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Hopewell Valley’s Elizabeth Buchert, left, kicks the ball as Allentown’s Chelsea Faulkner, right, gets a block on it during a CVC Colonial Division game on Tuesday afternoon in Allentown. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Lawrence’s Michaela Little, right, tries to turn past Freehold Borough’s Makayla Sekerka, left, during a Central Group III quarterfinal girls soccer game on Thursday afternoon in Lawrence Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Lawrence’s Becca Boggs controls the ball against Notre Dame during a CVC Colonial Division girls soccer game on Saturday morning in Lawrence Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Nottingham’s Bridget Cutty (11) kicks the ball against Hightstown during a CVC Valley Division girls soccer game on Friday afternoon at Jim Wilno Sr. Field in Hamilton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s Riley Duguay, right, tries to move past Hopewell Valley’s Meg Kurian, left, during a CVC Tournament semifinal girls soccer game on Wednesday evening at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Notre Dame’s Isabella Daley clears the ball against Trinity Hall during a Non-Public A South quarterfinal girls soccer game on Thursday afternoon at Mike Perone Field in Lawrence Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Steinert’s Mia Garofalo, right, tries to shield the ball away from Hun’s Emerson Levesque, left, during a non-league girls soccer game on Thursday afternoon in Princeton. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Robbinsville’s Caileigh Guzik controls the ball against Hopewell Valley during a CVC Colonial Division girls soccer game on Tuesday afternoon at the Steven J. Mayer Athletic Complex in Robbinsville. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Notre Dame’s Reagan O’Mara, left, tries to shield the ball away from Hopewell Valley’s Clara Mayer, right, during a CVC Colonial Division girls soccer game on Thursday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Princeton Day’s Ella McLaren, left, challenges for the ball with Mount St. Dominic’s Jacqueline Karcic, right, during the Non-Public A girls soccer state final on Friday night at Franklin High. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Princeton High goalkeeper Julia Zaldarriaga grabs the ball against Hopewell Valley during a CVC girls soccer game on Tuesday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Hopewell Valley coach John McGinley talks with his team on the sideline against Lawrence during a Central Group III semifinal girls soccer game on Monday afternoon at Ackerson Field in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Hopewell Valley's Elizabeth Buchert, left, kicks the ball as Allentown's Chelsea Faulkner, right, gets a block on it during a CVC Colonial Division game on Tuesday afternoon in Allentown. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Given the way that the season started, you would have been forgiven thinking the Hopewell Valley girls soccer team could be in for a long fall.
The Bulldogs lost two of their first three matches, the second one a 5-0 setback, and were facing a Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division opener against Notre Dame.
With the steadying hand of its veteran coach, Hopewell snatched a late 1-all draw and then went on an incredible run.
The Bulldogs had a 19-game unbeaten streak in which they conceded just six goals and won the outright CVC Colonial title and inaugural CVC Tournament championship. They didn’t allow a goal in their three CVC Tournament victories, capping it off with a 1-0 victory over Allentown in the final.
John McGinley is our CVC Coach of the Year
“I try not to project too much about what I think will or won’t happen. I was just focused on us trying to get better and improve. But, yeah, I would have been surprised,” said McGinley, who has 323 career wins. “As the season progressed, I saw what we were capable of. As the season got along, I felt like we could accomplish those things.”
His Bulldogs (18-3-2) are well represented on the three All-CVC teams.
Sophomore forward Elizabeth Buchert and senior defender Clara Mayer are First Team Best XI selections, while senior defender Charlotte Barnes, junior defender Katherine Reinhart and junior midfielder Delainey Ross are on the Second Team. Freshman midfielder Meg Kurian is a Third Team pick.
Other First Team selections include the Lawrence duo of CVC Player of the Year Becca Boggs and Golden Boot winner Michaela Little; Nottingham’s Bridget Cutty, West Windsor South’s Riley Duguay, Notre Dame’s Isabella Daley, Steinert’s Mia Garofalo, Robbinsville’s Caileigh Guzik, Princeton Day’s Ella McLaren and Princeton High’s Julia Zaldarriaga.
