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Girls soccer team posts 3-0-2 mark in Brazil
(by Brian Farrell - July 16, 2008)
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Staff Photo By Brian Farrell
Mahwah’s Kristy Larsen and Emily Secor, left, and Randolph’s Chelsea Wuesthoff and Teaneck’s Alexis Banks of the North Jersey All-Stars soccer team hold the American flag in pre-game ceremonies in Montanha in the State of
Espirito Santo . The
Jersey girls, before a standing room only crowd, posted a 4-0 victory. On the left is the team’s athletic trainer, Karen Hartigan, and standing next to her is Emerson’s Victoria Berg, one of the two goalkeepers on the team. On the right is the team’s coach, Roberto Ferman. This American flag flew over the
United States
Capitol
Building and was acquired by United States Congressman Scott Garrett, who serves
New Jersey ’s 5th Congressional District where most of the 16 players reside. Congressman Garrett gave ten American flags that flew over the
Capitol
Building to the North Jersey All-Stars team to present as gifts in Brazil
.
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The North Jersey All-Stars girls soccer team concluded its second annual tour of the State of
Espirito Santo along the East Coast of Brazil unbeaten in outdoor play, posting a 3-0-2 mark to give the team a two-year record of 6-0-2 on grass.
In futsal, the Brazilians’ indoor soccer played with a smaller, heavier ball, and a sport in which they are most proficient,
North Jersey went 0-4 and is now 0-5-1 in two years of play.
The team, comprised of 16 high school girls, mostly from
Bergen
County , returned to the on July 8 after departing June 26 from
JFK
Airport on the Brazilian Airline TAM.
“After returning to for a second time, we still faced great competition, because that’s where the best soccer in the world is,” said North Jersey Coach Roberto Ferman. “We know that our team was competitive because we [in the ] have one of the best women’s soccer in the world.”
“Futsal is soccer in a different dimension, and we definitely have some years to catch up with the Brazilians,” Ferman said. “It’s part of what makes the Brazilians the best in the world in soccer, because the combination of futsal and outdoor soccer is a great mix of good soccer. For them, playing soccer is like dancing the samba with the feelings they have in their hearts with the music. That’s why they make playing soccer so simple.”
North Jersey started its nine-game tour on June 30 with a 4-0 win in Montanha.
Glen Rock’s Sam Trotta kicked off the scoring for North Jersey’s tour with a first-half goal, assisted by Sparta‘s Danielle D’Avanzo. Scoring the goals in the second half were Teaneck’s Alexis Banks,
Wyckoff ’s Janelle Biagini (Ramapo), assisted by Banks, and Waldwick’s Mimi Kocela, assisted by Biagini.
Emerson’s Victoria Berg made two saves in the first half, and Mahwah’s Emily Secor guarded the net in the second half.
On July 1,
North Jersey lost two futsal games, 2-0 to its host city, Sao Mateus, and 3-2 to Jaguare.
On July 2, the squad traveled to Nova Venecia, ’s largest granite producing region, and lost two futsal games, 3-1 to Montanha and 6-1 to Nova Venecia. Scoring the futsal goals for North Jersey were Mahwah’s Allison Sokolik, who netted two,
Kearny ’s Rosemary Garganta and Northvale’s Sarah Royse (Old Tappan).
On July 3, North Jersey played a 1-1 tie with Sao Mateus, the number-two ranked team in the State of
Espirito Santo . Biagini, on a pass from Sokolik, scored with two minutes left in the first half to tie the game. Secor made five saves in the first half, and Berg had three saves in the second half.
On July 4, the team traveled to Jaguare on a rainy night and slipped out of town with a 2-0 victory. Biagini, on an assist from
Lyndhurst ’s Nicolle Sanchez (DePaul), scored her third goal of the tour, and Sanchez, on an assist by Glen Rock’s Ashley Tourso, tallied the other goal. Berg recorded one save in the first half, and Secor had one save in the second half.
On July 5, Biagini struck again, twice, as the forward notched her fourth and fifth goals of the tour to lead North Jersey to a 4-2 victory in Sao Gabriel, a chief exporter of coffee to the .
Biagini tallied her team’s first goal unassisted, and D’Avanzo, on an assist from Mahwah’s Brielle Heitman, also scored to give
North Jersey a 2-1 halftime lead. Waldwick’s Mimi Kocela took a pass from Trotta and kicked in the third goal, and then Biagini, on an assist by Banks, got her second goal.
Secor and Berg each recorded two saves.
On July 6, North Jersey concluded its tour with a 2-2 tie in Vitoria, the capitol of the State of
Espirito Santo . On her mother Kathy’s birthday, Sam Trotta scored both goals for the team.
Vitoria was up 1-0 at halftime but Trotta evened matters in the 13th minute of the second half by beating two defenders and cutting back for an angled shot that sailed into the upper right corner. With seven minutes left, Trotta gave
North Jersey the lead on a counterattack. She took a pass from Sanchez a few yards outside the penalty area and drilled a 23-yard shot past the goalkeeper for her third goal of the tour.
Vitoria tied the game with three minutes remaining.
Berg played the first half and made five saves, and Secor also registered five saves in the second half.
Prior to the match, Kathy Trotta, standing on the field, received a surprise birthday greeting, as the Brazilian fans in the stands sung “Happy Birthday” to her in Portuguese.
Also prior to the game, a representative of the Governor of the State of Espirito Santo presented a state flag to the
North Jersey team to present to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine.
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