New Top 10
No, I'm not going to post the Shore Top 10 before Saturday's Rally Section, but I am interested to hear any opinions out there. There are some tough issues to sort out when ranking the teams, especially when you consider that only four teams (Jackson, Freehold Twp., Monmouth, and Manasquan) from my original top 10 made it through the first week undefeated, and Monmouth plays a very tough Neptune team today. Keep in mind that while I like to hear whatever opinions are out there, the chances of them affecting my final decision are slim to none. So this isn't a contest to see who's top 10 I use, just a forum for discussion. Here are some things to consider.
- How high up does Freehold Twp. move? They are one of four teams to start 3-0 or better (Monmouth could become the fourth today), and they have the highest quality wins (Howell, CBA, and Colts Neck) of those teams. The knock on them, and this is more by word of mouth than anything I've actually seen, is that they were outplayed in the Howell and Colts Neck games, and they are a few breaks away from being 0-3. You can call that impressive because they can win a tight game or you can hold that against them because they aren't dominating like Jackson has been.
- On a related note, would it be defensable to rank Howell over Freehold Twp., even though the Pats beat them? The Rebels were without Kyle Bethel in that game, outshot the Freehold Twp., by some accounts outplayed them, and in my opinion, have the better roster.
- How high does TR South go? They weren't in the poll last week, but no one has even come close to beating them. They dominated TR North, disposed of Southern, and looked like they were going to run Brick off the field before the score plateaued at 3-1.
- Does TR North stay in the poll at all? If so, they'd be the one team under .500 to be in it, which I have no problem with, as long as they are worthy. They have losses to Jackson and TRS, who have been the two most dominant teams after one week, and a convincing win over TR East, which was No. 6 to start the year.
-Does Neptune get in with a win over Monmouth today? They were in the mix for a Top 10 spot to open the year and their start, especially with a win over a ranked opponent in the division would warrant a serious look.
It wasn't supposed to be this tough this early, but a crazy week will do that to you.
- How high up does Freehold Twp. move? They are one of four teams to start 3-0 or better (Monmouth could become the fourth today), and they have the highest quality wins (Howell, CBA, and Colts Neck) of those teams. The knock on them, and this is more by word of mouth than anything I've actually seen, is that they were outplayed in the Howell and Colts Neck games, and they are a few breaks away from being 0-3. You can call that impressive because they can win a tight game or you can hold that against them because they aren't dominating like Jackson has been.
- On a related note, would it be defensable to rank Howell over Freehold Twp., even though the Pats beat them? The Rebels were without Kyle Bethel in that game, outshot the Freehold Twp., by some accounts outplayed them, and in my opinion, have the better roster.
- How high does TR South go? They weren't in the poll last week, but no one has even come close to beating them. They dominated TR North, disposed of Southern, and looked like they were going to run Brick off the field before the score plateaued at 3-1.
- Does TR North stay in the poll at all? If so, they'd be the one team under .500 to be in it, which I have no problem with, as long as they are worthy. They have losses to Jackson and TRS, who have been the two most dominant teams after one week, and a convincing win over TR East, which was No. 6 to start the year.
-Does Neptune get in with a win over Monmouth today? They were in the mix for a Top 10 spot to open the year and their start, especially with a win over a ranked opponent in the division would warrant a serious look.
It wasn't supposed to be this tough this early, but a crazy week will do that to you.
posted by Matt Manley at 8:48 AM
6 Comments:
Im lovin your blog. Its about time somebody cares about shore conference soccer
Thanks mom.
Seriously though, glad you like it.
Notes on Freehold Township...
1. They are playing without a starter. It obviously isn't the same as being without Bethal, but Searby is one of their best players and hasn't played a minute yet.
2. Their two senior defenders (Mularz and Collins) were hurt during the Colts Neck game and they had to move Smith and Noesges to the back. Not to knock Colts Neck, but FT was playing at about 60% by the time the game ended and they still held on.
3. Howell did outplay them but Collins has proven in the past he can shut down Bethal (I am not 100% on this, but KB may have 0 career goals against FT, maybe 1). It will be a close game next time around, Bethal or not.
4. They outplayed CBA and while they haven't blown out anyone, they did outplay a team for 80 minutes that beat Manalapan 6-2.
Obviously I am biased here and I fully expect Jackson to be ranked ahead of them on Saturday but as a FT fan who understands you don't get to see every game, these are a few key things I thought you should know.
Keep up the good work, it is about time someone other than the Forums paid attention to Shore Soccer.
I was at the Freehold Twp./Howell match and yes it was a nice win for Freehold. Did the better team win? No. But a win is a win. This game however should never have gone into OT. In fact the game could have been 5-1 Howell. They hit the cross bar twice and beat the keeper on two other occasions only for the ball to be saved by a field player. Early on the Howell forward shot the ball over the crossbar from the six.
Don't get me wrong, I like Freehold. They have a good nucleus with their strength in the midfield. But they were out shot and out played on that day. But like I said before, a win is a win. Top 5 should be 1.Jackson 2. Howell 3.CBA 4. Freehold 5. Manalapan.
Great job with blog!
That's certainly the argument for Howell, although I'm not as certain that it applies to CBA in this case. They played great against Manalapan, although if not for the game getting out of hand, it's a 4-2 game rather than 6-2. Then they came back to earth a bit in the next couple.
While I won't give away my top 10, I'll tell you the school of thought I went with. I decided to rank the teams based on what's happened on the field rather than who I thought was the better team. I don't think I'm anyone special to have to pick between one team or another based on my subjective point of view, rather than just going by the results on the field. If it ever comes down to my opinion, then so be it, but it doesn't this week, at least not as it pertains to the Top 5.
The Notebook comes out in tomorrow's APP with the top 10, so feel free to post your thoughts on it here after you check it out.
ocean is 3-0 how do you think they match up against monmouth regional and neptune
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