Council Rock North, Villa Joseph Marie girls soccer aiming for return to states (PHOTO GALLERY)

NEWTOWN – When Council Rock North and Villa Joseph Marie engage in a soccer scrimmage, the show is more than a tune-up. It’s an outright display of soccer excellence.

Last year, Villa Jo made it all the way to the PIAA Class AA state championship game before falling 1-0 to archrival Villa Maria. Council Rock North almost duplicated the feat, reaching the Class AAA quarterfinal before bowing out to Central Bucks East by a 2-0 score.

Entering the new 2016 campaign, both teams appear loaded for another state title run. The Jems are led by senior Murphy Agnew, who has already scored 63 career goals. She is amply supported by Casey Kilchrist, who last year led Villa with 16 goals. The Indians boast their own scoring arsenal spearheaded by Kayla Robinson, who led North with 21 goals last season. She is ably assisted by midfielder Rebecca Margolis.

Last Thursday, the two perennial powers hooked up in a final preseason scrimmage. Carly Riggs, the Indians’ new goaltender, knew how intense this last go-round would be.

“Scrimmaging Villa Jo gave us the opportunity to have high level competition and see how we do in game play and playing a whole game. We were testing out our legs and working together as a team. Practice makes perfect so if you’re going to practice at a high level, you’re going to play at a high level.”

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For Carly, the scrimmage proved doubly meaningful. She bears the distinction of taking over in goal for the graduating Jeri Belardo, who last year recorded an impressive 12 shutouts. Villa Jo would certainly challenge the new keeper, a test Carly passed with flying colors. She rejected at least six shots on goal and allowed only one kick to get by her outstretched hands.

Carly’s prowess in the goal is not really surprising. Playing soccer since she was three, Carly assumed the all-important position innocently enough.

“When you are little and play intramurals everyone rotates around in positions because you are getting a sampling of them. When I was little and played goal I really liked it.”

Her earliest exposure showed that Carly had the fearlessness required of a goalie. “When it was my time to be goalie, I would dive on it. I wasn’t scared of getting kicked or having the ball hit me.”

Time and dedicated practice taught her the other requisites to being a sound keeper. First, you have to be a good communicator. “You see everything that is happening on the field. You have to be able to communicate with the team and make sure the team is working to the best of its ability. If I see something, I can suggest where the play is or if there is someone who needs to be covered.”

Being the last line of defense, the goalie also needs to remain calm under fire. “There is also a mental toughness, because even if something happens and you don’t make the perfect save or even if it gets by you, you have to keep going and make the next save.”

Carly certainly held up well under the Villa Jo offensive assaults. She showed a good sense of timing between the pipes. “Many years of training have taught me that. You have to sense when the right time to move is. If an opponent gets a breakaway, you have to judge her speed. If you’re going against someone who is fast, you know they’re going to get to the ball sooner than you so you can’t go out too early. If they make a big jump, you can jump on that. It really depends on what the field player does. You have to react to the situation at the moment.”

Carly’s collective efforts really aim at one goal, helping her team. “I love the team aspect of soccer. It’s not just about one person but there is a whole team you have to count on and be a part of. It’s a good responsibility to have to not only hold up to your own standards but the team standards as well.”

This year, the Rock hopes to build off last season’s 12-3-2 overall record. “This team is definitely going to come out playing together as a team. Our goal is to win at least one more game than last year and as many beyond that as possible. We want to be the best team CR can be.”

Based on their showing against Villa Jo, the Indians are certainly prepped for a strong 2016 campaign.