Jackson Memorial Girls Soccer Steamrolls to First Sectional Title Since 2010
JACKSON TWP. — Jackson Memorial head coach Sean Bayha was optimistic about the future of his program heading into the season, but after a rash of injuries and an early exit from the Shore Conference Tournament, it seemed any trophies the Jaguars might have in their near future might not come until 2025 and beyond.
Instead, that NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III championship trophy was on the grounds at Jackson Memorial High School on Thursday afternoon. From the very first whistle, the Jaguars went out and took it.
Sophomore Ella Cooke helped produce a pair of goals within the first eight minutes and junior Faith Moroney tacked on two more as Jackson Memorial — the No. 3 seed in the Central Group 3 bracket — dominated the sectional final from start to finish in a 4-1 win over No. 5 Lawrence. When the final whistle sounded, Jackson Memorial celebrated its first sectional championship since 2010, when the Jaguars won the second of back-to-back Central Jersey Group IV titles.
Senior Sammy Ifantis (18) and her teammates celebrates Jackson Memorial’s Central Group 3 championship. (Photo: Matt Manley)
The Jaguars will face unbeaten South Jersey champion Shawnee (23-0) on Monday in the Group 3 semifinals. The Renegades beat Ocean City, 2-0, on Thursday and are currently ranked No. 3 in the state by NJ Advance Media.
The end of Jackson Memorial’s 14-year championship drought seemed a pipe dream when the Jaguars were riddled with injuries in the middle of the season, at one point playing without five starters. Bayha and his team kept the dream of a championship season alive heading into the state tournament with a 6-10-1 record and a roster that was slowly rounding into good health. However unsightly the Jaguars’ record, they drew the No. 3 seed in a wide-open section and were about close to whole again.
“We were held together with duct tape and hope,” Bayha joked. “We didn’t know which of the two was going to be stronger.
Final in Central Group 3: No. 3 Jackson Memorial 4, No. 5 Lawrence 1. Jackson Memorial is a sectional champion in girls soccer for the 1st time since 2010. pic.twitter.com/ezEJ5PoMIm
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) November 14, 2024
“I can’t say enough about the upperclassmen that stepped in while those girls were hurt. They gave us quality minutes and helped us grow together. We played better, even though we didn’t have some of our better players.”
With a lineup close to the one Bayha envisioned at the start of the season — sophomore Khushneet Singh missed Thursday’s game, but will be cleared to play next week, according to Bayha — Jackson Memorial was at its most dangerous. The Jaguars created two dangerous chances in the first eight minutes, the second of which resulted in the first goal of the game. Both were initiated by sophomore Madison Fagliarone.
“We talked about how this was going to be a raucous environment today, as opposed to a regular girls soccer game,” Bayha said. “These girls (from Lawrence) coming in here were not expecting this, and we needed to jump right on top of them. Credit to them, they did. Our offense has never played better than it did today. We were firing on all cylinders in that first half.”
Returning from her own injury absence, Fagliarone was denied on a breakaway in the sixth minute and got another chance two minutes later. She collected a cross from Moroney and slammed a shot off the right post. The ball rolled to the front of the goal, where Cooke pounced for the follow-up and the first score of the game.
After Madison Fagliarone rings the post, Ella Cooke buries the rebound to give Jackson Memorial a 1-0 lead on Lawrence in the 8th minute. pic.twitter.com/KHMWxGq22b
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) November 14, 2024
“I’m always there for the rebound,” Cooke said. “I wanted that goal really bad, and I was in the right place at the right time for it.”
Jackson Memorial added two more goals before halftime, both assisted by Cooke on corner kicks. The sophomore served up a ball that freshman Zia Gould headed inside the near-right post for a 2-0 lead in the 11th minute.
“It’s all about placement,” Cooke said. “I want to get it in the right place so my teammates can get there and do something with it.”
Cooke’s goal and two assists on Thursday were the continuation of a huge state tournament for the sophomore forward. Of her team-leading nine goals and seven assists, six of the goals and three of the assists have come during the NJSIAA Tournament over the last two weeks.
