WEST LONG BRANCH – Since losing 3-0 to its nemesis, Rumson-Fair Haven – ranked sixth in the state and No. 1 in the Shore – in their second game of the season, the Blue Devils have reeled off 10 straight wins while outscoring their opponents by a whopping margin of 68-5, including seven shutouts.
After competing in the Class B Central for years, the Blue Devils have moved up to the Class A Central division and with that comes two regular season games with the Bulldogs, who in recent years have supplanted the Blue Devils as the team to beat in the Shore Conference.
“I think when you play teams like Rumson that are well skilled it gives you the opportunity to compete at your highest level possible,” said Shore Regional head coach Kelly Koenig. “I know the girls get excited to go out and compete and play the highest level hockey they can when we’re up against a team like Rumson.”
Shore (11-1, 6-1) is currently ranked second in the Shore Conference and ninth in the state, averaging 5.7 goals per game while allowing a miniscule 0.42 goals per contest.
Koenig is back for her fifth season, after replacing Hall of Fame coach Nancy Williams in 2014, and has posted a stellar 82-15-3 record entering the season, including NJSIAA Group 1 championships in both 2014 and 2015.
Last season Shore went 19-3, while capturing the Class B Central title going undefeated within the division at 10-0. As the second seed in the Shore Conference Tournament they lost a close 1-0 battle to No. 3 seed Southern in the semifinals before reaching the NJSIAA North 2, Group 1 final as the No. 1 seed, where they lost another squeaker, 1-0, to second-seeded Madison.
That team graduated some of its top players, including first-team All-Shore midfielder Abby Kopec, who is now playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes, second-team selections Amanda Halper and Jaclyn Shapiro and All-Division forward Talia Cantaffa.
However, the Blue Devils did return 10 key players from a year ago, including two first-team All-Shore selections and, as their record indicates, they haven’t missed a beat.
After scoring 27 goals with 26 assists last season, Rutgers-bound Maggie Lamb is again making her presence felt as both a scorer and a leader. The senior center midfielder has punched in 12 goals and assisted on 11 others this season in the Blue Devils’ high-powered attack.
“Maggie’s one of our senior captains and our most veteran player on the field as a four-year varsity starter,” Keonig said. “She’s one of the hardest workers and most mature players on the team and sets a great example of leadership and commitment to the sport and the program.”
Another first-team All-Shore selection, Lily Santi, has been on fire this season and is leading Shore in goals scored this season with 25 along with 11 assists. The junior can do it all from her center back positon where she’s not only an elite scorer and distributor of the ball, but a top notch defender.
“Lily is one of our core players on defense but is a versatile player in that she’s also explosive on attack and a true threat out of the backfield. She has great vision and is incredibly passionate about the sport of hockey.”
Up top, right wing Emmalee Olsen had a breakout junior campaign in 2017 when she scored 18 goals with 19 assists and hasn’t let up this season, posting six goals and 10 assist so far, while junior center forward Isabella Saponaro is third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and two assists and junior left wing Taylor Cannon has eight goals and three assists.
“Just having Emmalee as an option on attack to just move the ball up the field and being able to connect with Isabella and Taylor gives us a lot of options,” said Koenig when discussing her front line. Emmalee’s another senior captain with an explosive first step and we’re really excited to see her step up and make an impact.”
“Isabella has great touches on the ball and she too is very fast so Emmalee and Isabella are able to complement one another with their passing lanes because they keep at the same tempo to develop the play forward.”
Giving credit where credit is due, Shore defense has been phenomenal in shutting down opposing offenses. Santi is joined in the backfield with senior left back Jeanine DeMarzo, freshman right back Libby Doehner and junior sweeper Shannon Scesa. And junior goalkeeper Rachel Dwyer has been stellar.
Koenig is quick to point out that it’s a group effort in the backfield that has led to its success.
“I really feel that our philosophy as a team is to play team defense,” said Koenig when asked to define her defense. “So I don’t think we can really pinpoint our defensive efforts on any one person but more collectively as a group. We’ve kind of made it our mission this year that everything starts out of the backfield and we’re really focusing on that commitment to play team defense as a whole.”
Flanking Lamb in the midfield is senior left midfielder Kayla Bartram (1 goal, 2 assists) and sophomore right midfielder Ryan Malfa, who has netted five goals along with two assists. Senior Tiernan McLaughlin (3 goals) and sophomore Carly Cole (2 goals, 1 assist) have provided Koenig with valuable depth she can pull from.
After being eliminated in the finals of the state playoffs the past two years, Koenig feels this team has what it takes to finish the job this season.
“I think as long as we’re staying committed to the process of learning and growing through our competition and the teams we play, I think this team is tough enough to take that step and achieve their goals. I think we just have to be mindful that we have to take it every game at a time and respect our competition and stay loyal to the goals we set at the beginning of the summer.”
UPDATE: On Friday the Blue Devils lost another heartbreaker to Rumson-Fair Haven, falling 3-2 in overtime as the Bulldogs swept the regular season series. Santi tied the game at one before the half then gave Shore a 2-1 lead with her second goal of the game before Rumson’s Bridy Molyneaux tied it and Meadows McGuire got the golden goal in overtime for the clincher. The loss drops the Blue Devils two games behind the Bulldogs in the A Central standings.
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