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BARNEGAT – Coming into this season, the Barnegat girls soccer team was hoping to build off of last season’s 6-12-1 record and would have the veteran leadership of eight seniors to help lead the way.
Last season the Bengals were competitive but struggled to find the back of the net. They hope this season, the mix of veterans and newcomers will be the perfect mix. Already this season Coach Rick Blasi's squad has come together as a unit, but struggle once again with consistency. The Bengals have scored 15 goals through six games and given up 17. The 17 mark is a little deceiving, as 14 of them came in back-to-back games.
Lead by freshman Isabel Guiro (7 goals, 2 assists), Jillian Jankowski (6 goals, 4 assists) and senior Gabrielle Pelachaty (2 goals, 2 assists), the Bengals’ offense has started to click and their speed and passing have created havoc for opposing defenses. The similar problem as last year is that the Bengals are struggling to put their best foot forward against top-tier teams.
It looks as if the momentum is starting to turn after a great battle with A South opponent Brick Memorial. At halftime the score was 3-2 Memorial, with Barnegat controlling a majority of the first half. When all was said and done, a few unlucky bounces and some miscommunications led to the Bengals falling to the Mustangs, 8-4. This game showed the Barnegat squad that they can compete with the top teams in the Shore Conference, but they just need to continue working together on both sides of the ball.
If Barnegat can continue to take the steps forward as a unit there is no reason they cannot compete and be in the mix for a B South title at the end of the season and make some noise in both the Shore Conference and state title runs.
The Bengals will be looking at key matchups this week against Pinelands on Sept. 25, Manchester on Sept. 27 and Ranney on Sept. 28, as their platform to propel them forward.
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