Jackson gets its first corner kick in the 11th minute and cashes in. Zia Gould heads in the cross from Ella Cooke and the Jags have an early 2-0 lead on Lawrence. pic.twitter.com/EgnE9pYj2m
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) November 14, 2024
“She is half the size of some of the girls out there, but she is a super-smart soccer player,” Bayha said. “She has been dealing with being undersized her whole life, and she finds crevices, she finds gaps, she is super tough and you can’t measure how much heart she has. She has been our primary offensive focus, and she finds opportunities where other players don’t.”
In the 39th minute, Cooke launched a far-post service that Moroney volleyed into the goal with 1:30 left on the clock for a 3-0 lead. A little more than a minute earlier, senior goalkeeper Gianna Berkley made her only stop of the game when she rushed Ava Donnelly on a breakaway to prevent the Lawrence sophomore from getting off a clean shot.
“We decided before the game we were going to go up 2-0 and go from there. And we called it,” Moroney said. “We came out really strong. Getting the third one just pushed us even more.”
Lawrence turned up its attack in hopes of drawing closer and jumped onto the board on a counter-attack goal by junior Caelyn LaFlamme in the 58th minute. Jackson Memorial doubled down on its defensive shape to keep Lawrence out of the net for the remainder of the game and succeeded, holding the Cardinals to four total shots in the game.
In the final five minutes, Jackson Memorial made a play for an exclamation goal. Gould flicked a pass toward the near-right post, and after controlling it on a touch, Moroney ripped a shot into the far side netting.
Faith Maroney slams in her 2nd goal and Jackson Memorial leads Lawrence 4-1 with under 4 to go. pic.twitter.com/okLq8bSnL4
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) November 14, 2024
The final whistle marked a complete effort by the Jaguars in which Cooke, Gould and Fagliarone caused havoc up top, while Moroney and fellow juniors Alexa Berkley and defensive center midfielder Julie Ifantis dominated the midfield. The back line of Sammy Ifantis, Harmony Glover, Ashley Alu and Abby Wisniewski kept the Lawrence attack away from Berkley for the entire game, save for LaFlamme’s breakaway.
Sammy Ifantis, Alu and Berkley are the only three seniors on the team, and all three were part of the goal-prevention portion of the formation.
“Those injuries were at the offensive positions, and it was just a matter of putting the ball in the net,” Bayha said. “Gianna Berkley did an amazing job keeping us in the game, the back line – that’s the strength of our team. That’s where the seniors are.”
“We worked so hard for this,” Cooke said. “It means everything to give (the seniors) this championship.”
Jackson Memorial girls soccer celebrates its 2024 Central Jersey Group 3 championship. (Photo: Matt Manley)
With Thursday’s win, Jackson Memorial is back to a .500 winning percentage for just the second time this season. The Jaguars — who lost their first three games on the schedule — rattled off three straight wins to climb to 5-5-1, only to lose five of six heading into the NJSIAA Tournament.
Those losses, however, came against some stiff competition that helped prepare Jackson Memorial for the rigors of a Central Group 3 bracket that looks different from the one the Jaguars have competed in since dropping down from Group IV for the first time in 2022.
Middletown South and Allentown moved out of the section in the state’s latest realignment, with Middletown South shifting to North Jersey Section 2 and Allentown dropping to Group 2 in Central Jersey. Allentown was the No. 2 seed in Central 3 each of the past two seasons, while Middletown South reached the CJ3 final in each of the past two seasons, including a championship victory in 2022.
“When this bracket came out, Middletown South and Allentown both got moved out, so I knew this bracket was going to be wide open,” Bayha said. “That and our schedule is super tough, which is why we ended up getting the third seed even though our record is not very impressive. The quality of our schedule got us here.”
Jackson Memorial benefitted from a home-field advantage Thursday thanks to a boisterous student section and a grass pitch against an opponent that plays its home games on artificial turf.
“Right now, you get this far, you don’t want to waste your opportunity,” Bayha said. “I don’t want to say we’re playing with house money, but we’re just really happy to win a state sectional championship, and we’re going to give it our best on Monday.”
