All A South Ballot
posted by Matt Manley at 11:51 AM
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Monday, November 26, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
All Shore Ballot (A North)
The All Shore Issue is set for Saturday, Dec. 8 and I'm sure a lot of you will find out who is on the team based on the phone calls I'll eventually make to the kids. But until then, I thought we could have some fun with it by doing an All-Shore Fan Ballot.
Here's how it will go: I'll put up a division each day, with four separate polls for each position within a given division. Vote for four (4) players at each field position (F, M, Def.) and one GK. I'll close the poll after about 24-36 hours and then move on to the next one. The top four vote-getters at each position will be placed on the All-Shore ballot, which will probably go up sometime at the end of next week. A North is up first. Enjoy.
Here's how it will go: I'll put up a division each day, with four separate polls for each position within a given division. Vote for four (4) players at each field position (F, M, Def.) and one GK. I'll close the poll after about 24-36 hours and then move on to the next one. The top four vote-getters at each position will be placed on the All-Shore ballot, which will probably go up sometime at the end of next week. A North is up first. Enjoy.
posted by Matt Manley at 3:06 PM
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Friday, November 16, 2007
Manalapan wins Group IV Title (Sort of)
Manalapan looked primed to win its first ever state title Frinday night, but instead settled for its first ever state title, as weird as that sounds. The Braves tied Clifton 1-1 in the Group IV final after letting a one-goal lead slip away in the 65th minute.
The goal against Manalapan was the first of these playoffs, and it came pretty much the only way possible to get a ball past Jake Grinkevich: on redirection. The first shot sent Grinkevich one way and the ensuing touch sent the ball in the other direction. There wasn't much he could have done.
Jeff Weitz scored the Manalapan goal on a 35-yard bomb that went over Clifton keeper Chris Kosciolek's head after he came up a little too far. Unfotunately for the Braves (except for Weitz of course), they'll probably remember the goals that didn't go in rather than Weitz' goal.
George Quintano slid a shot just wide of the far post on a one-on-one with the keeper, and Greg Grzelak had two good looks in OT, but one hit the post and the other went over the crossbar. There were some other good opportunities, a few of which ended in nice saves by Kosciolek.
The best save of the game didn't even count as it turned out. With two minutes left and the score tied at 1, Clifton thought Manalapan touched the ball on a free kick and proceded to take the restart themseles and turn it into a breakaway. Oscar Gonzalez had a one-on-one with Grinkevich and ripped a shot toward the far post, but Grinkevich came up, got his right hand on it and it hit the far post and kicked away. As it turned out, Manalapan should have retained possession anyway, so the ball moved back to the spot of the original free kick. That would hve been the play of the game had it counted.
Dropping back into safe-mode probably hurt Manalapan in this game, but it's hard to second-guess John Natoli for implementing a strategy that has worked all year. Give credit to Clifton for getting the better of play when they were down a goal. When the game was even, Manalapan was able to ssert itself a little better.
The Manalapan kids seemed content to take the tie. It was a little strange, because each player I talked to seemed progressively more at peace with the result. I think once they got past the fact that they didn't win the game in front of them, they realized they won the first state title in school history. It might not be perfect, but it'll go down as a title nonetheless.
A lot of people watching these games will call for shootouts to decide one champion instead of settling for a tie, which I'll admit, doesn't feel right. But I'll take this over a shootout. From a spectator standpoint, these games are like the last Sopranos episode. There's no definite resolution, there is a lot left unanswered, and you are left wanting more. But at the end of the day, it's the only way to end it. A shootout would have been like a shootout between Tony some of Phil Leotardo's guys where someone is left in a pool of their own blood. Even if Tony (I guess Manalapan in this case) comes out on top, you might get a kick out of it at first, but there would be the feeling that it just wasn't the right way to end something that was so much more than just a shootout. As it is, the ending might have been a little disappointing, but it fits the rest of the story better than the alternative would have.
That's all for games I guess. It's been real. We'll move on to All-Shore talk next week.
The goal against Manalapan was the first of these playoffs, and it came pretty much the only way possible to get a ball past Jake Grinkevich: on redirection. The first shot sent Grinkevich one way and the ensuing touch sent the ball in the other direction. There wasn't much he could have done.
Jeff Weitz scored the Manalapan goal on a 35-yard bomb that went over Clifton keeper Chris Kosciolek's head after he came up a little too far. Unfotunately for the Braves (except for Weitz of course), they'll probably remember the goals that didn't go in rather than Weitz' goal.
George Quintano slid a shot just wide of the far post on a one-on-one with the keeper, and Greg Grzelak had two good looks in OT, but one hit the post and the other went over the crossbar. There were some other good opportunities, a few of which ended in nice saves by Kosciolek.
The best save of the game didn't even count as it turned out. With two minutes left and the score tied at 1, Clifton thought Manalapan touched the ball on a free kick and proceded to take the restart themseles and turn it into a breakaway. Oscar Gonzalez had a one-on-one with Grinkevich and ripped a shot toward the far post, but Grinkevich came up, got his right hand on it and it hit the far post and kicked away. As it turned out, Manalapan should have retained possession anyway, so the ball moved back to the spot of the original free kick. That would hve been the play of the game had it counted.
Dropping back into safe-mode probably hurt Manalapan in this game, but it's hard to second-guess John Natoli for implementing a strategy that has worked all year. Give credit to Clifton for getting the better of play when they were down a goal. When the game was even, Manalapan was able to ssert itself a little better.
The Manalapan kids seemed content to take the tie. It was a little strange, because each player I talked to seemed progressively more at peace with the result. I think once they got past the fact that they didn't win the game in front of them, they realized they won the first state title in school history. It might not be perfect, but it'll go down as a title nonetheless.
A lot of people watching these games will call for shootouts to decide one champion instead of settling for a tie, which I'll admit, doesn't feel right. But I'll take this over a shootout. From a spectator standpoint, these games are like the last Sopranos episode. There's no definite resolution, there is a lot left unanswered, and you are left wanting more. But at the end of the day, it's the only way to end it. A shootout would have been like a shootout between Tony some of Phil Leotardo's guys where someone is left in a pool of their own blood. Even if Tony (I guess Manalapan in this case) comes out on top, you might get a kick out of it at first, but there would be the feeling that it just wasn't the right way to end something that was so much more than just a shootout. As it is, the ending might have been a little disappointing, but it fits the rest of the story better than the alternative would have.
That's all for games I guess. It's been real. We'll move on to All-Shore talk next week.
posted by Matt Manley at 6:40 PM
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
Group IV Finals Preview
Edit: Game is at 5:30 p.m., not 6.
Manalapan (20-3-2) vs. Clifton (20-5)
Friday, at The College of New Jersey, 5:30 p.m.
From everything I'd seen, heard, and read, the Group IV final was supposed to pit Howell against North Jersey power Columbia. Instead, we'll see the two teams that took out them out.
The first thing I'd like to find out Friday before I leave for the game or when I get to the field is when the last time any team won a state title without allowing a goal in the playoffs. It's probably not that rare, but it's worth noting. Manalapan has a chance to do that with a shutout win over Clifton, which is within the realm of possibility the way Jake Grinkevich and the defense have been playing.
Clifton will present a number of challenges to Manalapan, mainly up front with a pair of forwards, Oscar Gonzalez and Eddie Olave. Gonzalez leads the team in goals as a freshman, so I'm interested to get a look at him. With two forwards up top and a pretty good center-mid in Manny Caicedo, the Mustangs have enough fire power to put one past Grinkevich.
Clearly, Clifton has defensive potential as well. They must if they can blank Columbia and West Orange, and goalie Chris Kosciolek has 11 shutouts.
You can look at Clifton in two ways: They can beat you a couple different ways, but then again they are not consistent. They can win 1-0 games against West Orange and Columbia, or they can endure a high-scoring 4-3 win over Montclair in the Sectional Semis. But that also shows they can be scored upon.
