MENDHAM – After losing 10 starters from its 2022 roster, the Mendham High School girls
soccer team proceeded to lose its first seven matches of the 2023 regular season.
But the Minutemen have rebounded of late, winning two of three and going 2-2-1 in their last
five contests, including a 3-0 victory over Parsippany Hills in the preliminary round of the Morris
County Tournament.
And they might just be the best 2-9-1 team you’ll ever see.
“We’re in the top division, and we’re super young—we start three freshmen, including our
keeper (Maeve Robbins). That’s a difficult combination for winning,” Mendham head coach Sean Goldsworthy said after the 16th-seeded Minutemen had fallen to top-seeded Randolph, 2-0, on
Oct. 11. “But we’ve come such a long way since the beginning of the season. I’m really proud of
this team.”
Goldsworthy called his players “absolute fighters,” and they played like it against the top-seeded Rams, who are coached by Mendham alum Kimberly Bradley. The Minutemen played an inspired game, especially defensively. Led senior co-captain Emma Kuncharia, who was blocking shots and hounding Randolph’s forwards all evening, Goldsworthy’s girls were solid in front of Robbins and held Randolph star JoJo Denegri in check for most of the night.
Offensively, the Minutemen kept pace with the Rams (12-1-2) throughout the game, as
Randolph outshot Mendham by only an 11-8 margin. Lia Manuel, a senior co-captain who will
be playing Ohio Valley Conference soccer for the Racers of Murray State University next season, led many of Mendham’s offensive rushes against the Rams, either with the ball or in its vicinity.
“Lia is our leader,” Goldsworthy said with a smile. “She practices hard and plays hard. And she’s
a great example for our younger players.”
Mendham bracketed that inspired loss to Randolph with the victory over Parsippany Hills (2-8-1) and a 3-1 regular season win over Whippany Park. Manuel, senior co-captain Sienna Laracca
and junior Ava Hartle all scored goals against the Vikings in the tournament game, with Manuel,
Lily Lowe and Curran Capuzzi each adding an assist. Junior goalkeeper Brynn Gambuti made
two saves in pitching the shoutout.
Against Whippany Park (3-10-1), Manuel, junior Gretchen Higgins and sophomore Mariella
Canino scored for the Minutemen. Laracca, Capuzzi and senior co-captain Adeline Perkins
notched assists as Mendham outshot the Wildcats, 14-2. Robbins got the win for the Mendham,
making two saves along the way.
The road for Mendham wasn’t going to get any easier. Goldsworthy’s girls were to face an 11-3
Bernards side on Wednesday, Oct. 18, before visiting arch-rival West Morris for a 10 a.m. game
on Saturday, Oct. 21.