Friday, November 20, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

IHA celebrated its second straight Non-Public A state title after knocking off Red Bank Catholic in the final for the second straight season, 4-1, at TCNJ.

EWING – As Immaculate Heart Academy has matured into a program that contends for outright state titles every season, its formula for success has been clear. Players like Tara Schwitter, Kate Courter, and Ashley Clarke enter the program as talented freshman and leave as senior leaders both on and off the field and Thursday night was the Class of 2010's opportunity to add to its legacy with a second straight Non-Public A state title.

For the second straight season it was Red Bank Catholic that stood in the way. Last year the Blue Eagles pounded out a four-goal win, but the circumstances were different this time around as Red Bank Catholic came into the game as one of New Jersey’s most improved teams. The Caseys came in as the state’s only unbeaten and untied side and with and with an axe to grind against IHA, which ended their season in embarassing fashion one year ago.

None of that made any difference as IHA came out flying right from the opening whistle. Nicole Orlando’s first half goal put the Blue Eagles in front for good, and Stefanie Scholz and Ashley Clarke scored just over two minutes apart early in the second half to break the game wide open and give IHA back-to-back state titles with a 4-1 triumph at The College of New Jersey.

Ashley Clarke and the rest of the IHA seniors have left a legacy of winning.

“To finish the season as state champs has been on our mind all season,” said IHA’s Tara Schwitter. “(RBC) was going to come ready to knock our heads off and we know they are a very good team. For the seniors, it was our last game and we wanted to go out as champions.”

Red Bank Catholic was impressive offensively, outscoring three quality opponents by a combined score of 12-0 to win Non-Public A South section title. But just minutes in against IHA, it was evident that the Caseys has taken a step up in competition. Erin McGovern, Clarke and CJ Graetzer took complete control of the midfield and never allowed the Caseys to get any type of rhythm by possessing the ball and controlling the pace of the game.

“Our game is locking (the opponent) in our end, and we possess the ball,” said IHA head coach Steve Silver. “IHA soccer is about possessing the ball and playing to feet. I thought we showed a lot of composure and we moved the ball around extremely well tonight.”

IHA had the ball in the Caseys’ end of the field for most of the first half, but did not break through on the scoreboard until the 25th minute. Three minutes after McGovern banged one off the crossbar, Orlando settled a bouncing pass, pivoted, and let go a right-footed shot. It somehow got past a defender and underneath the reach of RBC goalie Annabel Schmelz to give IHA the 1-0 lead it took into halftime.

If there was any time to regroup for RBC, the 10-minute halftime intermission was it. But IHA’s defense refused to give them any breathing room.

“We knew what we were up against in the second half and we had to do exactly what we did in the first half,” said IHA defender Gabby Cuevas. “I thought we were in their heads a little bit mentally. They had some really good players and we had to keep the ball away from those players. We all had a job to do and we had to make them adjust to our style, not us adjusting to theirs.”

Stefanbie Scholz scored early in the second half to give IHA a 2-0 lead and the Eagles cruised home from there.

Ten minutes into the second half, the second goal of the game was scored on a vintage IHA play. It started when McGovern won a ball in the air and headed it to Schwitter. The Miami-bound playmaker held the ball with a defender on her hip before sliding a pass to Scholz, who was streaking up the right side. Scholz, who had a goal and an assist in last year’s win over RBC, ripped a shot into the lower left-hand corner to put the Blue Eagles ahead 2-0.

Just 2:08 later, IHA found the back of the net again starting with Graetzer playing a short corner to Ashley Clarke. Clarke, who will play at Seton Hall next year, dribbled into the box, then bent a 12-yard shot around Schmelz and into the upper left-hand corner to make it 3-0.

The Caseys eventually showed how dangerous they could be when an opposing defense makes a mistake, but by then it was too late. Devin Griffin took a pass from Annie Gray and hit a perfect shot into the upper right-hand corner in the 56th minute to get RBC on the board and, four minutes later, Griffin had another shot from 20 yards out that just missed wide. To show how dominating the Blue Eagles were, those were the only shots RBC had the entire game.

“Our defense was awesome all year, but they were really great tonight,” added Schwitter. “We were rested and we had our legs underneath us, which helped us a lot tonight. The team who sets the tone always has a big advantage. We knew RBC was going to make a push and they played hard right until the very end. I thought we did a great job keeping our energy up and playing to our strengths.”

Erin McGovern capped the scoring on a late penalty kick and IHA celebrated its second title in as many years and fourth overall. This one was for the IHA seniors who not only go out as champions, but know they have passed the torch of success down to the younger players for them to carry on.

“A lot of really good players don’t ever get the chance to come down here once. To be here three times and to win it twice means a lot to me” said IHA’s Ashley Clarke. “For all of us seniors especially to go out as a state champion is something special and something we’ll always remember.”

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