Wall Girls Soccer Team Reaches Group 2 Final

WALL, NJ — For the second straight year, the Wall Township High School girls soccer team is playing for an overall state championship.

The Crimson Knights advanced to the NJSIAA Group 2 final by defeating Cinnaminson in penalty kicks Tuesday night, according to a report on NJ.com. The teams tied 1-1 through regulation and overtime, but Wall advanced int he seventh round of penalty kicks when Lauren Karabin buried her penalty kick beyond the reach of a diving Cinnaminson goalkeeper.

Wall goalkeeper Jordan Cheche stopped two shots during the shootout, according to the report.

Wall plays Westwood in the Group 2 final, scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Kean University. Westwood was a 1-0 winner over Hanover Park in the other semifinal.

Junior Courtney Carduner gave Wall a 1-0 lead over Cinnaminson off a pass from Marissa Sciorilli. Cinnaminson tied the game just before halftime, and the two teams then battled through the second half and the two overtime periods without being able to score.

Wall, which tied Northern Highlands to share the Group 3 title last year, is 23-1-2 on the season. The Crimson Knights have won Shore Conference Class B North (with only a tie marring a perfect division record), and they defeated favored Freehold Township to win the Shore Conference Tournament before winning the Central Jersey Group 2 title this year.

(Northern Highlands, which had won the Group 3 title in six of the last eight years, was knocked out by Middletown South Tuesday night, with the Eagles winning 1-0.)

Seniors Lauren Karabin (39 goals, 35 assists in her career) and her sister Jenna Karabin (35 goals, 20 assists in her career) have been part of a powerful 1-2-3 punch for the Knights, along with senior Amy Paternoster, who suffered a foot injury, according to the NJ.com report. Jenna Karabin, who had a hat trick in the Shore Conference Tournament championship game, scored twice in the shootout Tuesday night.

Cheche, a sophomore, has 63 saves on the season.

Logo via Wall Township School District website