Déjà Vu: Trinity Hall Wins Another PK Battle with Central, Advances to SCT Final

NEPTUNE — For the third consecutive season, Central and Trinity Hall needed more than 100 minutes of soccer to settle their Shore Conference Tournament showdown. Once again, neither team could break through in regulation or overtime, leaving penalty kicks to determine which side would advance.

After falling behind early in the shootout, Trinity Hall rallied for a dramatic 4-3 victory in six rounds, earning a trip to SCT championship game for the second consecutive season, where the Monarchs will face 10th-seeded Toms River South.

“You cannot explain this,” Trinity Hall head coach Patrick Trombetta said. “I said to Marykate (Sullivan) before the game we should just go right to penalty kicks. I think they outplayed us for a good part of that game. We are a team that can bend, but we will not break. I cannot say enough about us staying in the game.”

Two heroes emerged for the Monarchs in the shootout. Senior goalkeeper O’Neal Hile delivered three consecutive saves to keep Trinity Hall alive, while junior Reese Kelly converted both of her penalty kicks, including the decisive attempt in the sixth round.

Kelly, who spent nearly the entire 100 minutes on the bench, entered the shootout and buried her attempt in the third round. When the Monarchs needed a sixth shooter, there was some uncertainty over who would step forward. Kelly answered the call, blasting her shot into the upper-right corner to give Trinity Hall a 4-3 advantage.

“I was looking back at Coach T and was like what are we doing here, and he did not say anything,” Grace Greene said. “After that we just picked for ourselves. Reese (Kelly) went and she is such a good PK taker. She steps up every single practice, especially leading up to the tournament, we take five each and Reese is always on top every time.”

Central seized the early advantage when junior goalkeeper Gianna Lawrence made a diving save on Trinity Hall’s opening attempt. Leah DiCillo followed with a conversion to put the Golden Eagles ahead after the first round.

The Golden Eagles maintained their advantage through three rounds, taking a 3-2 lead into the fourth. Lawrence then came up with her second save of the shootout, giving Central an opportunity to finish off the Monarchs. Hile, however, had other plans.

The senior goalkeeper made the first of three consecutive saves to keep Trinity Hall’s championship hopes alive. Greene followed with a low shot into the left corner in the fifth round, pulling the Monarchs even.

“I cannot say enough about the girls and the PK’s,” Trombetta said. “Reese Kelly did not play a second in the game and comes in off the bench and when it came down to kick number six she said she had it. You do not see that too much from players. We practice every day and she is one of our top PK takers. You need to remember though she is sitting on the bench for 100 minutes and she had about 30 seconds to get warm.”

With the shootout tied, Hile denied freshman Annie Napolitano on a hard shot to force a sixth round. Kelly then stepped forward and delivered the go-ahead goal before Hile made one final save on DiCillo’s attempt, setting off a celebration as the Monarchs punched their ticket to the championship game.

“She (Hile) has grown a lot from the start of the season,” Trombetta said. “She has not given up a goal since the first game of the season. We were splitting time with the keepers and I said based on the stats I have to go with O’Neal. She is the senior and has the maturity. I said I am going to go with her in the tournament and she has delivered. Three straight saves to end the shootout.”

Penalty-kick shootouts often become a battle of instincts. Even with scouting reports and film study, goalkeepers must make split-second decisions, knowing shooters can change their approach at any moment.

For Hile, trusting her instincts proved to be the difference.

“We went a little more off their habits,” Hile said. “I decided things were not lining up. I decided I’m gonna go with my gut and things started working out for us.”

Before the shootout drama, the two teams had spent 100 minutes locked in a defensive battle that featured few quality scoring opportunities.

Central controlled much of the possession and consistently pressured Trinity Hall’s backline, but the Monarchs remained organized defensively and prevented the Golden Eagles from finding a breakthrough.

One of Central’s best opportunities came with 7:49 remaining in regulation when senior Brianna Daly raced down the sideline and sent a dangerous ball across the face of the goal. However, no Golden Eagles player was in position to finish the chance.

Central came even closer to ending the game in the second overtime, striking the crossbar with 6:40 remaining.

At the heart of Trinity Hall’s defensive effort was Greene, a four-year starter who repeatedly prevented Central’s forwards from getting behind the backline. The senior center back demonstrated why she is regarded as one of the Shore Conference’s top defenders, using her experience and composure to organize the Monarchs’ young defensive unit.

“She (Greene) is the glue and the quarterback of the backline,” Trombetta said. “She is so composed and never gets rattled. She settles the underclassmen in. You saw the corner kick at the end of the game how quickly she got up the field to try to do something before the time expired. It is the experience that she has and the game smarts.”

For Central and Trinity Hall, the circumstances were remarkably familiar.

The two programs have now played three consecutive SCT meetings without either team scoring a goal through 100 minutes. Trinity Hall prevailed in last year’s quarterfinals, winning the shootout 3-0 after Central failed to convert any of its attempts. In 2024, it was the Golden Eagles who emerged victorious on penalty kicks following another scoreless draw.

This time, the Monarchs once again found a way to survive.

“We are both known for our strong defenses,” Greene said. “I think it comes down to who wants it more at the end. We run every single day during the summer, every single practice, and we proved it to ourselves.”

Trinity Hall will face 10th-seeded Toms River South in Saturday’s SCT championship game at Summerfield Elementary School in Neptune. Despite entering the tournament as the No. 10 seed after failing to win their pool, the Indians currently occupy the top spot in the Shore Sports Insider rankings and will present another difficult challenge for the Monarchs.

The championship matchup also gives Trinity Hall an opportunity to avenge one of its earlier defeats. Toms River South edged the Monarchs, 1-0, in overtime on October 5th, and the two teams will now meet again with much larger stakes.

For Trinity Hall, Saturday represents a chance to finish what it could not a year ago. The Monarchs are returning to the SCT final for the second consecutive season after falling to Manalapan, 3-1, in last year’s championship game.

With a veteran core that experienced last season’s disappointment, Trombetta believes his team is prepared for another opportunity to capture the title.

“Why not us?,” Trombetta said. “We have been here before. We have about 13, 14 players that returned from last year’s team and know how it feels to play in a big game. I have all the respect for Toms River South and they are a fantastic team. They did a number today in the first game. They have a lot of speed and a lot of weapons so we are going to have our hands full.”