We know all about Manalapan. Quintano will look to break free and create for himself or someone else and Grinkevich will make a big save here and there. The key to this game is who is more affected by the astroturf, and in that respect, I think Manalapan is in good shape. They have some speed to make up for the surface and they don't rely on possession as much as they did last year. The only scenario I could see it hurting them is if Grinkevich misplays a ball by being too aggressive.
With some of the names they've played and knocked off, Clifton should have everyone's attention. They are a worthy champion and can beat Manalapan no matter what kind of game it turns out to be. But the Braves are tough, and I can't see Clifton presenting more problems than West Orange did last year. A year better, I think the Manalapan gets it done and gives me a research assignment in the process.
The Pick: Manalapan 1-0.
Manalapan (20-3-2) vs. Clifton (20-5)
Friday, at The College of New Jersey, 5:30 p.m.
From everything I'd seen, heard, and read, the Group IV final was supposed to pit Howell against North Jersey power Columbia. Instead, we'll see the two teams that took out them out.
The first thing I'd like to find out Friday before I leave for the game or when I get to the field is when the last time any team won a state title without allowing a goal in the playoffs. It's probably not that rare, but it's worth noting. Manalapan has a chance to do that with a shutout win over Clifton, which is within the realm of possibility the way Jake Grinkevich and the defense have been playing.
Clifton will present a number of challenges to Manalapan, mainly up front with a pair of forwards, Oscar Gonzalez and Eddie Olave. Gonzalez leads the team in goals as a freshman, so I'm interested to get a look at him. With two forwards up top and a pretty good center-mid in Manny Caicedo, the Mustangs have enough fire power to put one past Grinkevich.
Clearly, Clifton has defensive potential as well. They must if they can blank Columbia and West Orange, and goalie Chris Kosciolek has 11 shutouts.
You can look at Clifton in two ways: They can beat you a couple different ways, but then again they are not consistent. They can win 1-0 games against West Orange and Columbia, or they can endure a high-scoring 4-3 win over Montclair in the Sectional Semis. But that also shows they can be scored upon.
We know all about Manalapan. Quintano will look to break free and create for himself or someone else and Grinkevich will make a big save here and there. The key to this game is who is more affected by the astroturf, and in that respect, I think Manalapan is in good shape. They have some speed to make up for the surface and they don't rely on possession as much as they did last year. The only scenario I could see it hurting them is if Grinkevich misplays a ball by being too aggressive.
With some of the names they've played and knocked off, Clifton should have everyone's attention. They are a worthy champion and can beat Manalapan no matter what kind of game it turns out to be. But the Braves are tough, and I can't see Clifton presenting more problems than West Orange did last year. A year better, I think the Manalapan gets it done and gives me a research assignment in the process.
The Pick: Manalapan 1-0.
posted by Matt Manley at 5:27 PM
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Thoughts on the CBA loss
I'll start off by saying that the better team won this game. Seton Hall was too fast and too skilled for CBA. They had many more quality opportunities at the goal, although that was because once they took the lead, CBA could not advance the ball past all of the defenders they stuck in the back.
With that said, the first goal, at least from my vantage point, was the wrong call. C.J. Crooks did run into Steve Alessio, albeit unintentionally, knocked him down, and never touched the ball, a least not until Alessio lossed the ball after the collision.
What made the call tougher to swallow for CBA was that the sideline referee raised his flag to signal a foul, but the field referee looked to the other sideline official, who did not raise his flag. The field ref. did not ask the ref. that called the foul until after play had resumed, and at that point, they can't overturn the call anyway.
I spoke to the officials briefly after the game and the sideline referee that did not raise his flag said he saw Crooks' head make contact with the ball. If that's true, then the call is fine, but he could be covering for the whole group. I don't mean to accuse them of anything, but rather than admit that the field official made a mistake by not asking about the raised flag earlier, it would be much better for the crew to agree that the other ref. had a better view of the play and saw Crooks head the ball. Long story short, I didn't see Crooks make contact with the ball, so it looked like the wrong call.
Some of CBA's players took issue with the second goal, because they thought Crooks was offside. Unlike the first goal, I don't think CBA had a beef here. Crooks was even with William Liapis when Brian Maher sent him the ball.
If I have space for a notebook this Saturday, I'm going to touch on this artificial turf that they played on last night. A lot of schools have turf fields, but they are newer, softer, and more natural-playing surfaces. TCNJ has the old, original Astroturf surface, which is like playing on concrete. In fact, Jim Lannon said CBA practiced in the parking lot for a little while Thursday to prepare.
A few years back, TCNJ made sense because it provided a large venue with central location and a playing surface that can hold up in inclimate weather. Now, there are plenty of fields with artificial surfaces far more conducive to soccer that would make for more quality games. TCNJ still provides the best venue, turf-aside, because it is in a good location and can seat a lot of spectators. But let's hope they can change the playing surface sometime soon, because the players hate it and it makes the game very ugly.
I'll be back at TCNJ Friday to watch Manalapan play Clifton for the Group IV title. I'll preview it on the blog and in the paper, so keep and eye out.
With that said, the first goal, at least from my vantage point, was the wrong call. C.J. Crooks did run into Steve Alessio, albeit unintentionally, knocked him down, and never touched the ball, a least not until Alessio lossed the ball after the collision.
What made the call tougher to swallow for CBA was that the sideline referee raised his flag to signal a foul, but the field referee looked to the other sideline official, who did not raise his flag. The field ref. did not ask the ref. that called the foul until after play had resumed, and at that point, they can't overturn the call anyway.
I spoke to the officials briefly after the game and the sideline referee that did not raise his flag said he saw Crooks' head make contact with the ball. If that's true, then the call is fine, but he could be covering for the whole group. I don't mean to accuse them of anything, but rather than admit that the field official made a mistake by not asking about the raised flag earlier, it would be much better for the crew to agree that the other ref. had a better view of the play and saw Crooks head the ball. Long story short, I didn't see Crooks make contact with the ball, so it looked like the wrong call.
Some of CBA's players took issue with the second goal, because they thought Crooks was offside. Unlike the first goal, I don't think CBA had a beef here. Crooks was even with William Liapis when Brian Maher sent him the ball.
If I have space for a notebook this Saturday, I'm going to touch on this artificial turf that they played on last night. A lot of schools have turf fields, but they are newer, softer, and more natural-playing surfaces. TCNJ has the old, original Astroturf surface, which is like playing on concrete. In fact, Jim Lannon said CBA practiced in the parking lot for a little while Thursday to prepare.
A few years back, TCNJ made sense because it provided a large venue with central location and a playing surface that can hold up in inclimate weather. Now, there are plenty of fields with artificial surfaces far more conducive to soccer that would make for more quality games. TCNJ still provides the best venue, turf-aside, because it is in a good location and can seat a lot of spectators. But let's hope they can change the playing surface sometime soon, because the players hate it and it makes the game very ugly.
I'll be back at TCNJ Friday to watch Manalapan play Clifton for the Group IV title. I'll preview it on the blog and in the paper, so keep and eye out.
posted by Matt Manley at 7:28 PM
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Manalapan wins 2-0
Adam Rice and Greg Grzelak scored second-half goals, each off George Quintano assists, and the Braves advanced to their second straight Group IV final with a 2-0 win over Washington Twp. Manalapan will play Clifton, winners over Columbia earlier this evening.
I wasn't at the game, so I can't tell you too much more in the way of details.
I wasn't at the game, so I can't tell you too much more in the way of details.
posted by Matt Manley at 5:50 PM
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CBA Falls 2-0
Seton Hall Prep got two goals from C.J. Crooks, both in controversial fashion, and the Pirates took out CBA 2-0. The first goal came in the 19th minute off a cross into the net that CBA keeper Steve Alessio caught. His momentum was carrying him into the goal as he collided with a charging Crooks, jarring the ball loose and over the line. The referees ruled Crooks got a head on the ball.
The second came on a long through-ball on the ground that Crooks beat William Liapis to about forty yards from the goal. Crooks beat Alessio 1-on-1 to make it a two score game in the 61st minute. CBA's backs looked like they wanted an offsides call.
