute following an impressive series of passes that started in the backfield. Playing the ball up the field, they managed to put together a quality attempt on goal for Abigail Najdzinowicz, that was barely saved at the top left corner of the goal.
Delaware continued to attack following their aggressive start, taking two more shots within three minutes. In the thirty-eighth minute, they played off a counterattack, which resulted in a shot saved quite easily by Morgan Murphy. And in the forty-first, they played a through ball in a fast-paced exchange that Murphy attacked and saved up in the middle of the box.
Fresh out of the half, the Ospreys scored their second goal in the fifty-second minute. After intercepting a forward pass, Delaware quickly transitioned with a long ball through RCNJ’s back-line. Delaware’s Ashlee Brentlinger took a few dribbles and put a shot far and out of reach from RCNJ’s Morgan Murphy. DEL 2, RCNJ 0
Soon thereafter, Real Central NJ attempted to respond in the fifty-fourth minute. Following a corner kick that rebounded to the top of the eighteen-yard box, Phoebe Merrigan took a touch and ripped a low-driven shot that was saved at the bottom right corner.
After Merrigan’s shot, an off-the-mark goal kick gave RCNJ the opportunity to run the ball down the sideline and whip a cross to the opposite side of the field. The pass found Josie Stockett, who kept a shot low that was also saved at the bottom corner of the goal.
RCNJ’s pressure continued as they attacked again in the fifty-seventh minute with a long cross from the right side of Delaware’s back third. The cross found the box, as well as Victoria D'Imperio’s head. The shot was saved by the keeper.
The Ospreys seemed to attack in bunches as they put up two shots in the sixty-sixth minute. The first came from a ball into the middle of the field, where they had a shot on goal, which was saved by Murphy. Not more than thirty seconds later, they intercepted a pass on its way to the RCNJ attackers and took another shot from outside the penalty box that had the same fate as the first.
The Real Central ladies seemed to own the last fifteen minutes of the game, dictating the pace and not allowing any action in their back. In the seventy-sixth, Nicola Mosionek snuck a pass into the Ospreys backline onto Victoria D’Imperio, who tried to chip a shot past the keeper but was saved.
In the seventy-ninth minute, RCNJ got a goal of their own as their constant attack finally wore out the Delaware Ospreys’s defense. A ball from the midfield found Jade Vieira around the tip of the penalty arc, where she put a ball just low enough to make it past the Ospreys’s keeper and roll into the back of the net. DEL 2, RCNJ 1
In their last chance, the Real Central NJ women played a ball from the midfield over the top to the far right wing, which led to a long, powerful shot by Brooke Steel that landed just right of the near post in the eighty-ninth minute.
Even with an added six minutes of stoppage time, RCNJ’s late aggression was not enough to push a draw after going down by two early in the second half.
“The girls have to be willing to play through anything,” added coach Jamie Skarupsky “…We kind of told them we have to play with a chip on our shoulders, and the girls did that…We have to have that mentality of winning. These girls are winners; they know what it takes to play at the next level, so we have to get back to that. “
“I’m really proud of how the girls responded,” Head coach Brian Thomsen commented. “They managed what we talked about at halftime and implemented our tactical adjustments well. It’s good to see them respond in a positive manner, and I’m looking forward to our upcoming match with Penn Fusion, a perennial top-of-table team.”
The RCNJ women play next against Penn Fusion SA at 6 PM on Sunday, June 9, 2024, at the West Chester United Soccer Club. Stream it here on the Real Central NJ website.
The next home match will be a men’s USL2 match against Lehigh Valley United on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at Rider University’s Ben Cohen Field. Purchase match-day tickets and season passes on the Real Central NJ Soccer website.
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