Sussex Defeated by Essex in Region XIX Final

The Sussex women's soccer team were defeated by Essex CC 3-0 on Saturday in the NJCAA Women's Division I Region XIX Final.  Essex took the lead early after converting on a corner set piece to open the scoring.  Sussex responded well by controlling possession for the majority of the half and creating some chances themselves.  Unfortunately, they were not able to take them and went into the half down 1-0.  Sussex then started the second half on the front foot pinning Essex back toward their own penalty area.  Essex took advantage of their pace up front, however, and Lyla Lionel raced onto a ball sent through the Sussex defense to double their lead with 30 minutes remaining in the game.  Essex would then add a third with Sussex pushing high to create chances to put the game to bed.

Head coach Frank Vernacchio was still proud of the effort of his team after the game.  "We played well today and with good energy, but Essex took their chances and we didn't.  We had the better possession and had more of the ball, but they took their 3 chances well and that's what separated them from us today.  The loss hurts, but I'm proud of our team after today and we have shown growth in all of our games this year, so there are still positives that we have seen. We still have the District Tournament next weekend, so we will prepare for that and work on earning our way into the National Tournament."