More on those two plays and the rest of the game in a bit.
The second came on a long through-ball on the ground that Crooks beat William Liapis to about forty yards from the goal. Crooks beat Alessio 1-on-1 to make it a two score game in the 61st minute. CBA's backs looked like they wanted an offsides call.
More on those two plays and the rest of the game in a bit.
posted by Matt Manley at 5:42 PM
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Monday, November 12, 2007
And then there were two
Manalapan (19-3-2) vs. Washington Twp. (17-2-2)
At Memorial Field, Neptune, 7 p.m.
Both teams have pretty much done the bare minimum to get to this point, winning their last three games by a goal each. Manalapan has not allowed a goal in the entire tournament, but have only scored one in each of its last three games. Washington, meanwhile, beat Pennsauken 2-1 and has since beat Toms River North and Lenape 1-0 each. I briefly talked to TRN coach Dave Mitchell about Washington, and he came away impressed. They can control the ball in the midfield, but they had some trouble finishing against North and, evidently, against Lenape.
I like Manalapan to move on for one reason: Jake Grinkevich. The play in goal has been superb and the defense in front of the goal has been nearly as good. We'll see what Washington has for George Quintano, who looks like he's good for a goal-a-game these days. If they are strong in the back, Manalapan might have some trouble, but they are going to have some opportunities along the way and they'll finish one at some point.
The Pick: Manalapan 2-0.
CBA (14-5-1) vs. Seton Hall Prep (21-1)
At The College of New Jersey, 6 p.m.
There is a preview coming out in Tuesday's paper that touches on the Seton Hall-CBA sports rivalry, so I won't get into that here.
The two teams are meeting for the first time in the Non-Public A finals, and it couldn't come at a worse time for CBA. Seton Hall Prep might have its best team ever, setting school records in wins (21), goals scored (93), and shutouts (15). Forwards C.J. Crooks and Sean Duggan are a lot to handle for a CBA team that is almost guaranteed to give up at least one goal a game (just two shutouts this year.
There is reason to believe for the Colts though. In 20 games this season, CBA has failed to score in only one of them, a 3-0 loss to Manalapan on Sept. 24. Seton Hall Prep keeps teams out of the goal, but CBA always gives themselves chances, and with Andrew Liapis playing like he is, they have a go-to finisher.
The second element that tips the scale more towards CBA is the Colts experience. They return a lot of key players from last year's runner-up team, and from what I've seen, they are indeed better than last year. If they can protect their goalie, they have the skill to put the ball in the net, whereas last year, they had a great goalie and had trouble scoring at times. Now that most everyone has played in this and on this turf (which killed CBA for the first half of last year's game), they should be comfortable with the elements from the outset.
Finally, the CBA is used to playing against great forwards, and that is Seton Hall's advantage in the game. CBA will put at least one in the net, but they will have to draw upon their past experience against guys like Kyle Bethel, George Quintano, and Gloucester Catholic's Kameron Teel to contain Crooks and Duggan.
A CBA win tonight is more than just a championship for the school. It's a certain measure of pay-back for a rivalry that has been very one-sided in favor of Seton Hall. It's a fifth championship for Dan Keane. It's a huge win for the Shore Conference, which would get a win against one of the state's best teams with the Conferences' third-best team. Whether or not the CBA kids believe any of it or feel the pressure, I don't know. But they know what it felt like to lose last year and to lose this year. I think that gets a very good game against a good team out of them, but guarding two great forwards is different than guarding just one. I think Seton Hall will be too much.
The Pick: Seton Hall 2-1.
At Memorial Field, Neptune, 7 p.m.
Both teams have pretty much done the bare minimum to get to this point, winning their last three games by a goal each. Manalapan has not allowed a goal in the entire tournament, but have only scored one in each of its last three games. Washington, meanwhile, beat Pennsauken 2-1 and has since beat Toms River North and Lenape 1-0 each. I briefly talked to TRN coach Dave Mitchell about Washington, and he came away impressed. They can control the ball in the midfield, but they had some trouble finishing against North and, evidently, against Lenape.
I like Manalapan to move on for one reason: Jake Grinkevich. The play in goal has been superb and the defense in front of the goal has been nearly as good. We'll see what Washington has for George Quintano, who looks like he's good for a goal-a-game these days. If they are strong in the back, Manalapan might have some trouble, but they are going to have some opportunities along the way and they'll finish one at some point.
The Pick: Manalapan 2-0.
CBA (14-5-1) vs. Seton Hall Prep (21-1)
At The College of New Jersey, 6 p.m.
There is a preview coming out in Tuesday's paper that touches on the Seton Hall-CBA sports rivalry, so I won't get into that here.
The two teams are meeting for the first time in the Non-Public A finals, and it couldn't come at a worse time for CBA. Seton Hall Prep might have its best team ever, setting school records in wins (21), goals scored (93), and shutouts (15). Forwards C.J. Crooks and Sean Duggan are a lot to handle for a CBA team that is almost guaranteed to give up at least one goal a game (just two shutouts this year.
There is reason to believe for the Colts though. In 20 games this season, CBA has failed to score in only one of them, a 3-0 loss to Manalapan on Sept. 24. Seton Hall Prep keeps teams out of the goal, but CBA always gives themselves chances, and with Andrew Liapis playing like he is, they have a go-to finisher.
The second element that tips the scale more towards CBA is the Colts experience. They return a lot of key players from last year's runner-up team, and from what I've seen, they are indeed better than last year. If they can protect their goalie, they have the skill to put the ball in the net, whereas last year, they had a great goalie and had trouble scoring at times. Now that most everyone has played in this and on this turf (which killed CBA for the first half of last year's game), they should be comfortable with the elements from the outset.
Finally, the CBA is used to playing against great forwards, and that is Seton Hall's advantage in the game. CBA will put at least one in the net, but they will have to draw upon their past experience against guys like Kyle Bethel, George Quintano, and Gloucester Catholic's Kameron Teel to contain Crooks and Duggan.
A CBA win tonight is more than just a championship for the school. It's a certain measure of pay-back for a rivalry that has been very one-sided in favor of Seton Hall. It's a fifth championship for Dan Keane. It's a huge win for the Shore Conference, which would get a win against one of the state's best teams with the Conferences' third-best team. Whether or not the CBA kids believe any of it or feel the pressure, I don't know. But they know what it felt like to lose last year and to lose this year. I think that gets a very good game against a good team out of them, but guarding two great forwards is different than guarding just one. I think Seton Hall will be too much.
The Pick: Seton Hall 2-1.
posted by Matt Manley at 7:02 PM
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Friday, November 9, 2007
Howell-Manalapan Post-Game Thoughts
This game looked a lot like the CJ IV quarterfinal game between the two teams last year. Manlapan gets on the board first and packs it in, giving Howell almost zero chance to get a decent shot on Jake Grinkevich the rest of the game.
George Quintano was bound to play a better game against Howell after three virtual no-shows, but I was surprised with how many quality looks he was able to get. Even before the goal in the 34th, Quintano had two good chances to score, one that missed high, and another to the right. Both shots were as clean a looks as he's had against Howell this year, and then he managed an even better shot to score the goal about a minute after he missed wide right. Manalapan did play with three forwards instead of two, which gave Quintano some support by giving the Howell backs more guys to account for. So kudos to the Manalapan coaching staff for that adjustment.
The reason they can push an extra player up though, is because they have the best keeper in the Shore Conference. Grinkevich was excellent again, and once Quintano got his his goal, the Rebels had no chance. They could not get one past him when they were getting clean looks, so when Manalapan had five or six players in the protecting him, forget it. Unless Howell could boot one off a Manalapan leg and redirect it past Grinkevich, nothing was getting through. Grinkevich made three terrific saves with the score tied at 0, but once Manalapan scored, Howell didn't get any great shots. A couple crosses, passed in front of the net, but nothing anybody was able to get a foot on.
