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Good Counsel Ties Maria Regina 1-1 on Friday Night at Manhattanville College

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The Good Counsel Soccer team is all smiles after tying Maria Regina. Photo courtesy of Good Counsel.

Members of the Good Counsel Cougars Soccer Team will never forget the night of Friday, Oct.19, 2012.

On this night the Cougars accomplished something on the soccer field at Manhattanville College that hasn’t been done in a very long team. They tied Maria Regina Tigers 1-1. The Tigers have had a strong hold on this rivalry for a long time. It’s not known when the last time the Cougars beat the Tigers in soccer. During the last six years the Cougars have only been able to tie the Tigers once in a soccer match

The Tigers took the lead in the game with 13:44 to go in the first half when their best player Megan Caspare knotted a shot past Cougars’ goalie Maeve Power. It remained a 1-0 Tigers’ lead at the end of the first half.

In the second half the feeling of the game would start to change. The Cougars put together their finest half of soccer all season. They were clicking on all cylinders as a team and doing the things a great soccer team does.

They passed and communicated extremely well. Any time the ball would get near the Cougars’ goal someone would clear the ball away from the goal. Many times on Friday night that person was junior defenseman Kathleen Massaroni.

Though the Cougars hadn’t scored a goal yet in the game watching this game you got a feeling something special might happen soon. There were several break away plays when the Cougars’ top scorer senior Samantha Arroyo looked like she was going to be able to knock a shot past the Tigers’ talented and aggressive playing goalie Kerilyn O’Keefe

Senior Jasmine Joseph was to be the hero on Friday night when early in the second half she booted a shot beyond the reach of O’Keefe to tie the game at 1-1.

Both teams had chances in the second half to win the game, but neither team was able to convert and score another goal. In the closing minutes of the game O’Keefe made a tremendous save on a Cougars’ corner kick. Without the inspired play by O’Keefe the Tigers would have lost this game by several goals.

Though the game ended in 1-1 stalemate the Cougars celebrated like they had just won the World Cup. They lifted Joseph on their shoulders and threw her up in the air after the game was over.

After the game Joseph still seemed in shock that it had happened and was filled with excitement.

“No. Never in my life. This is the first time we scored on them in I think four years,” Joseph said when asked if this was the biggest score she ever scored. “The only thing I said was please God let me just hit this ball in the net. That’s the only thing that I thought of.”

Joseph couldn’t believe that her teammates lifted her in the air after the game was over.

“Yes, that was nice of them. I didn’t think they would go all out like that. That was very sweet. Everyone was so excited,” said Joseph.

Cougars’ head coach Henry Marfe praised his team for their outstanding effort after the match was over.

“It’s a very big day for our program,” said Marfe. “The girls played with every ounce of energy they had for 80 minutes. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They really took a fight to a team that has been dominant for six years.”

Marfe also noted that a lot of girls played a full game and his bench was very helpful in the tie versus the Tigers.

“Most them ran for a full 80 minutes. It was nice to have Brianna Marfe back for the second time this year coming off a summer injury. She was a big help on the field,” said Marfe. “Jasmine Joseph came off the bench and she does what she does best and gave us a burst of speed that gave us a goal. It was a good night for Good Counsel.”

Two days earlier the Cougars beat Blessed Sacrament 8-0. Arroyo had four goals in the game. Also scoring were Brianna Marfe,  Amilya Jeanty, Brittany Micceri and Nicole Acocella with one goal each.  Katie Casella, Nina Kenny, Nicole Acocella and Elle Caston each had one assist in the game. Power had one save in the game.

The Cougars have one more regular season game remaining this coming week against Spellman before they play in the Staten Island playoffs. Maria Regina is the league champion this fall and their only tie in the league was against the Cougars. The Cougars have a record of 7-3-2 after Friday’s game.

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