CJ Group III

Defending sectional champions Princeton may even better than they were last year and the Mercer County Champs have the path to the sectional championship lined up. The good news for the Shore Conference is that they are very likely to have a finalist in the CJ III bracket, with five of the seven teams on the side of the bracket opposite of Princeton. The top-seeded Tigers and #2 Monmouth both get first round byes, but everyone else is playing on Tuesday.

#14 Point Boro at #3 Red Bank

The Bucs have had one of their best years in program history, but face a dangerous game right off the bat. Red Bank has been able to keep the opposition out of the goal this year, but gave up three goals in a game for the first time all year in a loss to Long Branch last week. Point Boro has the dangerous scorer in Kyle Hazard and some talent throughout the field in midfielder Nick Crowning and defender Brian Coeyman. Red Bank counters with Rob Brandt in the back and Rob Child and Marty Stern up front, who have accounted for a vast majority of the offense. If Red Bank brings the tough defense, they should advance, but B South has been strong this year and Point Boro is a big reason. With wins over Monsignor Donovan and Lakewood, ties against Brick and Central, and a narrow 1-0 loss to TR South, the Panthers are not a team to take lightly. If they get by Red Bank, they could easily be in the semifinals.

#13 Wall at #4 Monroe

Two programs with a lot of rich recent history square off in a game that will most certainly be close. Wall certainly have a shot, but I've seen Monroe a few times over the last couple years, although I have't seen them this year. They are well-coached and always talented, and I expect them to make a run whenever they are in the bracket. Wall's back on track after missing the playoffs last year, but this is a tough draw.

#12 West Windsor North at #5 Hamilton West

Hamilton has actually played two local teams this year, beating Neptune 4-3 and Jackson Liberty 3-0. I don't know much about WWPN, but these two are in the same conference, so I'd expect Hamilton to move on and play Monroe or Wall. If Wall gets by Monroe, Hamilton is beatable.

#11 Hopewell Valley at #6 Northern Burlington

Don't know anything about Northern Burlington except that I know where the school is after covering a state softball game there last year. Hopewell Valley played Jackson in the preseason and lost 3-0 to a very tough team. You can't take much from a scrimmage or a loss against a good group IV school, so I can't draw any firm conclusions about this game. The winner will have a tough next opponent, even if Point Boro pulls off an upset.

#10 Ocean at #7 Lakewood

I'll be at this game Tuesday and it should be a good one. Ocean is coming off an SCT loss in which it gave CBA all it could handle, while Lakewood gave Monmouth fits in their first-round SCT loss. Both sides have some talent and will be well prepared for one another as they have most certainly gone over the scouting reports with other local coaches. Both played tough schedules, but I think Lakewood has an advantage in offensive talent and in the homefield advantage. Of course, I thought the exact same thing about Rumson in the first round of th SCT and Ocean took it to them early. Tom Reilly will have his boys ready so it should be a fun one.

#9 Lawrence at #8 Neptune

If Neptune plays well, they will win. Unfortunately for the Fliers, they have been way too streaky to have any idea what kind of game they are going to play. They started 2-4, won seven in a row, and have lost their last four. Neptune got some experience against the CVC when they lost to Hamilton, so that game should give them a decent frame of reference. But the Fliers have enough talent to beat a lot of teams in this bracket so it's all about how they play in the first round. In the second round, they'll have an improved Princeton team that beat them 5-0 last year.