As good as Quintano's been this year, Grinkevich is what sets this team apart. The Braves struggled early in the year because he was moving around like a 40-year-old Patrick Ewing while recovering from an ankle injury. He's looked better with every game and he's playing better now than he has at any point in the last three years. It'll be interesting to see how he does next year, but the Braves don't have to start thinking that far ahead just yet, so I won't either, at least not in this space.
Another great year for Howell comes to a bitter end. Kyle Bethel, Eric O'Neill, and Joe Parella are the only senior starters, but it hurts every player, no matter the grade, to lose a game like this. In the end, they just didn't control the pace of the game long enough. Howell dominated the first quarter of the game, but Manalapan got its attack rolling, got a goal, and Howell couldn't recover. They managed to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Manalapan earlier in the year, but after watching the Braves lock them down Friday, I don't know how they did it. Kudos to Howell on a great year. I thought they might win Group IV, but a game like this just shows how hard it is to do when there are so many good teams.
I have a tough decision on my hands deciding who's number one. Since Saturday's paper only takes games up to Thursday into account, I have a week to think about it. For now I'll let everyone else decide.
George Quintano was bound to play a better game against Howell after three virtual no-shows, but I was surprised with how many quality looks he was able to get. Even before the goal in the 34th, Quintano had two good chances to score, one that missed high, and another to the right. Both shots were as clean a looks as he's had against Howell this year, and then he managed an even better shot to score the goal about a minute after he missed wide right. Manalapan did play with three forwards instead of two, which gave Quintano some support by giving the Howell backs more guys to account for. So kudos to the Manalapan coaching staff for that adjustment.
The reason they can push an extra player up though, is because they have the best keeper in the Shore Conference. Grinkevich was excellent again, and once Quintano got his his goal, the Rebels had no chance. They could not get one past him when they were getting clean looks, so when Manalapan had five or six players in the protecting him, forget it. Unless Howell could boot one off a Manalapan leg and redirect it past Grinkevich, nothing was getting through. Grinkevich made three terrific saves with the score tied at 0, but once Manalapan scored, Howell didn't get any great shots. A couple crosses, passed in front of the net, but nothing anybody was able to get a foot on.
As good as Quintano's been this year, Grinkevich is what sets this team apart. The Braves struggled early in the year because he was moving around like a 40-year-old Patrick Ewing while recovering from an ankle injury. He's looked better with every game and he's playing better now than he has at any point in the last three years. It'll be interesting to see how he does next year, but the Braves don't have to start thinking that far ahead just yet, so I won't either, at least not in this space.
Another great year for Howell comes to a bitter end. Kyle Bethel, Eric O'Neill, and Joe Parella are the only senior starters, but it hurts every player, no matter the grade, to lose a game like this. In the end, they just didn't control the pace of the game long enough. Howell dominated the first quarter of the game, but Manalapan got its attack rolling, got a goal, and Howell couldn't recover. They managed to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Manalapan earlier in the year, but after watching the Braves lock them down Friday, I don't know how they did it. Kudos to Howell on a great year. I thought they might win Group IV, but a game like this just shows how hard it is to do when there are so many good teams.
I have a tough decision on my hands deciding who's number one. Since Saturday's paper only takes games up to Thursday into account, I have a week to think about it. For now I'll let everyone else decide.
posted by Matt Manley at 4:13 PM
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Championship Scores
CJ IV
Manalapan 1, Howell 0 - (MAN) Quintano 34'.
CJ II
Somerville 2, Shore 0
CJ III
WWPN 3, Red Bank 0
SJ I
A.P. Schalick 5, Point Beach 0
Manalapan 1, Howell 0 - (MAN) Quintano 34'.
CJ II
Somerville 2, Shore 0
CJ III
WWPN 3, Red Bank 0
SJ I
A.P. Schalick 5, Point Beach 0
posted by Matt Manley at 12:36 PM
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Thursday, November 8, 2007
Friday Sectional Finals
Last year, the Shore Conference had seven teams in seven games in the finals, but only three (Holmdel, Manalapan and CBA) advanced to the next round. This year, six teams are playing in five games, with CBA already advancing Thursday night. We know at least one more team (Howell or Manalapan) will join them, but let's take at exactly which teams might be joining CBA in next round.
#6 Manalapan at #4 Howell
Like I said when I previewed the SCT final, just saying "Howell-Manalapan" is enough. There's not much that hasn't already been said, but I'll try to say a little anyway.
Howell has proven itself as the best team in the Shore. They are loaded with talent, can play any style they choose, and if there was any mental block last year against Manalapan, it's gone after the SCT final.
Howell certainly got the better of play in that game, but it was still only 1-0. Manalapan has a keeper in Jake Grinkevich who can save quality shots on the goal and do so repeatedly to keep his team in the game. So while Howell might be getting the quality shots, Manalapan has someone who can save them.
Howell is going to play their game. They will move the ball, they'll get good looks and they will make life difficult for George Quintano. They are the team with the blowout potential because the quality opportunities will be there and it will be a matter of the Rebels finishing vs. Grinkevich stopping them.
The key is Quintano. Howell has done as good of a job on him as you can and if they do it again, they will probably win. Manalapan has other capable players, but the offense runs through Quintano. He'll need to, at the very least, take advantage of all the attention and find some holes in the Howell defense, if they exist.
It feels like Manalapan owes Howell one here, but it's also apparent that Howell is the better team on most days. Howell has a lot of players that can beat you, while Manalapan has a few players that have to play well for them to win. Quintano may finally break loose against Howell, but I'll take the safe pick.
The Pick: Howell 2-0
#12 West Windsor North at #3 Red Bank
I don't have as much to say about this one because I don't know much about the Knights. But both teams have a chance to win their first ever sectional title, so both will be extra pumped. Red Bank has won 4-1, 2-1 in OT, and 5-1 in their state games, so maybe they are due for another close one. That would make some sense because WWPN has played everyone tight, winning 3-2, 1-0, and 2-0. The 2-0 win over Neptune was even closer than the score, considering Neptune, by all accounts, had the better of play. Red Bank beat Neptune 3-1 this year, so that is the only frame of reference to work with between the two teams. Neptune got beat because WWPN had a forward that eventually got to a sporadic Fliers defense. Red Bank is a stronger defensive team than Neptune, and while they don't strike as quickly as Neptune, they can certainly create scoring opportunities. The defense will be the difference.
The Pick: Red Bank 1-0
#8 Shore at #2 Somerville
Somerville ended Raritan's season in the CJ II finals last year with a 3-1 win, and would like to take out another Shore Conference team in the sectional finals this year. Shore might be better in the field than last year's Rartian team, but Raritan had an outstanding keeper in Alex Wanless. Somerville has a well-rounded team that will put the ball in the net and not allow its opponent to do the same. Shore, meanwhile has struggled to stay consistent, but that's partly due to the fact that the Devils have struggled to stay healthy. Now at full force, Shore may be peaking based on the 144 straight minutes of shutout soccer they've played. They also have a player in Roberto Novoa that will probably be the best player on the field Friday, and he'll need to play like it for Shore to control the pace. Knowing what I know about Somerville, I think Novoa can make some noise, but I think Shore will have some trouble with them. They'll need to get on the board early, play good defense, and hope for a few mistakes on the other end. That might be asking too much.
The Pick: Somerville 3-1
#7 Point Beach at #4 A.P. Schalick
To recap the point I made in an earlier post, Point Beach plays a tougher schedule than these teams from the depths of South Jersey. That's a big help, but it's not everything, because over the last two games, the two teams have played similar competition. I can't say which team is better, but Beach has pretty good skill considering their Group I status and if that talent plays a good game against Schalick, I expect them to win. They already had two close victories with a PK win over New Egypt and a 1-0 win over Woodbury on a Henry Stuhler goal in the 72nd minute. P.J. Seggel is playing well in goal, and they have some scoring with Brian McElwee and Richie Baiata, so I see them winning a little more comfortably this time. After championship misses in 2005 and 2006, the third time is a charm for the Gulls.
