By Bob Badders - Senior Staff Writer

    EWING - The look on Shannon Mayrose's face said it all. The junior had just uncorked a shot that seemed to hang up in the air forever. Once it found its mark, she ran in circles with her hands on her head, still trying to believe what exactly just happened.
    With just 4:16 remaining in the second overtime period, Mayrose gathered the ball on the right side 35 yards out, carried forward and unleashed a shot from 24 yards away that found the open net to give Freehold a 2-1 win over Ramapo and the NJSIAA Group III title at The College of New Jersey.
    "I was thinking: 'Are you kidding?' 'Is this a dream?'," Mayrose said. "It was the best feeling I think I've ever had in my entire life."
    Mayrose's goal concluded a dominating game that concluded a dominating season by one of New Jersey's most imposing players. She finished the season with 30 goals and 10 assists for a Shore Conference-best 70 points and had 11 points in five state tournament games. On Saturday, she had both the game-tying and game-winning goals to give the Colonials their first outright championship in school history. They tied Ramapo in last year's Group III title game and were declared co-champions.
    "She's incredible, there's not much more I can really say to express how proud I am of her," said Colonials head coach Elyse Bizzozzaro, who captured a state title in her first season. "I haven't seen a player like her in a long time, especially in the Shore Conference."
    Entering the season, the Colonials' biggest goal was to eliminate the co-champions label that seemed to make the banner hanging inside the high school a little tough to look at. After playing a scoreless first half - which ran the streak to 140 consecutive scoreless minutes between the two teams - Ramapo took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Allison Maresca. Amy VanDyk sent a corner kick from the right flag into the box and Maresca was able to one-touch it through traffic and past Colonials goalkeeper Ashley Lewis. It was the first time Freehold had not scored first in a game all season.
    "We wanted this so bad and to go down 1-0 was heartbreaking," Mayrose said. "But this team is so incredible and we bounced back and were able to break through."
    Mayrose was getting plenty of scoring chances and after being denied a couple times by Green Raiders goalkeeper Caroline Shiel and having a few more just miss their mark, she finally connected in the 64th minute. Controlling the ball on the right side, Mayrose took a few steps before letting go of a long shot that beat Shiel just under the crossbar to tie the game at one.
    "At the beginning my mark was stepping off me and I'm not really used to that," Mayrose said. "But once I got used to how much space she was giving me I adjusted and was able to take advantage. She gave me the whole right side so I was thinking why not shoot it."
    Freehold continued to push hard for the winning goal, eventually outshooting the Green Raiders 19-4, but regulation ended with the game still tied at one. It looked like another co-championship was in the works until Mayrose capped another magical season for the Colonials by scoring the most important goal of her career. Those moments have come to define Mayrose, who amazingly still has another year left to come through in the clutch.
    "The feeling you get before a game, some people don't like it, but I think it's amazing the anxiety and everything you feel before a big game," Mayrose said. "You know you have to step up."
    Aside from its goal, Ramapo's best scoring chance came late in the second half. A corner kick came in from the right flag and was headed on net by Kielty Wright. Lewis reacted quickly and jumped up to knock the ball over the net to keep the game scoreless.
    "We knew their corner kicks were their most powerful weapon but I was able to get a hand on it," Lewis said. "I know I have to make one big save a game and that was it."
    The Colonials finish with a 21-2 record, the Shore Conference Class B North division title and the NJSIAA Group III title. They did not win the Shore Conference Tournament title, but to get the Group III title instead was a trade they were more than willing to make.
    "It's amazing," Mayrose said. "We worked the whole season just to get to this point. You dream of this. It's indescribable."
   

Box Score

Freehold (21-2)    0 1 0 1 - 2
Ramapo (16-4-2)  0 1 0 0 - 1

Scoring: (R) Maresca (VanDyk) 51'; (F) Mayrose 64'; (F) Mayrose 96'.
Saves: (F) Lewis 2; (R) Shiel 6.
Shots: Freehold 19-4.

E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com