GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERNENCE TOURNAMENT FINAL
PREVIEW
BRACKET
Friday, May 11 at East Brunswick
2-Monroe (13-5) vs. 4-South Brunswick (10-6), 7
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Second-seeded Monroe, the defending GMCT champion, reached the county final again this year with an 18-4 win over Bishop Ahr in the first round and a narrow 6-5 victory over Old Bridge in the semifinals in a rematch from last year's final.
Monroe, with 13 wins under its belt, has been one of the top teams in Middlesex County all season and has been eager to prove its worth in the county tournament after rolling past Old Bridge in the championship game a year ago.
Monroe opened the season with back-to-back losses, but leaned on its high-powered attack to rattle off 11 wins in its next 12 games.
South Brunswick, somewhat surprisingly, advanced into the GMC final with a first round win over East Brunswick, 11-6, and an upset win over top-seeded North Brunswick, 11-8, in the semifinals.
It's been an up-and-down, rollercoaster-type ride for South Brunswick this season. Like Monroe, the Vikings dropped their first two games of the season, but has hovered around .500 all season. South Brunswick takes a four-game winning streak into the final as it compiled regular season wins over Monroe and Nottingham before beginning tournament play.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: These teams split the regular season series, as Monroe collected a 15-9 win on April 26 and South Brunswick took a 13-12 win on May 2.
HISTORY: Monroe beat Old Bridge in the GMC final last May with a 15-8 victory, a year after falling to North Brunswick in the final, 21-12. South Brunswick last won a GMC Tournament title in 2013, a 9-7 win over East Brunswick and last appeared in the final in 2014, a 10-9 loss to North Brunswick.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Offense has been the calling card for Monroe all season and the Falcons have been led by several players that can find the back of the net with relative ease.
Ashley Patten will enter Friday night's final with 67 goals, while Liz Skobelev isn't far behind with 57 goals for Monroe. Paige Gandy and Kaley Battoglia have also emerged as solid point-producers for the Falcons this season.
Julianne Palmer has been solid in the crease for Monroe.
South Brunswick boasts a balanced attack that includes Shannen Sterner (35 goals, 10 assists), Haley Konopka (29 goals), Madison Butler (24 goals, 10 assists) and Louisa Post-Zwicker (19 goals).
Claudia Cohen and Emily Foltiny have been key assets for the Vikings and Lola Bakhadyrova has been strong in the crease for South Brunswick.
KEY FACTOR: Can South Brunswick slow down Monroe's attack?
On paper, Monroe has the advantage on attack and its ability to score at a high rate has been a key piece to its game plan all season.
In the first meeting, Monroe used that scoring to its advantage on its way to a six-goal win, but in the second game, South Brunswick limited Monroe just enough to score 13 goals and get a one-goal win.
So, which game will this one look more like?
If Monroe can control the draw, attack the 8-meter and score with any consistency early, it should be on its way to a second straight county title. If South Brunswick can come up with some turnovers, defensive stops and key saves, particularly early, this could come down to the wire.
THE PREDICTION: Monroe 15, South Brunswick 10.
Brian Deakyne may be reached at bdeakyne@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianDeakyne. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.
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