The Pick: Point Beach 2-0.
#6 Manalapan at #4 Howell
Like I said when I previewed the SCT final, just saying "Howell-Manalapan" is enough. There's not much that hasn't already been said, but I'll try to say a little anyway.
Howell has proven itself as the best team in the Shore. They are loaded with talent, can play any style they choose, and if there was any mental block last year against Manalapan, it's gone after the SCT final.
Howell certainly got the better of play in that game, but it was still only 1-0. Manalapan has a keeper in Jake Grinkevich who can save quality shots on the goal and do so repeatedly to keep his team in the game. So while Howell might be getting the quality shots, Manalapan has someone who can save them.
Howell is going to play their game. They will move the ball, they'll get good looks and they will make life difficult for George Quintano. They are the team with the blowout potential because the quality opportunities will be there and it will be a matter of the Rebels finishing vs. Grinkevich stopping them.
The key is Quintano. Howell has done as good of a job on him as you can and if they do it again, they will probably win. Manalapan has other capable players, but the offense runs through Quintano. He'll need to, at the very least, take advantage of all the attention and find some holes in the Howell defense, if they exist.
It feels like Manalapan owes Howell one here, but it's also apparent that Howell is the better team on most days. Howell has a lot of players that can beat you, while Manalapan has a few players that have to play well for them to win. Quintano may finally break loose against Howell, but I'll take the safe pick.
The Pick: Howell 2-0
#12 West Windsor North at #3 Red Bank
I don't have as much to say about this one because I don't know much about the Knights. But both teams have a chance to win their first ever sectional title, so both will be extra pumped. Red Bank has won 4-1, 2-1 in OT, and 5-1 in their state games, so maybe they are due for another close one. That would make some sense because WWPN has played everyone tight, winning 3-2, 1-0, and 2-0. The 2-0 win over Neptune was even closer than the score, considering Neptune, by all accounts, had the better of play. Red Bank beat Neptune 3-1 this year, so that is the only frame of reference to work with between the two teams. Neptune got beat because WWPN had a forward that eventually got to a sporadic Fliers defense. Red Bank is a stronger defensive team than Neptune, and while they don't strike as quickly as Neptune, they can certainly create scoring opportunities. The defense will be the difference.
The Pick: Red Bank 1-0
#8 Shore at #2 Somerville
Somerville ended Raritan's season in the CJ II finals last year with a 3-1 win, and would like to take out another Shore Conference team in the sectional finals this year. Shore might be better in the field than last year's Rartian team, but Raritan had an outstanding keeper in Alex Wanless. Somerville has a well-rounded team that will put the ball in the net and not allow its opponent to do the same. Shore, meanwhile has struggled to stay consistent, but that's partly due to the fact that the Devils have struggled to stay healthy. Now at full force, Shore may be peaking based on the 144 straight minutes of shutout soccer they've played. They also have a player in Roberto Novoa that will probably be the best player on the field Friday, and he'll need to play like it for Shore to control the pace. Knowing what I know about Somerville, I think Novoa can make some noise, but I think Shore will have some trouble with them. They'll need to get on the board early, play good defense, and hope for a few mistakes on the other end. That might be asking too much.
The Pick: Somerville 3-1
#7 Point Beach at #4 A.P. Schalick
To recap the point I made in an earlier post, Point Beach plays a tougher schedule than these teams from the depths of South Jersey. That's a big help, but it's not everything, because over the last two games, the two teams have played similar competition. I can't say which team is better, but Beach has pretty good skill considering their Group I status and if that talent plays a good game against Schalick, I expect them to win. They already had two close victories with a PK win over New Egypt and a 1-0 win over Woodbury on a Henry Stuhler goal in the 72nd minute. P.J. Seggel is playing well in goal, and they have some scoring with Brian McElwee and Richie Baiata, so I see them winning a little more comfortably this time. After championship misses in 2005 and 2006, the third time is a charm for the Gulls.
The Pick: Point Beach 2-0.
posted by Matt Manley at 7:18 PM
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CBA Tops GC 3-1
In case you have't heard and care to hear, CBA won its 12th Non-Public A South title by beating Gloucester Catholic 3-1 earlier tonight. Andrew Liapis scored two more goals, making it five in three state games, and Chris Mergenthaler scored the first of the night to round out the CBA scoring.
That's only the third time I've seen CBA this year and the fifth time in two years covering the area, but that's the best I've seen them look. They moved the ball really well and they created a lot of scoring opportunities without needing a set-piece. Of course, the first goal came off a corner kick, when somehow, Mergenthaler got his foot on the ball and toe-poked it past the keeper despite doing do with about three defenders surrounding him.
The defense was especially impressive, headed by Jim Lannon who had a very nice game. I commented that this year's CBA team didn't play as physically as last year's, but they have picked up the intensity in states. That seems to be their thing. Whatever was wrong in the regular season, fix it for the postseason.
In terms of talent, Andrew Liapis is one of the better forwards in the Shore, but with the style CBA plays, it didn't show in production early in the year, because the goals are pretty evenly distributed among a handful of players. Now, that talent is turing into production, and Liapis is playing as well as anyone this tournament season, including Kyle Bethel. In the second half of this game, CBA assistant Jeff Matson told him to move to the midfield and moved Rob Patten up top in order to get Liapis the ball earlier and it made a clear difference. Liapis did indeed get the ball earlier and he was able to get the ball to Patten who eventually gave it back to set up Liapis' first goal. He's a really skilled player with a lot of speed and with five goals and two assists in five playoff games, he's thrown his name into the All-Shore hat.
CBA plays Seton Hall Prep in the finals Tuesday night at TCNJ, and beating them, will be a very tall task. The Pirates are a North Jersey Powerhouse with some of the best talent in the state and should be considered the favorites to win. But CBA wasn't far from winning the title last year, and they might be stronger in the field than they were last year. The key for them will be in goal, where Alessio was off-and-on today. He made some big saves, but did let a ball get over his head for the lone goal. There's not much margin for error against SHU-Prep, so he, along with everyone else, will have to be in top form.
I'll have have a little more on this game as we get closer to Tuesday night.
That's only the third time I've seen CBA this year and the fifth time in two years covering the area, but that's the best I've seen them look. They moved the ball really well and they created a lot of scoring opportunities without needing a set-piece. Of course, the first goal came off a corner kick, when somehow, Mergenthaler got his foot on the ball and toe-poked it past the keeper despite doing do with about three defenders surrounding him.
The defense was especially impressive, headed by Jim Lannon who had a very nice game. I commented that this year's CBA team didn't play as physically as last year's, but they have picked up the intensity in states. That seems to be their thing. Whatever was wrong in the regular season, fix it for the postseason.
In terms of talent, Andrew Liapis is one of the better forwards in the Shore, but with the style CBA plays, it didn't show in production early in the year, because the goals are pretty evenly distributed among a handful of players. Now, that talent is turing into production, and Liapis is playing as well as anyone this tournament season, including Kyle Bethel. In the second half of this game, CBA assistant Jeff Matson told him to move to the midfield and moved Rob Patten up top in order to get Liapis the ball earlier and it made a clear difference. Liapis did indeed get the ball earlier and he was able to get the ball to Patten who eventually gave it back to set up Liapis' first goal. He's a really skilled player with a lot of speed and with five goals and two assists in five playoff games, he's thrown his name into the All-Shore hat.
CBA plays Seton Hall Prep in the finals Tuesday night at TCNJ, and beating them, will be a very tall task. The Pirates are a North Jersey Powerhouse with some of the best talent in the state and should be considered the favorites to win. But CBA wasn't far from winning the title last year, and they might be stronger in the field than they were last year. The key for them will be in goal, where Alessio was off-and-on today. He made some big saves, but did let a ball get over his head for the lone goal. There's not much margin for error against SHU-Prep, so he, along with everyone else, will have to be in top form.
