The Rumson-Fair Haven girls soccer program is one in search of a signature win.
With an overall record of 7-4-0 and sitting in third place in a Class A Central division featuring a pair of Shore Conference titans in Saint John Vianney and Shore Regional, the Bulldogs are battle tested with tournament time looming, but a monument victory would do wonders for their confidence heading into the post-season.
“We’ve had a very good season to this point while playing in a tough division, but that big-time win is missing from our resume right now,” said Rumson-Fair Haven coach Beth Coleman, who is in her 12th season at the head of this Bulldogs program. “But we’ve been improving and have really closed the gap between our divisional opponents from the first to the second half of the year.”
That much is evident, as Rumson recently flipped the script on Matawan, a club the Bulldogs fell to by a 1-0 decision on Sept. 4, before taking a 4-2 victory from the Huskies on Oct. 4.
It was a victory due in no small part to senior Margot Ridgeway, who scored her team-leading sixth goal of the year and assisted on two more. Julia Blaney, Alli Hemphill and Grace Karagjozi also found the back of the net.
Further evidence of this team’s mid-season surge could be seen in the match prior against the Lancers. In the first meeting of the season, Saint John Vianney outclassed the Bulldogs to take a 5-0 triumph on Sept. 12.
Three weeks later, Rumson still suffered a tough defeat, but by a slim 2-1 margin, and once more it was Ridgeway who led the way with her club’s lone tally.
“She’s been an incredible leader for us this season,” Coleman said of her standout senior. “We took that early loss to Saint John Vianney and that was a tough one to swallow. But she helped keep the team together and helped her teammates believe that we’re better than what we showed that day.”
“We’re starting to play our best soccer of the season and at the right time of year…and (Ridgeway) is a big reason why,” Coleman added.
Dating back to Sept. 16, the Bulldogs have won five of their last seven matches, with those two losses coming against Shore Regional and Saint John Vianney.
Rumson will look to secure that signature win on Oct. 16 when Shore Regional comes to town for a 6 p.m. meeting.
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