Meet the First Team selections here:
Elizabeth Buchert, Hopewell Valley — Buchert backed up a fine freshman campaign with an even better one as a sophomore. Coach John McGinley wanted her to be a facilitator as much as a scorer in year two and Buchert responded as one of only two players in the CVC to finish with a double-double (19 goals, 10 assists). Her 48 points led the league, and she’ll begin her junior season with 35 career goals.
Michaela Little, Lawrence — The Shenandoah University-bound senior was the surprise CVC Golden Boot winner and coaches’ pick for Forward of the Year after she scored a league-high 20 goals. Little hadn’t tallied more than 10 in any of her first three seasons and was expected to play more as a holding midfielder, but an early-season injury to the Cards’ front line caused a change of plans and pushed Little into a more advanced role. She rose to the occasion with a memorable campaign that included three goals in Lawrence’s march to the sectional final.
Becca Boggs, Lawrence — The CVC Player of the Year was the main hub for the Cardinals as one of two players in the CVC with a double-double. The junior finished with 12 goals and a league-best 18 assists for 42 points. Those 18 assists also broke both Lawrence’s all-time and single-season program records, and ranked tied for 12th in the state.
Bridget Cutty, Nottingham — The TCNJ-bound senior capped off her career with 19 goals and six assists to help the Northstars pick up nine wins and end a three-year playoff drought. Cutty had three games in which she scored a hat trick and three others with a pair of goals.
Riley Duguay, WW-PS — The word out of Princeton Junction in the summer was that a trio of freshmen had brought an injection of talent and West Windsor South was a potential sleeper. Then Duguay delivered a terrific rookie campaign in which she scored 18 goals and dished seven assists in helping the Pirates go from two wins to nine, capture the CVC Valley Division title and reach the CVC Tournament semifinals.
Isabella Daley, Notre Dame — Daley was one of the top defenders in the CVC as a junior as she helped the Irish to a second-place finish in the CVC Colonial Division, CVC Tournament semifinals and top three seed in Non-Public A South. With the junior centerback at the heart of that back four, ND had a 12-game winning streak in which it kept six cleansheets.
Mia Garofalo, Steinert — The Widener University-bound senior was the Spartans’ best player this season. She was deployed in both midfield and defense, but it was a centerback where she really shined. Garofalo also gave goal-shy Steinert a boost in the offensive box as she finished second on the team in goals (four) and points (nine).
Caileigh Guzik, Robbinsville — The senior was the heartbeat of a Ravens team that was a whisker away from earning a share of the CVC Colonial Division title. She captained the team from her centerback spot and was one of the toughest tacklers in the league. Guzik battled through a number of bumps and bruises throughout her career to be a First Team player in her final season of soccer.
Clara Mayer, Hopewell Valley — The tall and rangy senior centerback was named Defender of the Year by CVC coaches as she anchored the best defensive unit in the CVC. She paired with Second Team selection Katherine Reinhart in the center, with outside backs Charlotte Barnes and Gianna Azara all working in tandem with goalkeeper Chloe LiVecchi to allow a league-low 16 goals. During its 19-game unbeaten streak, Hopewell conceded just six times and won both the CVC Colonial Division and the CVC Tournament.
Ella McLaren, PDS — You could make a case for the junior centerback as the best player in the CVC after she followed up a breakout state title winning season with another solid year. McLaren is physical in a challenge, strong in the air and capable of picking out a pass. Look for her to once again be among the best players in the league as a senior.
Julia Zaldarriaga, Princeton — A sophomore goalkeeper with a bright future, Zadarriaga kept the Tigers in games. Princeton got hot at the end of the season and pulled one of the biggest surprises of the state tournament when it advanced as a No. 16 seed past No. 1 seed Freehold Township in a shootout. Zaldarriaga had her signature moment in that match when she stopped and scored a penalty in the shootout. She finished with eight cleansheets.