I'll have have a little more on this game as we get closer to Tuesday night.
posted by Matt Manley at 2:02 PM
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Wednesday, November 7, 2007
CBA vs. Gloucester Catholic
CORRECTION: I originally posted that the CBA game was at 2 p.m., but it is actually at 5 p.m. Sorry for any confusion.
Thursday's only game get's its own post. CBA goes for its 12th Parochial/Non-Public championship game appearance, this time against Gloucester Catholic. The Colts have always raised their level of play for this tournament and it has especially shown this year. Eight of the Colts 11 pre-state tournament wins were by a one-goal margin, but in two state games, CBA has 4-1 and 2-0 wins. That doesn't mean much in the champinoship, but it does show that the Colts have tightened up their play in the back and they've been able to finish. It also doesn't hurt that they play an A North schedule to toughen them up for postseason play.
I like CBA in this game. I worried about them against Augustine on Tuesday, but they played about as clean a game as you could play. Now their playing a team with speed up top that likes to play kick-and-run to get the ball to its speed. That's not typically how you beat CBA's possession game, but it was good enough to beat Monsignor Donovan. Based on styles, CBA will have an edge, but it only takes a mistake or two to give up a quick one. Based on the last couple of games, those mistakes have not been happening, so if CBA continues that kind of play, they should be okay.
To me this game is all about protecting the goal for CBA, and the key word is patience. If the game is scoreless into the final 20 minutes, CBA will be fine as long as they don't leave themselves exposed in the back. If they have to push up at any point, they are usually in decent shape because they can possess the ball. But Gloucester Catholic will be waiting on those mistakes, and as they showed against Donovan, they can capitalize.
This CBA team might be a little stronger in skill than it was last year, but it lacks a certain degree of physicality that kept them in the championship game against Pingry. I see them getting into the finals, but like in just about every other sport, North Jersey reigns supreme. It's going to take a great effort from the Colts to pull out a Non Public title Tuesday, and it starts Thursday evening. Step one should be a successful one.
The Pick: CBA 2-1.
Thursday's only game get's its own post. CBA goes for its 12th Parochial/Non-Public championship game appearance, this time against Gloucester Catholic. The Colts have always raised their level of play for this tournament and it has especially shown this year. Eight of the Colts 11 pre-state tournament wins were by a one-goal margin, but in two state games, CBA has 4-1 and 2-0 wins. That doesn't mean much in the champinoship, but it does show that the Colts have tightened up their play in the back and they've been able to finish. It also doesn't hurt that they play an A North schedule to toughen them up for postseason play.
I like CBA in this game. I worried about them against Augustine on Tuesday, but they played about as clean a game as you could play. Now their playing a team with speed up top that likes to play kick-and-run to get the ball to its speed. That's not typically how you beat CBA's possession game, but it was good enough to beat Monsignor Donovan. Based on styles, CBA will have an edge, but it only takes a mistake or two to give up a quick one. Based on the last couple of games, those mistakes have not been happening, so if CBA continues that kind of play, they should be okay.
To me this game is all about protecting the goal for CBA, and the key word is patience. If the game is scoreless into the final 20 minutes, CBA will be fine as long as they don't leave themselves exposed in the back. If they have to push up at any point, they are usually in decent shape because they can possess the ball. But Gloucester Catholic will be waiting on those mistakes, and as they showed against Donovan, they can capitalize.
This CBA team might be a little stronger in skill than it was last year, but it lacks a certain degree of physicality that kept them in the championship game against Pingry. I see them getting into the finals, but like in just about every other sport, North Jersey reigns supreme. It's going to take a great effort from the Colts to pull out a Non Public title Tuesday, and it starts Thursday evening. Step one should be a successful one.
The Pick: CBA 2-1.
posted by Matt Manley at 11:18 PM
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Finals schedule; Tuesday Recap Pt. II
Thursday
Non Public A South
No. 3 Gloucester Catholic vs. No. 4 CBA, 5 p.m. at Eastern H.S.
Friday
CJ IV
No. 6 Manalapan at No. 4 Howell, 1 p.m. (On the Field Hockey Field)
CJ III
No. 12 West Windsor North at No. 3 Red Bank, 2 p.m.
CJ II
No. 8 Shore at No. 2 Somerville, 1 p.m. at White Oak Park in Branchburg
SJ I
No. 7 Point Beach at No. 4 A.P. Schalick, 1 p.m.
The links are directions to the away sites.
CBA beats St. Auggies again
We're back on the subject of Tuesday's games and we'll start with CBA beating St. Augustine for the second straight year. Andrew Liapis has had one of the more underrated years in the Shore Conference with 12 goals and eight assists, including the two goals to beat the Hermits on Tuesday. CBA has had goal-scoring from a lot of different sources, with guys like Liapis, Matt LaMura, Chris Mergenthaler, and Jim Lannon all with similar goal-scoring numbers, but Liapis has emerged as their go-to-guy. He had a bit of a lull in the midddle of the year, but he's been finishing lately after showing a lot of promise in the early stages of the year.
Whatever CBA keeps finding in the St. Augustine defense, they attack it quickly. Last year, the Colts scored two goals within about a minute of each other to come back late and beat St. Auggies 2-1. While CBA didn't have to come back to beat the Hermits this time around, they beat them with two goals that essentially came within two minutes of one another. Even though they have played down to their competition at times, CBA has had a knack for the big goal, which has to bode well for them.
Red Bank back in Sects. for first time since 2000
The 5-1 score by which Red Bank beats looks ugly for Ocean, but it was more the result of an ugly field according to my colleague Rob Ziegler, who covered the game for us. Will MacLonie's goal that put Red Bank up 3-1 came as a result of Ocean goalie Lucas Rhoads losing his footing on a long boot by MacLonie. Despite the break, Red Bank's senior talent came through like it has all year. Marty Stern and Rob Child are a lot to handle and should they get past West Windsor North, I'm interested to see how they match-up against Ocean City, which has been one of the best Group III schools in the state over the past few years. I thought Ocean had a good shot in this one, but the Bucs had way too much talent for the Spartans.
So Red Bank is in their first CJ III finals since 2000 when they lost, fittingly enough, to Ocean. The Bucs might have put some ghosts to rest with Tuesday's win, but the goal is to win that first ever Group III sectional title, not just to get there.
Point Beach reaches third straight sectional final
It's been a simple formula for the Gulls: control the ball, keep the opposition off the board, and find a goal somewhere. Henry Stuhler scored in the 72nd and the defense with keeper P.J. Seggel shut down Woodbury to get the Gulls another win after shutting out New Egypt in the first round.
The Garnet Gulls have flown under the radar in this state tournament for a few reasons. First of all, they play in a very small South Jersey Group I; second, they don't have any other Shore teams with them in the section like Rumson/Shore/Manasquan, Howell/Manalapan, the Toms River Schools, CBA/Monsignor Donovan, or the slew of CJ III teams; and third, their road games have been progressively further away from the area, with New Egypt first, Woodbury second, and A.P. Schalick Friday. A lot of the teams in the bracket are basically in Delaware, including Schalick, so Beach has to deal with some long bus rides. But playing these deep South Jersey teams does as much good for them as it hurts them because the Gulls play bigger schools during the course of the season than a lot of these teams. So for the third straight year, the Gulls have a nice team in Class B Central and turn it on in the SJ I playoffs.
It's been real...
While six teams made it to their respective sectional finals, six teams saw their seasons come to an end.
Neptune: This was the most surprising one to me, although based on the review I did of their schedule, it shouldn't have been. Neptune has not had good results against teams it is unfamiliar with and WWPN was a new team. In the Fliers defense, they outplayed the Knights for most of the game, but gave up two late goals to the same player. This team will be remembered as a streaky group with some eye-opening performances, for better or worse. They lost a tough one to WWPN, but handing Princeton its only loss of the year after the Tigers beat them 5-0 last year will be the season-defining moment for a talented, senior-heavy team.
