October 19, 2010
Cougars stay focused in win
McNair junior Briana Miller had three goals and an assist in the second half.
Click Here for more photos from McNair at North Bergen.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
NORTH BERGEN – For McNair, the message was clear – its season was far from over.
A little more than 48 hours after an early elimination in the Hudson County Tournament, the Cougars bounced back with five second-half goals to knock off North Bergen 7-2 yesterday at Bruins Stadium.
“Losing that game is not what defines us,” said McNair head coach John Hughes about Saturday’s elimination. “What defines us is how we respond to those games and the kind of effort we put in when there might not be a tournament or a trophy to play for.”
“We’re all upset,” said forward Jessica Melendez. “But we knew we had to keep trying hard.”
After an uneven first half, the Cougars (10-4) responded with what might have been their strongest half of the season.
Melendez broke a 2-all tie with her goal in the 45th minute. The fast-paced McNair offense was only getting started as the proceeded to light the net for four more goals over the next 17 minutes to put it out of reach.
“In the second half I think you saw a much more of a possession game where my young midfielders were moving the ball,” Hughes said. “As long as we possess the ball, we’re tough to beat.
“We continue to wait for this team to put it together and play a complete game. But I think the second half of this game was as close as we’ve been in a while.”
Briana Miller was especially lethal on the offensive end in the second half of play with three goals. Miller, a junior buried home a Samantha Ascencio pass to make it 4-2 in the 48th minute. Nine minutes later, Miller a junior unleashed a perfectly-placed free kick just under the crossbar to make it 6-2. She would cap the scoring barrage when she headed in a Georgia Hilmer corner kick.
Miller and Melendez were in sync throughout the game. In the opening half Miller consistently looked for her offensive partner in crime and assisted on both of Melendez’s first-half goals.
“They have a phenomenal chemistry,” Hughes said. “They’re continuing to develop and they know where each other moves without the ball.”
Miller finished with three goals and three assists on the afternoon, while Melendez also had a hat trick in the victory.
Hilmer had a pair of assists and Victoria Bell notched her first goal of the season. Senior Brittany Miller made 13 saves in net.
North Bergen (5-9) was able to withstand the Cougars’ fire-power in the opening half behind a strong performance in net from keeper Ayeska Dipre and an opportunistic offense.
Dipre stopped 21 shots in the game, including three on Melendez within the game’s first 12 minutes.
Moments after Melendez put McNair in front 2-1 in the 17th minute, the Bruins’ Jazmin Palma responded right back with a goal of her own to tie it back up.
“You just have to stay (calm),” said Melendez. “You can’t get frustrated because if you get frustrated you don’t play well.”
Doris Guadalupe added a goal and an assist for North Bergen in defeat.
While the Cougars continue to prepare themselves for the upcoming state tournament, they’ll have a chance to extract some revenge tomorrow when they face the same Holy Family team which eliminated them for the County Tournament on Saturday.
