The 2025 season for Dave Patterson and the Patriots Girls Soccer team was full of sky-high expectations.
Two straight Shore Conference titles. A 12-6 record the previous season. A defeat of Point Pleasant Boro in the SCT Final, but an early NJSIAA Tournament exit. Unfinished business was to be taken care of.
However, their regular season did not exactly go to plan. The team ended with a 6-10-2 regular season (2-5 Shore), biting off more than they could chew following the graduations of their previous two senior classes. They went 3-2 at home, and 2-6 on the road in the regular season. A 2-1 loss to Point Pleasant Boro in the Shore Conference Tournament’s 2nd round ended their run at a three-peat of conference titles. A loss to the team they had beaten the previous season.
But all of a sudden, when the NSJIAA State Tournament came, everything changed.
They just kept winning. And winning. And winning.
First, on November 4, senior Reese Metcalfe scored the winning goal to defeat Marlboro at home, 1-0. On a Saturday, November 8 morning, they hosted #3 ranked Old Bridge. And they won again, 3-2, thanks to freshman Morgan Notaro’s two-goal day.
The team had also noticed that two familiar foes were still alive in the tournament. The 16-4 Howell Rebels, and the 19-0 Manalapan Braves, the team that had taken the Shore Conference title away from them in late October. The Patriots’ regular-season record against these two teams? 0-2, with a 5-1 home loss to Howell on September 29, and a 4-1 road loss to Manalapan on October 6.
FTHS had to travel to Howell following their defeat of the Knights, full of determination and commitment toward keeping their momentum strong. And this rematch did not disappoint. Down 1-0 thanks to a header into the goal from freshman Alyssa Skierski, Notaro won the battle at the point of attack. Late in the second half, she kicked the ball past Rebel keeper Leila Shaw, and the game was tied at 1 apiece.
The score remained tied after the overtime period, calling for penalty kicks. Patriot keeper Violet Matthews rose up from the jaws of defeat. She recorded a clutch save off Rebel sophomore Bella Farinick, who had missed her entire freshman season due to a torn ACL. 2023 Shore Conference Freshman of the Year Makenzie Memmolo’s PK sailed too high above the goal, and the Patriots would walk away with a stunning rematch victory and a trip to the State Sectional Final.
And it was against the vile Manalapan team. A team that had not fallen all season. A team the Patriots had lost to in the regular season, and had given up a hat trick to Olivia Zioboro.
But Coach Patterson’s team was not going to give up so easily. Never in a million years.
They came into Manalapan, shocked the crowd, and pulled off the unthinkable. Did Zioboro end up scoring? What about Monmouth commit Daniella Butash, or perhaps Wagner commit Constantina “Dina” Papadakis? Absolutely not. A 1-0 shutout victory over the powerhouse in another rematch.
And guess who had the game-winning goal? Junior Sihera Karce, who had been called up to the team for the SCT and postseason, and had missed her freshman season two years ago due to a torn ACL. She sent the ball in from 30 yards deep, too much for junior keeper Aryanna Lake to handle.
It was the perfect call-up, at the perfect time. Karce aims to remain a key piece to the roster during her senior season in 2026.
The magical season came to an end on November 19, after a 1-0 road loss to Cherokee in the NJSIAA Group 4 Semifinal.
The class of 2029 has now added its name to the illustrious list of those who have won a Girls Soccer title at FTHS. Next season, Township aims to add the class of 2030 to the list, repeat in the State Sectionals, and get their SCT title back after a year’s hiatus.
Soccer season will resume in late August 2026 with scrimmages, featuring the incoming 2030 class. Stay Classy, Patriot Nation!
