PENNINGTON — Like so many other high-scoring teams with big records have done in the past, the Mt. St. Dominic girls soccer side arrived at Pennington Prep on Tuesday with high hopes it could take down the Red Hawk juggernaut in the championship game of the Prep Class A state tournament.
And as has also nearly always been the case, it left with a painful reality check after being trounced by the score of 5-1 by a Pennington team that has now won 24 state titles in 27 final appearances.
“We knew they were 20-0, but so what,” said Pennington’s outstanding Georgetown University-bound center midfielder Sarah Chrnelich, who was a starter on four of those state championship squads. “When we first got together during the pre-season we knew we had a lot of young talent. We knew we just had to work as a team and be a family. Our team is known for being sisters. We proved we are one of the best teams in the country. That’s PPS for you.”
Penningtons’ Sophia Chrnelich, left, Katie Dwyer, center left, Charlotte Lynch, center right, and Sophia Chrnelich, right, celebrate a victory over Mount St. Dominic during the Prep A Tournament girls soccer final on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 in Pennington. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
1 of 12
Penningtons’ Sophia Chrnelich, left, Katie Dwyer, center left, Charlotte Lynch, center right, and Sophia Chrnelich, right, celebrate a victory over Mount St. Dominic during the Prep A Tournament girls soccer final on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 in Pennington. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Playing with its trademark confidence and poise, Pennington (14-2-1) put MSD (20-1) to bed early by scoring less than five minutes into the game when Riley Conboy took a beautiful flick pass from Kate Irani and beat MSD’s highly-touted keeper Isabella Raju.
Recovering from this initial lightning strike, MSD steadied itself for the next 20 minutes, but a real back breaker then occurred when Chrnelich scored on a 35-yard bomb that just dipped under the crossbar.
There’s was no recovering from that one as rising superstar Irani then opened her account with a-right-footed shot into a wide open net after taking a pretty pass in the box from Olivia Wang. The third goal came with 6:37 remaining in the first half and from that point on it was only a matter of how many times the Red Hawks would score.
In the second half, freshman Ava Chincarini scored the fourth goal on an assist by Chrnelich and Irani got her second goal on a breakaway with 12:38 remaining.
MSD finally got on the board late in the game on the 28th goal of the year by senior and Princeton University commit Gianna Camporeale, but by that point the Red Hawks were clearing their bench. They cleared it so well, in fact, Pennington ended up using four different keepers.
“To me that was a very good team,” said Pennington co-head coach Dr. Bill Hawkey of the Essex County champions. “If you played them five times you are not likely going to have a score like that. I think scoring three goals in the first half took the air out of their sails.”
In addition to a solid defense and dominating midfield play, one area where Pennington really excelled in this game and the season as a whole for that matter were long passes that led to breakaways and the opposition having defensive breakdowns.
“I think when you have a player like (center forward) Kate (Irani) it really helps,” said Hawkey. “I mean she has pace and she has skill. She’s a finisher but she’s more than that. She’s an all-around player. And the girls know how to find her. It makes it difficult to defend against us.”
And what did he think of this season as a whole
“We always set our sights high for our goals,” he said. “We try to install that idea in their heads. This year was kind of a brand new team. You don’t know what to expect but this was a delightful team to coach. It’s part of the tradition of excellence. The kids want to bring out the best in themselves and their teammates.”
Year in and year out, when it comes to girls soccer nobody in New Jersey does it better than Pennington. The same can be said for the country as a whole because there are very few programs that are the equal of the Red Hawks.
And don’t expect this to end anytime soon. Irani (11 goals), Conboy (13 goals), Chincarini (9 goals) and Wang are among the team’s sophomores and the team has two young keepers.
Mt. St. Dominic (20-1) 0 1 — 1
Pennington (14-2-1) 3 2 — 5
Goals: MSD-Camporeale. P-Chrnelich, Chincarini, Irani 2, Conboy., Assists: MSD-Tusche. P-Irani, Gilch, Wang, Chrnelich. Shots: MSD-13. P-13. Saves: MSD-Raju 3, Wilson 3. P-Dwyer 3, Brochon.
