Soccer Coach: Team's Effort 'More Satisfying Than Championship'

For the second year in a row, Moorestown girls soccer fell short of the state title by two goals against Northern Highlands. But no one's going to say they didn't give it their all.

“The effort was unbelievable as far as I was concerned,” coach Bill Mulvihill said of Sunday’s game. “(Northern Highlands) is one of the best girls soccer teams I’ve ever played … We probably played that team harder than anyone has the last two years.”

After going up 1-0 off a goal by Marie McCool toward the end of the first half, Moorestown (17-5-1) gave up three straight goals in the second to the Highlanders. All three were scored by Hannah Kerner.

Northern Highlands (24-0) won 3-1, claiming its second straight state championship—they beat Moorestown 2-0 in last year's final—and extending its winning streak to 48 after two consecutive undefeated seasons.

Mulvihill, who was seeking his third state championship in 16 years, said the Quakers were simply “overmatched” on the field.

“They just had a little bit more speed than we did. They were a little more technically sound than we were,” he said. “We just hung in, and they eventually wore us down.”

Still, Mulvihill said his girls have nothing to be ashamed of. After slumping to an 0-3 record at the beginning of the season, it would have been easy for the team to fall apart—but the team’s leaders, particularly the seniors, didn’t let that happen.

“Not many senior classes will start out 0-3 and have these young girls still playing hard,” said Mulvihill. “Once we got the first win, I think we started to get a little bit more confident … They just came together.”

Though the team will retain much of its core next season, Mulvihill said they will lose several senior standouts at the end of the year, including players like Olivia Kramer and Megan Kelly, who really helped the team rally this year.

“It’s tough to replace a senior class just in terms of how they keep the team together,” the coach said.

With the bitter taste of Sunday’s loss still in their mouths, it’ll take the girls some time to fully realize how special a season they had, Mulvihill said.

But for his part, the coach said, “It was a very rewarding season for me … I told the girls, ‘You lost on the scoreboard, but you won everywhere else.’ As a coach, I can’t ask any more from them than to give everything they have and that’s what they did. That’s more satisfying than any championship.”

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