Lawrence denies Steinert CVC Valley Division title

HAMILTON >> The Lawrence High girls soccer team knew it was the spoiler.

It played the role to perfection.

Kaitlyn Maloney scored late in the first half, Antonia Karpontinis made 10 saves and the Cardinals denied Steinert the CVC Valley Division title with a 1-0 victory on Thursday afternoon.

“We came in here wanting to win because we wanted to win,” Lawrence coach Emily Palombo said. “That was a motivating factor and I think they knew they could play with Steinert. We wanted to prove that and redeem ourselves from last week with MCT where we didn’t feel like we played a great game.”

The Spartans (11-5, 24 points) had to win or else Hopewell Valley would be crowned division champion. The Bulldogs (26 points) won the head-to-head meeting, but because all games count in the CVC (3 points for a division win, 2 for a cross-division win and 1 for a tie) it came down to this contest.

“It’s like there’s a plastic cover in front of the goal right now,” said Steinert coach Mike Hastings, whose side has been shut out in two straight games. “It’s harder to do what we’re doing than actually score a goal. It’s frustrating. The effort was there in the second half.”

The Cardinals (9-6-2, 22 points) finished fourth in what ended up a tight division race. Nottingham (24 points) tied with Steinert for second.

“Congrats to Hopewell,” Karpontinis said. “They deserve it.”

The Spartans piled on the pressure in the second half and nearly scored when Kailey Conner hit the crossbar with 21 minutes remaining. Karpontinis also pushed a pair of Gabby DeLisa efforts over the bar.

“The last five minutes, I kept looking back and was like, ‘C’mon, we got this,’” Karpontinis said. “Even like the last couple seconds, I kept getting flashbacks to the Montgomery game (where they scored late). The way we held them down for that long, it was great.”

Maloney scored the game’s lone goal with 9:09 left in the first half when she took a pass from Evelin Dapprich and rounded the goalkeeper. As Steinert pushed forward for an equalizer, the Cards almost ended it in the last eight minutes, but goalkeeper Katherine Calle smothered Sarah Berardi’s attempt and two minutes later Lauren Edgar was correctly judged offside which negated a second goal.

“I couldn’t watch that last corner,” Palombo said. “I told them we would have to withstand a barrage.”

Both teams turn their attention to the Central Jersey Group III playoffs next week. Steinert is the No. 3 seed, while Lawrence is the No. 9 seed.

“The best part about being in the state tournament is you’re 0-0 and so is everybody else,” Hastings said. “You get to start all over again.”

Lawrence (9-6-2) 1 0 - 1

Steinert (11-5) 0 0 - 0

Goals: Maloney (L); Assists: Dapprich (L); Shots: 9 (L). 16 (S); Saves: Karpontinis 10 (L). Calle 6 (S).