Middletown North shakes up the rankings with a 4-2 win over No. 6 Trinity Hall

MIDDLETOWN – Some call it an upset when an unranked team beats a ranked team, others call it lack of respect. Middletown North hosted No. 6 Trinity Hall in a Shore Conference Tournament Group 7 game and showed the Shore Conference it belongs with the best. 

After giving up a goal 1:21 into the game and trailing by a goal at halftime, the Lions responded with four second-half goals to not only earn three points in their Shore Conference Tournament group, but also shake up the standings with a 4-2 victory. 

“We wanted to earn our spot,” Middletown North coach Dan Kelly said. “We started out 3-0 and we knew this was a big game going against Trinity, and we just said just, ‘Go earn your spot,’ and they did.”

After two shutout victories to start the season in which they scored nine goals, Middletown North (4-0) had a hard-fought 2-1 Class B North win against Freehold Boro on Tuesday, when they struggled to find the back of the net. The Lions rebounded with four goals against a team that only allowed three goals one time last season. 

“Last year we would go down 1-0 and check out a little bit and put our heads down,” Kelly said. “Our mentality this year is to just keep grinding. We had a tough game against Freehold Boro and could not get goals, but we scored in the last minute. We just have to keep grinding to get wins.”

The Monarchs’ first goal was scored by Caroline Ferguson, who put home a rebound after a diving save by Loralai Davis on a previous shot. Junior Sofia Chaknis tied the game for the Lions four minutes into the second half on a beautiful pass by Charlie Brink. Brink, a freshman, leads the team with five assists, and scored the last goal of the game with 13 seconds remaining. 

“From Day One they just started and were incorporated right into the lineup in our summer tournaments,” said Kelly about his strong freshman class. “Right from the start they just go. They don’t even think they are 14 years old, and they play with the big 18-year-old girls with no problem.”

Trinity Hall (3-1) was able to break the tie in the 52nd minute when Ryan Raynor fed Bette Kane just inside the 18-yard line, and Kane buried it in the back of the net. Middletown North tied the game back 10 minutes later when freshman Peyton Kulka took advantage of an empty net from 30 yards away. Trinity Hall goalie Emily Venezia came out about 35 yards to clear the ball, but the Lions were able to apply pressure and create a turnover. 

Middletown North broke the tie when Chaknis scored her second goal of the game with 11:32 left. Off a Lions corner kick, Trinity Hall tried to clear the ball, but it went to Chaknis, who played with a broken wrist, just outside the 18-yard line. She was able to float it over Venezia’s hands. 

“I was definitely affected by it a little bit in this game,” Chaknis said about her wrist. “Sometimes you just have to go hard to the ball and play through it. That’s what I learned as we were playing and they scored that first goal, I was like, ‘I need to wake up, and I have to go harder.'”

Play harder is exactly what Chaknis did. Chaknis, who led the Lions last year with 11 goals and 11 assists, played all over the field against Trinity Hall. After conceding the first goal, Kelly moved her to the backline and then back up front to start the second half.

After Middletown North took a 3-2 lead, she closed out the game on the backline and prevented the Monarchs from getting any chances to tie the game.

“Having her (Chaknis) be able to play up top and score goals and go into the back and play center back really helps our team,” Kelly said. “Being able to have the depth that we need to move things around, and her being able to do that really brings our team to the next level.”

Last season the Lions started the season 7-3, but ended 7-11-1. Middletown North went 0-3-1 against teams in the top 10 rankings, scoring only one goal in those games. The Lions lost 3-0 to Trinity Hall last season right before the state tournament started. The win against the Monarchs will show the Shore Conference’s top teams they will be in for a battle.

“This shows we are legit,” Chaknis said. “We are going to come as hard as we can this season. We have a lot to make up for from last year, and I think we made an impact on where we should be placed.”

Middletown North will travel to face another Top 10 team, Howell, on Wednesday in their second SCT Group stage game.