The soccer season at Cranford High School has been one for the ages, with both the Boys and the Girls Soccer teams going on incredible runs taking them to the finals of the State Sectional Tournament. Both tournaments wrapped up this weekend with the Cougars playing in two thrillers.

Before the ball was even kicked, the Boys Soccer team had already enjoyed a bit of history.  The finals on Friday afternoon marked the first Sectional Finals appearance in the Boys Soccer Program’s history. The Cougars traveled to face top seeded Summit, the team who had previously beaten Cranford 2-0 in the Union County Tournament. In front of a rowdy crowd with tremendous support for both sides, the stage was set for an instant-classic. Right from the jump there was one thing that was clear, goals would be very hard to come by. The Summit defense hadn’t allowed a goal up to this point in the tournament and proved exactly why. Cranford struggled to generate offensive chances as the Summit back line was always prepared, making confident clearances and refusing to beat themselves. The Cranford defense proved to be up to the task as well, as their back line did a tremendous job of forcing Summit into taking difficult shots.  One defender in particular, Logan Welch, had the game of his life, single handedly stopping numerous Summit rushes and constantly flying to every loose ball. When called upon, goalkeeper Keith Skuppeen was on point, making multiple key saves, and always maintaining control of play. As the first half came to a close, both defenses refused to blink, and the game was scoreless.

For much of the game’s second half, the trend continued. Summit seemed to have control of the ball for the majority of the time, but had no way to get through the Cranford back line. As the clock ticked down inside of 15 minutes, a scoreless end to regulation seemed inevitable.  However, with just under 12 minutes in the half, Cranford won a free kick from a dangerous position. With the ball placed just past midfield, Jake Burke stepped up to take the kick and sent a beautiful ball to the back post finding Logan Welch, the man of the match, who tipped the ball into the Summit net. Cranford took advantage of their first scoring opportunity of the second half and found themselves 10 minutes away from rewriting program history.  With new found energy after the goal, Cranford pressed Summit, and prevented the Hilltoppers from even sniffing a dangerous opportunity. Welch and the rest of the back line anchored by Jake Burke, Collin Rielly, and Brandyn Grant raced to every ball, closing off angles. Keith Skupeen handled the ball calmly, preventing Summit from scoring and tying the game.  As the final seconds ran off the clock, the Cougars sideline was brought to pure elation, and the numerous students who made the trip sprinted onto the field to help celebrate the historic win.  The festivities continued late into the night. The Cougars were given a police escort and a hero’s welcome upon their return home. A program defining victory, the once 0-2 Cougars were Sectional Champs.

The soccer-fever in Cranford hadn’t concluded yet, when, on Saturday afternoon, the Girls Soccer Team traveled north to take on the top seeded team in the bracket, and the 11th ranked team in the state- the Chatham Cougars. Cranford knew a huge challenge was on their hands.  Up to this point in the tournament, Chatham had outscored their opponents by an incredible margin of 22-1. A high-powered attack and a tricky defense meant that Cranford would need to be on their top game. As the game kicked off, Chatham showed their danger up front, and Cranford showed their ability to rise to the occasion. Even though Chatham controlled the run of play, defenders Erin Walsh and Claire Gregersen wouldn’t let Chatham through. Time after time, the center backs were willing to step up and single handedly prevent Chatham from having any high quality shots. Just like the previous afternoon, the defense kept their team in the game, and when needed, goalkeeper Vanessa Kelly was ready to help keep the shutout intact.  The horn sounded and both teams went to the sidelines in a scoreless game.

As play resumed, Chatham continued on the front foot, and Cranford’s defense continued to play an incredible game. However, with 15 minutes on the clock, Chatham won a freekick just outside of the 18 yard box. Even though the Cranford defense was perfect all afternoon, all they could do was watch as Alex Donoghue sent a beautiful shot into the net. With 15 minutes to go, a team who had produced so many memorable comebacks needed one more to save their season. Immediately after the goal, Cranford changed the run of play and found themselves pressing, multiple times on the door step of an equalizer. With about five minutes to go, Isabella Reibarkh took the ball into the box, looked to turn towards the center, and was tripped.  A penalty shot was awarded to Cranford. Ariana Shaw calmly stepped up and put the ball into the bottom corner, sending the final into overtime. Cranford continued to push in the extra period, completely changing the pace of the first and most of the second half. For a minute, Cranford even thought they had the comeback complete, putting the ball across the goal line, only for the play to be called back for offsides. Regulation and overtime wasn’t enough to separate the teams, so penalty kicks would have to be. During the penalty kicks, both goalkeepers were outstanding. After falling behind early, goalkeeper Vanessa Kelly did everything she could to continue the season, saving half of the shots she faced. However, it simply wasn’t meant to be. Although Cranford scored on their first penalty shot, Chatham goalkeeper Charlotte Nelson didn’t allow any further goals, stopping the next three shots she faced and ending the Cranford season. A fantastic season had ended in the most gut-wrenching way possible for Cranford. A team who was so close to pulling an all-time shocker fell just short and the players who made it all possible were brought to tears on the sideline. A more than valiant effort was recognized by the incredible number of Cranford fans who made the trip, as well as some Chatham fans, who gave Cranford a standing ovation as they exited the field.

It is safe to say it was an exciting two days for Cranford Soccer. Even though it was a heart-breaking end to the season for the Girls Soccer Team, they have so much to be proud of.  A fantastic season which saw the Cougars advance to the County and Sectional finals was filled with so many memorable victories and comebacks. For the Boys Soccer Team, the title marks the first in their program’s history.