TR East: While I thought Lenape might win, I also thought the Raiders would have a better showing. Toms River East has looked great at times, but they've also had some games early in the year (Brick, TR North) and late (TR South, Lacey) in which they just didn't play well. As I said before, I thought they looked very good against Marlboro, but finishing has been the issue all year long and there wasn't enough of it against Lenape. They also have some growing up to do at GK with sophomore Tom Iorio, who had his moments and should be pretty good for them going forward. All things considered, the Raiders were who we thought they were, to quote Dennis Green. They lost a lot of seniors 2006 to this year, but still had enough talent to be a strong A South and SJ IV team. It turns out, they were just that and maybe a little better.
TR North: Coach Dave Mitchell acknowledged that the better team won in his team's 1-0 defeat at the hands of top-seeded Washington Twp., but that's not the only factor that decided the game. The Mariners were already missing Todd Webb in the midfield, but lost Nick Crenshaw and Todd Webb to concusions during the course of this game, according to Mitchell. Injuries have killed this team all year, and while you can't just point to injuries as the reason for some disappointments over the course of the season, it's hard to beat a No. 1 seed in a Group IV section while missing three starters. Mitchell even said that by the middle part of the second half, they were just playing to protect the net and get to penalty kicks.
The M's never really had a chance to mix the seniors and the sophomores because of all the injuries, but the two-game SJ IV winning streak and a hard-fought loss was a nice way to end the careers of the seniors and a nice checkpoint heading into next year's junior-heavy team.
Monsignor Donovan: The Griffins wrap up a really tough day for Toms River with a 1-0 loss to Gloucester Catholic. I wondered whether the B South schedule was going to hurt the Griffins at some point in the SCT or State Tournament, but I don't think that's what happened here. Maybe if they lost decisively or even to CBA, then you could conclude the schedule hurt them, but B South was pretty solid this year, and Donovan played their game Tuesday and just happen to lose a 1-0 game. That's part of the game. From what I heard and read, they had some chances to get on the board, hit some posts, and gave up a goal on a kick-and-run play that they had sniffed out for the rest of the game. It's a tough loss to swallow after a really strong year, especially since they would have had a chance to go through their own Conference's parochial powerhouse to get a Non Public A South title.
It's hard to say whether Mon Don fulfilled its potential by recording an 18-4 record and a trip to the SCT quarters, or whether the Griffins fell short of expectations with a one-and-done in states and coming up a game short of the SCT final four. I had them pegged as the No. 10 team preseason, and they're going to be 6 or 7 to end the year, so in my eyes, they had a great year.
Manasquan: Somerville was a tough draw for the Warriors, but they played the game they wanted to play. They go out in the sectional semis for the second straight year after making it to the finals in 2005, but coach Mark Levy seemed especially at peace with this team because they managed to find some consistency before the state tournament. In the last two years, Manasquan was the 12 seed last year and 11 seed two years ago and this year drew the No. 3 on the strength of a much improved regular season. As they proved with deep runs when they were high seeds, anything can happen in the state tourney, and it just didn't happen this year. Seniors Andy Pinnella, Zach Groezinger, Ben Tumas, and Taylor Weiss will be hard to replace, but they've done their part in putting the soccer program on the Shore Conference map.
Ocean: It looked like Ocean was going to turn a rollercoaster season into another sectional title, but instead they went out with another puzzling performace. Ocean had a lot of talent to replace from last year's squad, but coach Tom Reilly had some pieces in place to do his usual strong job. But injuries made it hard for the Spartans to develop an identity, and while they had some big wins over Rumson and Monmouth, they couldn't put enough wins together at any point this year. Ben Lowy is an All-Shore caliber defender and headed to Monmouth next year, but there are some young pieces in place to work with going forward. Look for Ocean to be a little bit better from start to finish next year.
I'll have a look at CBA's game first and then the other five games a little later.
Non Public A South
No. 3 Gloucester Catholic vs. No. 4 CBA, 5 p.m. at Eastern H.S.
Friday
CJ IV
No. 6 Manalapan at No. 4 Howell, 1 p.m. (On the Field Hockey Field)
CJ III
No. 12 West Windsor North at No. 3 Red Bank, 2 p.m.
CJ II
No. 8 Shore at No. 2 Somerville, 1 p.m. at White Oak Park in Branchburg
SJ I
No. 7 Point Beach at No. 4 A.P. Schalick, 1 p.m.
The links are directions to the away sites.
CBA beats St. Auggies again
We're back on the subject of Tuesday's games and we'll start with CBA beating St. Augustine for the second straight year. Andrew Liapis has had one of the more underrated years in the Shore Conference with 12 goals and eight assists, including the two goals to beat the Hermits on Tuesday. CBA has had goal-scoring from a lot of different sources, with guys like Liapis, Matt LaMura, Chris Mergenthaler, and Jim Lannon all with similar goal-scoring numbers, but Liapis has emerged as their go-to-guy. He had a bit of a lull in the midddle of the year, but he's been finishing lately after showing a lot of promise in the early stages of the year.
Whatever CBA keeps finding in the St. Augustine defense, they attack it quickly. Last year, the Colts scored two goals within about a minute of each other to come back late and beat St. Auggies 2-1. While CBA didn't have to come back to beat the Hermits this time around, they beat them with two goals that essentially came within two minutes of one another. Even though they have played down to their competition at times, CBA has had a knack for the big goal, which has to bode well for them.
Red Bank back in Sects. for first time since 2000
The 5-1 score by which Red Bank beats looks ugly for Ocean, but it was more the result of an ugly field according to my colleague Rob Ziegler, who covered the game for us. Will MacLonie's goal that put Red Bank up 3-1 came as a result of Ocean goalie Lucas Rhoads losing his footing on a long boot by MacLonie. Despite the break, Red Bank's senior talent came through like it has all year. Marty Stern and Rob Child are a lot to handle and should they get past West Windsor North, I'm interested to see how they match-up against Ocean City, which has been one of the best Group III schools in the state over the past few years. I thought Ocean had a good shot in this one, but the Bucs had way too much talent for the Spartans.
So Red Bank is in their first CJ III finals since 2000 when they lost, fittingly enough, to Ocean. The Bucs might have put some ghosts to rest with Tuesday's win, but the goal is to win that first ever Group III sectional title, not just to get there.
Point Beach reaches third straight sectional final
It's been a simple formula for the Gulls: control the ball, keep the opposition off the board, and find a goal somewhere. Henry Stuhler scored in the 72nd and the defense with keeper P.J. Seggel shut down Woodbury to get the Gulls another win after shutting out New Egypt in the first round.
The Garnet Gulls have flown under the radar in this state tournament for a few reasons. First of all, they play in a very small South Jersey Group I; second, they don't have any other Shore teams with them in the section like Rumson/Shore/Manasquan, Howell/Manalapan, the Toms River Schools, CBA/Monsignor Donovan, or the slew of CJ III teams; and third, their road games have been progressively further away from the area, with New Egypt first, Woodbury second, and A.P. Schalick Friday. A lot of the teams in the bracket are basically in Delaware, including Schalick, so Beach has to deal with some long bus rides. But playing these deep South Jersey teams does as much good for them as it hurts them because the Gulls play bigger schools during the course of the season than a lot of these teams. So for the third straight year, the Gulls have a nice team in Class B Central and turn it on in the SJ I playoffs.
It's been real...
While six teams made it to their respective sectional finals, six teams saw their seasons come to an end.
Neptune: This was the most surprising one to me, although based on the review I did of their schedule, it shouldn't have been. Neptune has not had good results against teams it is unfamiliar with and WWPN was a new team. In the Fliers defense, they outplayed the Knights for most of the game, but gave up two late goals to the same player. This team will be remembered as a streaky group with some eye-opening performances, for better or worse. They lost a tough one to WWPN, but handing Princeton its only loss of the year after the Tigers beat them 5-0 last year will be the season-defining moment for a talented, senior-heavy team.
