Lady Bulldogs' run to state finals complete BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer METUCHEN - The Metuchen High School girls soccer team's head coach, Val Gazda, knew her team could exploit the height disadvantage of Palmyra's goalkeeper in Tuesday's Group I semifinal game. "We saw the Palmyra keeper was not as tall as our keeper, Caitlin Walker," Gazda said. "I knew we had to shoot from far out and that we had to shoot high." Despite dominating the first-half action from whistle to whistle, the Bulldogs had no luck putting one past Palmyra keeper Celena King. "We did have some scoring opportunities in the first half but we just couldn't convert," Gazda said. "We had some decent shots but they either went slightly wide or to the keeper." The game's lone goal came 10 minutes into the second half when Metuchen's Jourdan McVicker took the ball near midfield and found an open Jane Barrett. Heeding Gazda's advice to shoot high, Barrett sent a shot to the right corner of the net from well beyond the 18. The shot was too high for the outstretched arms of King, who managed to get a hand on the ball, and sailed into the side of the net. "I wasn't sure it was in at first," Gazda said. "I lost sight of the ball until I saw it hit the inside of the net." Barrett's goal would hold up as the game-winner despite Palmyra turning up the heat in the closing minutes. "We didn't make any defensive adjustments until about 12 minutes left in the game," Gazda said. "We made some changes to prevent Palmyra from getting penetration and scoring the equalizer." Palmyra was outscored 9-4 in the contest and had no answer for Walker's prowess in goal. "There was a close call and Palmyra had a good opportunity, but Caitlin read it well and took charge," Gazda said. "She's been solid in the net all season." With the 1-0 win, Metuchen advanced to the Group I title game. The Bulldogs' opponent is Kinnelon, a 3-2 winner over Belvidere in the other semifinal. The two teams will compete for the title at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 18 at The College of New Jersey. Both the boys and girls soccer teams of Metuchen competed for Group I titles this weekend. The boys team knocked off Burlington City by a 1-0 score immediately following the girls' victory Tuesday night. The boys faced Harrison in Saturday's final at Hillsborough High School "Kinnelon really plays a similar style to us," Gazda said before the game. "They play possession and they have a few front runners with some speed up top. We'll have to play our game and take shots when we have a good look. I think it will be a nice final. Not for nothing, but it is a pretty exciting time for Metuchen sports. With both soccer teams playing for state titles and our football team in the second round of the playoffs, it's been a good fall season."