Kards defeat Bayonne, 2-1
The Kearny girls’ soccer team celebrates winning the Hudson County Tournament championship Sunday afternoon in Jersey City, giving the program five straight tourney titles. Kearny is the only school to win the tourney in its five-year history.
By Jim Hague
Observer Sports Writer
When the girls’ high school soccer season began in earnest in August, there were some doubts about the Kearny High School squad.
There were a ton of losses to graduation, not to mention the other losses to illness and injury.
“It was difficult to find the proper mix and chemistry,” Kearny head girls’ soccer coach Vin Almeida said. “We had to have a lot of the young girls mesh together in a hurry.”
“So many people doubted us,” said senior midfielder Nicole Kelly. “So many people got injured. It was tough.”
It might have looked as if the Kardinals’ four-year reign as Hudson County Tournament champions would come to an end.
Guess again.
Thanks to goals from Barbara Paiva and Amber Crispin and solid goaltending from Laura Vilar, especially making clutch saves down the stretch, the Kardinals defeated Bayonne, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at Caven Point Cochrane Field in Jersey City to capture their fifth straight Hudson County tourney title.
The Kards defeated Bayonne just two weeks after playing to a 1-1 tie in Bayonne.
“It’s such a relief and so satisfying,” said Kelly, who had the three-goal hat trick in the tourney semifinal win over Union City last Wednesday. “You would think that after winning three in a row, we’d get used to it. But it keeps getting better and better. To end my career with the county championship is so gratifying. We had so many people step up and contribute.”
Almeida said that he always believed the Kardinals had the makings of a fifth straight title.
“I had a lot of confidence in them,” Almeida said. “We have a lot of girls with great ability. It was just a matter of them believing in themselves and establishing some sort of rhythm together as a team.”
Almeida said that the prior tie with Bayonne got the Kards prepared for Sunday.
“I think we used that first game as motivation,” Almeida said. “But they were really motivated on their own. They were very strong minded.”
The Kardinals scored the two goals in the first half, which enabled them to play smart, yet aggressive soccer in the second half.
“It’s always great to go up early,” Almeida said. “We could establish a nice playing style. But give the girls from Bayonne credit. They always fight to the end and took us to the limit.”
The Kardinals managed to hold on, with Vilar making five saves in the second half to protect the lead.
The coach and his co-captain both agreed that this county title was a special one.
“It’s honestly so crazy to think we’ve won five in a row,” Kelly said. “Definitely, as a senior, being this is the last one for me, it’s very special. It feels so much better.”
“They’re all special,” said Almeida, who has been the head coach for each of the five titles. “This one may be a little more special considering all that went on. I knew that this team had great work ethic and that work ethic definitely paid off.”
Almeida said that the win over Bayonne will help the Kardinals as they prepare for the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV playoffs, where they hope to be among the top seeds.
“It definitely helps,” Almeida said. “This takes one goal off the plate. One of the goals we had was to win the county championship again. We’re very fortunate. There aren’t many programs in New Jersey that can say they won their county five straight years. It’s great to have.”
And chances are that the well hasn’t run dry. Most of the key players return. The Kardinals graduate only three seniors.
“The prospects look good,” Almeida said. “But every year, the county gets more difficult and the teams get better. Bayonne really battled us to the end this year. It’s good to see that there’s a rivalry. It’s never easy to win.”
But five in a row?
“It’s something we hoped for,” said Almeida, whose team prepared to face state-ranked Nutley in an independent game this week.
Almeida and Nutley head coach Mike DiPiano are former classmates and soccer and wrestling teammates at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, so they know each other a long time.
“It’s a good challenge for us,” Almeida said.
So will the rest of the schedule for the five-time defending Hudson County champions. There’s a slogan for three in a row, called “three-peat.” What’s there for five? “Thrive for Five” perhaps.
