Manchester Girls Soccer Team Making Its Marks In 2017

MANCHESTER, NJ — When the Manchester Township girls soccer team gathered for practices last summer, Coach Wes Moore believed he had a team that was prepared to do some special things this season.

With 10 seniors, including a pair of Division I commits, experience ran deep. What Moore knew the Hawks needed was that belief in themselves, the kind of belief that carries you through challenges.

"We're one of the most experienced teams in the area," Moore said Monday evening. "Expectations were high. But I knew we had to get over some hurdles and win some games we don't normally win" for the players to see in themselves what everyone on the outside saw: a team capable of making some serious noise not only for 2017 but going forward.

On Sept. 21, when the Hawks beat Point Pleasant Boro, 3-1, Moore said, that's when he knew the team was headed for the special season it's had.

"In well over 10 years of (the school's) history books we had never beaten Point Boro," Moore said. The Panthers have perennially been one of the top teams in Shore Conference Class B South. "Once they got that one, they bought in; they were believing what the rest of us knew they could do."

What Moore knew they could do — and what they've since achieved — set a new high-water mark for Manchester's girls soccer program.

• A share of the Class B South championship, the first in school history for the girls soccer program
• The first home Shore Conference Tournament game and first SCT game victory (a 2-1 win over St. Rose)
• A school record for victories (The previous mark was 13 wins)
• A first home state playoff game and first home state playoff win.

That last one was achieved Monday afternoon, when the Hawks hosted Delran in the opening round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group II tournament. Third-seeded Manchester won, 2-0, and advances to a Thursday game — also at home — against the winner of the matchup between sixth-seeded Cedar Creek and 11th-seeded Middle Township. That game was postponed to Tuesday in the wake of the weekend storms.

The Hawks' leading scorer, A'Liah Moore, has gotten plenty of attention. Committed to play to Monmouth University, A'Liah Moore has focused on being the key to the Hawks' offense, scoring 30 goals this season and adding 9 assists. For her career she has 86 goals, along with 45 assists. She will have the school records in both categories when the Hawks' season ends.

A'Liah Moore isn't a one-player show, however. Senior Julia Giaccone, who's committed to Division I Jacksonville, anchors the defense as the center back. And Wes Moore said seniors Brianna Carver, Daysha Baca and Amanda Ramirez have provided important support as well. A'Liah Moore, Carver, Baca and Giaccone all are four-year starters and Ramirez is a three-year starter, he said.

While the seniors have been the backbone, there have been younger players who've stepped up as well. Freshman Rachel Morris has seven goals and at 14 assists, is one shy of the school's single-season record.

In the back, sophomore Carley Polchak has stepped into the full-time goalkeeping role after splitting games in 2016 with Claire Said, a transition necessitated, Wes Moore said, when Said suffered a concussion during the preaseason.

Polchak has blossomed, recording six shutouts including in Monday's state tournament victory, and has allowed more than one goal just seven times, three times in games Manchester won. She has 180 saves this season and has allowed 23 goals for a save percentage of .887 and a goals-against average of 1.09.

"Carley has been fantastic," Wes Moore said. "She's been really, really strong and composed," even as the pressure has increased, which he attributes in part to the veteran defense in front of her, which includes Giaccone and a pair of juniors.

Giaccone has been been a steadying influence, setting the tempo out of the back.

"She's very, very smart and her soccer IQ is off the charts," Moore said. "Julia is like another coach on the field. That has helped Carley not be in over her head" with trying to direct the team. At the same time, Moore said, the experience Polchak is gaining this year will help her next year when she needs to step into that leadership role.

While A'Liah Moore gets the lion's share of the attention, Wes Moore said it's not something that creates issues.

"Everyone is OK with their roles," he said, saying there is no battle for the spotlight because they understand everyone has a job that gets all of them nearer the team goals of leaving their mark in the school's history books.

"Two years ago this group of seniors won (in the state playoffs) at Oakcrest, in an upset in PKs," Wes Moore said. "They vowed 2 years ago that they were going to make a run." The team went from winning four games in Wes Moore's first year and chasing everyone else to now being the team everyone is giving their best effort to beat.

A win in the opening round of the Shore Conference Tournament — a 2-0 win over St. Rose — and a hard-fought loss to Toms River North in the second round — "We gave Toms River North everything we had," he said, adding they led the game 1-0 and had 11 shots on goal — have only fueled the confidence.

"It's a totally new vibe," he said.

It's hard to know how far it will take them, because the NJSIAA tournament has surprises every year. But the confidence is rising and it's clear the team isn't ready for the ride to end just yet.

"It’s awesome for the team and it's awesome for the school's sports," he said, and they welcome the attention. "It’s been a long time coming, but we're happy to have it."

Here's Manchester's record, game-by-game, through Monday, Oct. 30. Thursday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Manchester.

• Barnegat, W 2-0
• Donovan, W 3-1
• Pinelands, W 5-3
• Lacey, L 2-0
• Point Beach, W 1-0
• Lakewood, W 5-1
• Point Boro, W 3-1
• Jackson Liberty, W 6-2
• Barnegat, W 4-1
• Donovan, W 2-0
• Pinelands, W 4-2
• Lacey, L 2-0
• Point Boro, L 2-1
• Jackson Liberty, W 1-0
• St. Rose (SCT), W 2-1
• TR North (SCT), L 2-1
• Lakewood, W 8-0
• Neptune, W 4-1
• Central, W 2-1
• Southern, L 1-0
• Delran (NJSIAA tournament), W 2-0

Members of the team, based on the roster on NJ.com:

• Jennifer Amaro
• Daysha Baca
• Gabriela Batiato
• Samantha Batiato
• Morgan Brustman
• Brianna Carver
• Haley Damato
• Julia Giaccone
• Chloe Graham
• Olivia Hand
• Taylor Hickey
• A'Liah Moore
• Rachel Morris
• Elizabeth Oliver
• Carley Polchak
• Amanda Ramirez
• Nicole Rasmussen
• Claire Said
• Kayleigh Sharry
• Angela Thomas

Photo of the 2017 Manchester girls soccer team, courtesy of coach Wes Moore