MONTCLAIR -- Montclair, No. 13 in the NJ.com Top 20, took on a difficult challenge as it welcomed No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan on opening day, but with help of senior goalie Maggie Bigelow, the Essex County squad was able to put on a show early on.
Bigelow, a Brown commit, ended the contest with 10 saves and made more than half of those before Bridgewater-Raritan eventually got into a groove and picked up a 17-3 victory. That impressive performance in net in the opening 15 minutes allowed Montclair to keep itself in a one-goal game against one of the best teams on the entire state.
"Maggie is a great player and she's helping to lead a young defense," said Montclair coach Ann Jennings. "She took on a lot of one-on-one shots today and she did a great job with that pressure."
While the Montclair defense had its opponent searching for answers to start the contest, sophomore Nora Giordano guided the Essex County squad's offense with two of her team-high three goals.
The young midfielder's play was especially important in the season opener for a Montclair team that was missing junior Jillian Jennings and sophomore Rebecca Van Siclen -- both players missed the game to play club soccer.
"Nora got a lot of time last year and she's taken the lead so far for us," Jennings said. "We want to make sure that it's a balanced attack though so we can have multiple threats. I think that will come with confidence and you'll see some other players getting into the mix as the season goes along and we get everyone on the field."
Montclair was aware coming into the season that the beginning of the year would be a transitioning process after it lost the main pieces from last year's Essex County title team to graduation, but that has not and will not stop the Mounties from taking on the best teams that the state has to offer.
"I think this was a great experience and that's why we picked up Bridgewater-Raritan on our schedule," Jennings said. "You have to play the top teams to see where you're are and where you want to be to get yourself better overall. It's tough, but it's a good learning experience and I think this will make us better moving forward."
Brandon Gould can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter, @BrandonGouldHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.
http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/-4661407377058102187/maggie-bigelow/
