EAST RUTHERFORD — Rachel Wronko never panicked or feared the worst. She, like the rest of her Rutherford teammates, stayed calm after the Bulldogs quickly surrendered what seemed like a huge two-goal halftime lead.
Wronko then scored two goals six minutes apart midway through the second half to send Rutherford to a 4-3 victory over Becton/Wallington in a North 2, Group 2 first-round girls soccer game Tuesday at Riggin Field. Tenth-seeded Rutherford (11-8-1) will play at second-seeded Mountain Lakes, a 4-2 winner over Dover, in the sectional quarterfinals Friday.
After the Wildcats came out surging to start the final half, picking up big counterattack goals from freshmen Samantha Zawadzki and Ada Choinski in the 50th and 55th minutes, respectively, Rutherford and Wronko came charging back.
A 5-foot-2 bundle of energy, sophomore forward Wronko put in the lead goal to make it 3-2 in the 60th minute off an assist from freshman midfielder Isabella Andler. Then Wronko, off a well-timed delivery from senior defender Winter Shymko, scored on a one-timer from 10 yards into the upper right-hand corner of the net to make it 4-2 in the 66th minute.
“We just got our backs up and kept going. We were a little surprised when they rallied so quickly, but we were determined that we could come out on the right end of the scoreboard in this game,” said Wronko, who leads Rutherford with 16 goals to go with four assists. “The field kind of opened up after halftime and both teams were able to take advantage of some excellent opportunities.’’
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