CLARK, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders took to the field to continue in the state tournament against the Holmdel High School Hornets and with a quick, sudden burst of energy over the first 40 minutes of action, it appeared to spark Johnson whenever they got the ball.
Senior Cecilia Puentes scored two goals in the first half alone as the second-seeded Crusaders defeated the seventh-seeded Scotties 4-1 in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 Quarterfinals Friday afternoon in Clark.
The Johnson Crusaders (16-3) advance to the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 Semifinals. They will take on third-seeded Governor Livingston HS Tuesday afternoon, with the time TBD.
Johnson came bursting through the gates from the whistle that got the game underway. They received three free kicks and three corner kicks, but nothing was reaching the back of the net, but the energy levels would lead to momentum that paid off throughout the entire first half.
“We came out and played today. We had a lot of chances early, which is fantastic,” Johnson head coach Ken Leeder said. “We played well.”
She used a few moves near the net and fired the ball, going off the post and in for the game-opening goal at 14:46 of the first half, giving Johnson a 1-0 lead. Later in the half, Puentes came up big for her team off a corner kick.
With the score tied at 1-1 following a goal from Holmdel, Johnson received a series of corner kicks. In the scramble of players that followed the third corner kick in a row, Puentes put just enough foot on the shot, getting the ball past the goaltender, cashing in for the go-ahead goal at 37:45 of the first half, giving Johnson back the lead at 2-1. She now has 12 goals on the season.
The score would hold at halftime.
“The first corner, we could’ve scored [and] the second corner, we could’ve scored,” Puentes said. “The third corner, it was like, ‘This is it. We need to put the ball in the back of the net.’ It was right there, we put it in. It was amazing.”
