Mendham Girls Soccer Team's Youth Soccer Night Open To Neighboring Communities

MENDHAM, NJ — The Mendham girls soccer team will host a youth soccer night when it competes against sister school West Morris Central on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. at Mendham High School.

“Our aim is to get the youth soccer program excited about the girls soccer programs at West Morris Mendham and West Morris Central,” said Mendham head coach Sean Goldsworthy. “We felt the best way to do that was to have a youth soccer night when both teams meet up in conference play. We are inviting all youth girls soccer players from Long Valley, the Chesters, and the Mendhams and partnering with the West Morris Soccer Club and Long Valley Soccer Association.”

Mendham and West Morris are top teams in the county and state, so it will be a significant matchup.

“Both teams are currently tied for first place in the conference, both ranked in the New Jersey top 20 high school girls teams in the state, and both teams earned the top two spots in the county tournament,” Goldsworthy said.

Goldsworthy said the event is designed to grow the sport of girls soccer within the local communities and get the youth players to look forward to playing soccer in high school.

“When I took over as head coach in 2020, I wanted to form a better bond within the community and help grow the sport that I love. But due to the pandemic, we were not allowed to have fans at our games and were limited to a smaller schedule," Goldsworthy said. "I thought it would be a great idea to involve both schools in the district and towns of Long Valley, Chester, and Mendham and use the interconference games between the sister schools as a great opportunity to get the youth players excited. The youth that participate in recreation, travel, and club soccer do this through the West Morris Soccer Club and Long Valley Soccer Association and eventually will have the opportunity to play at either Mendham or Central when in high school. It gives the youth something to look forward to.”

Goldsworthy said there will be a halftime contest with prizes for all youth players who wish to participate. There will also be opening ceremonies with the youth teams escorting the high school teams to the turf and snack stand refreshments, in addition to the game itself.

“We will have a crossbar challenge at halftime in which any youth soccer player can kick a soccer ball from a certain distance, depending on age, and try and hit the crossbar of the soccer goal for a prize,” Goldsworthy said. “In addition, we will have volunteers from the youth programs to help out as ball girls, escort the high school teams to the field during the announcements, and possibly have honorary youth captains for the coin toss.”

Mendham is 5-0-1 this season and earned the top seed in the Morris County Tournament (MCT) and a first-round bye. The squad will take on No. 16 Villa Walsh in the second round on Oct. 3. The team is ranked No. 9 in the state.

West Morris Central is 4-1-1 and earned the second seed in the MCT. It also earned a first-round bye and will take on No. 15 Morris Catholic on Oct. 3 in the second round. West Morris Central is No. 18 in the state.

“This is going to be a really tough game,” Goldsworthy said. “Last time we played to a double-overtime tie at Central. Our key to getting a win is to stay disciplined, stick to our game plan, and finish the opportunities that we have in front of their net. They are a very good team and well coached, and we expect to get the best from them in that game.”