Montclair High senior midfielder Morgan Stith had a tradition to uphold. She was just going to have to do it without her co-pilot.
Teammate Meg Morris left the top-seeded Mounties’ Essex County Tournament final against sixth-seeded Livingston on Sunday with a foot injury 14 minutes into a scoreless first half. Morris, who compliments Stith on the pair’s offensive darts upfield, was also tabbed by Mountie coach Chris Johnson to mark striker Kate Schwindel, the Lancers’ best offensive player.
Stith elevated her game and scored MHS’ first goal four minutes after Morris’ injury to guide her team to a 2-0 win this past Sunday at West Essex in North Caldwell. Junior Olivia Ciardi slid back defensively to ably shadow Schwindel, and the entire defense upped its intensity during Morris’ absence.
Stith’s tradition, bringing home the county trophy for Montclair, continued. She will graduate the winner of four straight ECT titles. While Stith has been a big part of the locals’ success the past four years, Montclair’s dominance in Essex dates back much further.
In 26 county tournaments, the Mounties own 11 titles in 14 final appearances, winning 10 outright (MHS shared a crown with Millburn in 1999). In the past 13 ECTs, Montclair has copped the crown outright nine times in addition to the ’99 tie against the Millers.
"I was really upset when Meg went out. I knew we had to do this for her," said Stith. "It was strange not having her out there with me, so I pulled the girls together and told them to work hard for Meg because she always works hard for us."
The Mounties’ celebration after the final whistle was subdued, and for good reason. The team was less than a week removed from dealing with the death of Ryne Dougherty, a schoolmate who died on Wednesday, Oct. 15, after suffering a brain hemorrhage during a junior varsity football game two days earlier.
"This past week has been a tough one at Montclair High," Johnson said Sunday. "But these girls played four games in the span of learning a classmate was gravely injured Monday, to his death, then today.
"They didn’t complain or say they couldn’t get it done, they just went out and honored Ryne with their play. I’m just lucky to be around them."
Junior Malika Miller generated the locals’ initial goal when she fed a pass into the middle that classmate Liz Hartnett corralled before dropping the ball to Stith. The Virginia-bound Stith drew the Livingston goalie toward her before beating the keeper to her right side from 15 yards out.
Freshman Erika Joab’s first varsity goal as a Mountie with 1:30 remaining in the first half gave MHS some breathing room heading into halftime. Joab blasted her offering from 40 yards out, beating the Livingston goalie to the upper-right corner.
"Ingrid [Kaplan] told me right before the goal, ‘If you get the ball, hit it,’ because there wasn’t much time left in the half," Joab said. "I was really excited for my first varsity goal to come at such an important time."
After halftime, Kaplan, sophomore Sara Haefeli and senior goalie Caitlin Pacheco (seven saves) provided Ciardi with plenty of help against Schwindel. The MHS ‘D’ bottled her up, limiting LHS’ scoring chances.
"It was a great team effort," said Johnson. "All of these girls are champions."
Mountie Notebook: Following its 5-0 win over Hackensack on Tuesday, Montclair carries a 12-4 record into today’s 4 p.m. road match with Teaneck. MHS hasn’t lost a match since a 1-0 setback to Immaculate Heart (Oct. 8).
The Mounties will likely be seeded for the NJSIAA North 1, Group 4 State sectional at 13-4. The cutoff is tomorrow, and teams must be at or above .500 to qualify.
Morris wore a protective boot on her sprained right foot and was walking with crutches this past Monday. The timetable for her return is unknown as of The Times’ presstime.
During four years of varsity play, Stith is currently 18-3 in four county tournaments and three trips to the State playoffs. Montclair has lost in each sectional final during the past three years.
The Mounties painted No. 44, Dougherty’s jersey number, on their faces and socks as a tribute to their fallen schoolmate. MHS and Livingston met at midfield and joined hands during a moment of silence for Dougherty before the match.
