As the defense was fighting viciously to stop North Hunterdon from furthering their lead, goalie Haley Berger decisively dove down onto the field, saving an incredibly close shot, one of her many clutch saves during the game.
Despite hard work from both defense and offense, facing the No. 7 team in the state was a difficult feat for the Blue Devils. They were ultimately defeated 3-0, which was a strong loss for the team, having put up a fight for the entire game.
Seeing this loss on a score sheet would be deceiving because, regardless of the shutout against the Blue Devils, each player was in good spirits after this game. This was the game where they truly played as a team and worked as a cohesive unit. Senior co-captain and star defender Chloe Martin said, “We worked super well together, and there was a lot of talking, making sure everyone was marked up and stepping to the ball.”
North Hunterdon had 15 corners but scored on only 3, showing how strong the Blue Devils’ defense was all game.
Berger had a stand-out game, tallying 19 saves. Her drastic impact on this game allowed the Blue Devils to prevent North Hunterdon’s score from climbing. “Haley Berger today, she did not get any breaks, any room to breathe. She had some amazing saves, [following] amazing shots on her,” Head Coach Corrine Varhley said.
With her stellar performance, Berger was awarded the “Top Chef” distinction from her coaches, an award given to the most impactful player during each game. Berger said, “It feels really good to get Top Chef. I think I played really hard, and I think that everybody else played really hard too.”
Following a 2-0 lead by North Hunterdon during halftime, the Blue Devils knew they could not slow down the defensive momentum that they had accumulated. Following halftime, Varhley told the team to “Just stay composed. The other team was rattled; they were letting everything get to them. So we said, let’s play our game and make them work for it.”
Looking ahead, the Blue Devils have a lot to build off of from this game. The team looks to use this game as a stepping stone for their intense upcoming schedule. “Looking at our games next week, we have Johnson, we have Kent Place, we have Hillsboro, so there is like, no breaks for us. I knew that this was going to be a good game for us to prepare us for those highly competitive games,” Varley said.
In the coming weeks, the Blue Devils hope to use this loss as fuel, motivation and preparation for the entire season. The Blue Devils’ defense will be heavily counted on in games to come, thus allowing the offense to find success up top. Next up, they will face Johnson away on Sept. 16.
