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Kinnelon’s 1-0 win made history as they reached the Morris County girls' soccer finals for the first time in school history. The Colts beat Morristown in a strong defensive showing and withstood Morristown’s persistent attack the entire game.
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The first half was dominated by Morristown moving the ball well through the middle of the field. On a corner kick play, Morristown was denied by no fewer than three saves by senior goalkeeper Katie Burke, along with a clearance by defender Marial Flood. The rest of the first half didn’t yield any more concrete chances by either team.
The second half again was played in Kinnelon’s half of the field from the start. Morristown was dictating the game and kept pressuring and created opportunities. However on one of their very few chances, the Colts were able to convert and take the lead on a shot from outside the box by senior captain Megan Hartline. The shot slipped through the hands of the Colonials' keeper.
Having dominated the game and seeing Kinnelon go up 1-0 seemed to deflate Morristown. They kept pushing up into Kinnelon’s box but most of their shots were rushed and off line.
The difference was the noteworthy performance of senior captain goalie Katie Burke. With the shutout, Burke achieved the school career soccer shutout record. Burke was able to anticipate balls played into the box by the Morristown’s offense.
When asked about her performance, Burke said, “It was a team effort, the defense played really hard." Coach Steve Racine was also complimentary to his defense praising them for a terrific effort.
As they head into uncharted territory, Kinnelon will continue to work hard to conquer their first county soccer title in school sports history. The seventh-seeded Colts will play fifth seed Randolph, who surprised the top seed Roxbury 2-0 in the other semifinal. The game is scheduled for Sunday, November 2, at noon at Chatham's Cougar Field. --Emir Ligouri
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