John McGinley, Hopewell Valley — The dean did one of his better coaching jobs this season. The Bulldogs were greater than the sum of their parts as they went 18-3-2, captured the CVC Colonial Division title with an unbeaten 6-0-1 mark, stormed to the inaugural CVC Tournament crown, had a 19-match unbeaten streak and earned the No. 1 seed in the Central Group III section. Honorable mention goes to Lawrence’s Emily Palombo and West Windsor South’s Elisa Mastroianni. Palombo’s Cardinals won 13 games and were the last CVC side standing as they reached the sectional final for the first time since 2000. Mastroianni oversaw a seven-win improvement from two to nine and a CVC Valley Division championship.
ALL-CVC GIRLS SOCCER
FIRST TEAM
Forward: Elizabeth Buchert, So., Hopewell Valley
Forward: Michaela Little, Sr., Lawrence
Midfield: Becca Boggs, Jr., Lawrence
Midfield: Bridget Cutty, Sr., Nottingham
Midfield: Riley Duguay, Fr., WW-PS
Defense: Isabella Daley, Jr., Notre Dame
Defense: Mia Garofalo, Sr., Steinert
Defense: Caileigh Guzik, Sr., Robbinsville
Defense: Clara Mayer, Sr., Hopewell Valley
Defense: Ella McLaren, Jr., PDS
Goalkeeper: Julia Zaldarriaga, So., Princeton
Player of the Year
Becca Boggs, Lawrence
Coach of the Year
John McGinley, Hopewell Valley
SECOND TEAM
Forward: Maya Montemayor, Jr., WW-PS
Forward: Martha Olorunnisola, Sr., Allentown
Forward: Reagan O’Mara, Sr., Notre Dame
Midfield: Ava Donnelly, So., Lawrence
Midfield: Isabella Lynch, Sr., Notre Dame
Midfield: Delainey Ross, Jr., Hopewell Valley
Midfield: Jadelyn Sayraef, Sr., Allentown
Defense: Charlotte Barnes, Sr., Hopewell Valley
Defense: Lauren Fanning, Sr., Allentown
Defense: Katherine Reinhart, Jr., Hopewell Valley
Goalkeeper: Emily Gamboa Ordini, Sr., Ewing
THIRD TEAM
Forward: Ginny Choi, Jr., WW-PN
Forward: Riley Cunningham, Sr., Notre Dame
Midfield: Reilly Klein, Sr., Steinert
Midfield: Isabelle Knott, Sr., Allentown
Midfield: Caelyn LaFlamme, Jr., Lawrence
Midfield: Meg Kurian, Fr., Hopewell Valley
Midfield: Ashton Robbins, Jr., Notre Dame
Defense: Kate Gresek, Fr., WW-PS
Defense: Kinsley Franke, Fr., Robbinsville
Defense: Mia Tramo, Sr., Steinert
Goalkeeper: Ava McDonald, Sr., Nottingham
HONORABLE MENTION
ALLENTOWN: Amanda Hoglund (Sr.); EWING: Landon Jovolos (Sr.); HAMILTON WEST: Kyara Gamboa Castro (So.); HIGHTSTOWN: Gabbi DeMarco (Sr.), Lis Reisbord (Jr.); HOPEWELL VALLEY: Colbie Pagnotta (Jr.), Gianna Azara (Sr.); LAWRENCE: Emma Skinner (So.); NOTRE DAME: Anna Guido (Jr.), Jamieson White (Sr.); NOTTINGHAM: Maggie Cutty (So.); PDS: Emma Burns (Jr.), Julianna Hartmann (Jr.), Sophia Vriesendorp (So.); PRINCETON: Kacey Howes (Jr.); ROBBINSVILLE: Katie Andrus (Jr.), Sophia DiMeola (Sr.), Gianna Johnson (Jr.); STEINERT: Teagan Fairfax (Sr.), Mia Petracca (So.); TRENTON: Gabriella Smith (Sr.), Zunica Zubah (Sr.); WW-PN: Prema Budhiraja (Jr.), Julia Eckel (Jr.), Jenna Manolakos (Jr.); WW-PS: Meadow Boateng (Jr.), Anna Hefele (Fr.), Deanna Hu (Sr..
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