TR East: While I thought Lenape might win, I also thought the Raiders would have a better showing. Toms River East has looked great at times, but they've also had some games early in the year (Brick, TR North) and late (TR South, Lacey) in which they just didn't play well. As I said before, I thought they looked very good against Marlboro, but finishing has been the issue all year long and there wasn't enough of it against Lenape. They also have some growing up to do at GK with sophomore Tom Iorio, who had his moments and should be pretty good for them going forward. All things considered, the Raiders were who we thought they were, to quote Dennis Green. They lost a lot of seniors 2006 to this year, but still had enough talent to be a strong A South and SJ IV team. It turns out, they were just that and maybe a little better.
TR North: Coach Dave Mitchell acknowledged that the better team won in his team's 1-0 defeat at the hands of top-seeded Washington Twp., but that's not the only factor that decided the game. The Mariners were already missing Todd Webb in the midfield, but lost Nick Crenshaw and Todd Webb to concusions during the course of this game, according to Mitchell. Injuries have killed this team all year, and while you can't just point to injuries as the reason for some disappointments over the course of the season, it's hard to beat a No. 1 seed in a Group IV section while missing three starters. Mitchell even said that by the middle part of the second half, they were just playing to protect the net and get to penalty kicks.
The M's never really had a chance to mix the seniors and the sophomores because of all the injuries, but the two-game SJ IV winning streak and a hard-fought loss was a nice way to end the careers of the seniors and a nice checkpoint heading into next year's junior-heavy team.
Monsignor Donovan: The Griffins wrap up a really tough day for Toms River with a 1-0 loss to Gloucester Catholic. I wondered whether the B South schedule was going to hurt the Griffins at some point in the SCT or State Tournament, but I don't think that's what happened here. Maybe if they lost decisively or even to CBA, then you could conclude the schedule hurt them, but B South was pretty solid this year, and Donovan played their game Tuesday and just happen to lose a 1-0 game. That's part of the game. From what I heard and read, they had some chances to get on the board, hit some posts, and gave up a goal on a kick-and-run play that they had sniffed out for the rest of the game. It's a tough loss to swallow after a really strong year, especially since they would have had a chance to go through their own Conference's parochial powerhouse to get a Non Public A South title.
It's hard to say whether Mon Don fulfilled its potential by recording an 18-4 record and a trip to the SCT quarters, or whether the Griffins fell short of expectations with a one-and-done in states and coming up a game short of the SCT final four. I had them pegged as the No. 10 team preseason, and they're going to be 6 or 7 to end the year, so in my eyes, they had a great year.
Manasquan: Somerville was a tough draw for the Warriors, but they played the game they wanted to play. They go out in the sectional semis for the second straight year after making it to the finals in 2005, but coach Mark Levy seemed especially at peace with this team because they managed to find some consistency before the state tournament. In the last two years, Manasquan was the 12 seed last year and 11 seed two years ago and this year drew the No. 3 on the strength of a much improved regular season. As they proved with deep runs when they were high seeds, anything can happen in the state tourney, and it just didn't happen this year. Seniors Andy Pinnella, Zach Groezinger, Ben Tumas, and Taylor Weiss will be hard to replace, but they've done their part in putting the soccer program on the Shore Conference map.
Ocean: It looked like Ocean was going to turn a rollercoaster season into another sectional title, but instead they went out with another puzzling performace. Ocean had a lot of talent to replace from last year's squad, but coach Tom Reilly had some pieces in place to do his usual strong job. But injuries made it hard for the Spartans to develop an identity, and while they had some big wins over Rumson and Monmouth, they couldn't put enough wins together at any point this year. Ben Lowy is an All-Shore caliber defender and headed to Monmouth next year, but there are some young pieces in place to work with going forward. Look for Ocean to be a little bit better from start to finish next year.
I'll have a look at CBA's game first and then the other five games a little later.
posted by Matt Manley at 3:08 PM
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Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Tuesday Recap Pt. I
Heading into Tuesday's games, 12 Shore teams had a chance at a sectional final appearance. The dust has settled and six of those teams are still standing, and wouldn't you know it, two of them are Howell and Manalapan.
Howell steals one from North Brunswick
Howell didn't necessarily steal a win from North Brunswick, but the winning goal was handed to them on a silver platter. For those that might have missed it, Howell was awarded a PK in the 77th and Cody Calafiore cashed in to give Howell a 2-1 win.
Yes, Bethel went down just inside the 18 and yes, calling it by the book, the call can certainly be made. But I think anyone watching that game wanted to see it play out, at least until it got to PKs at the end. I though Howell had the better of play in the second half, but once North Brunswick tied it, the game could have gone either way. Just before the foul in the box, Calafiore had two great looks at the goal and North Brunswick goalie Matt Perrella made one great save, and one of his defenders (didn't catch the number) backed his goalie up and got a foot on Calafiore's second shot. In the second half, North Brunswick had to do some scrambling in the back just to keep the game tied and, unfortunately for them, scrambled their way into a foul and a penalty kick.
The sad thing was this game was so much more than a penalty kick, but that's what it came down to. But getting past the kick, it was quite a game. Bethel comes up huge again with a header into the goal to put Howell up 1-0 and threw a nice shot fake at the defense to draw the foul. Calafiore gave him a perfect ball off a corner kick into a pretty stiff wind and the goalie came up to get it and it got over his head. Howell had five corner kicks previous to that one, so it seemed like only a matter of time before they got a really good shot off of one.
Ibrahim Kamara was as good as advertised, scoring on a beautiful shot that he floated over Brian McDonough and into the goal on a hop. He had five goals in three state games, two game-winners, one overtime goal, one in the last five seconds to beat Marlboro, and one against one of the toughest defenses in the state to tie the game. He played some perfect balls that his teammates just missed finishing on a number of occassions. He was the best talent on the field, which is saying something when you're sharing the field with Kyle Bethel.
Both teams dodged a couple of bullets along the way. North Brunswick hit a right post about as close to the goal line as you can without putting it in. As a matter of fact, the North Brunswick cheering section and the bench errupted as if their team scored until McDonough eventually tracked down the ball in front of the net and punted it away. In addition to the madness before the PK, Chris Katona hit a header that Perrella made a finger-tip save on. His momentum looked to carry him over the line and Bethel and Katona raised their arms as if to signal for a goal, but the official ruled that he kept the ball out.
Great game between two great teams with some outstanding skill on the field. It was too bad for NB that midfielder Evans Ofori missed essentially the whole game with a very tight hamstring. He would have been a nice counter to Calafiore. But all things considered, I thought both teams played well, North Brunswick was very impressive, and Howell continues to knock off the big guns on the way to their first sectional championship in 19 years. The first of six congratulations go to the Rebels.
GQ comes through
It's no secret that the Manalapan offense runs through George Quintano. When Quintano got his second yellow card in the Braves' quarterfinal win over Hunterdon Central, Manalapan hit a wall and held off the Red Devils long enough to get to PKs. Against the other Red Devils in the semis, Quintano stayed on the field and was the difference, scoring in the 88th minute. That goal was Quintano's 26th of the year, and with Eric Mackin watching the rest of the season, Quintano could end up the Shore's leading scorer with five more points. Those points will be hard to come by against Howell, but if Manalapan can beat their rivals for the first time this year, he may have a good shot.
Don't lose site of the fact that Manalapan has not allowed a goal in the State Tourney. Jake Grinkevich is playing at an All-Shore level and if not for a great sequence of passing from Eric O'Neill and Matt Salvatore, and a great finish by Kyle Bethel, Grinkevich might have stole the show in the SCT final. Against most teams, he'll give Manalapan a distinct advantage.
Did you guys hear that Shore won?
Just having a little fun with you Shore fans. It's kind of sad, because, at least on these threads, the Shore comments have overshadowed their play for anyone that doesn't know much about them.
On the field though, the Blue Devils are making plenty of noise. Brian Guadagno was a key player last year, and when he returned from injury in the Freehold Twp. SCT game, he still didn't look right. Shore's defense has not allowed a goal in 148 minutes and a healthier, more comfortable has to be a big reason why. On the scoring end, Scarpino and Novoa are right in the middle of things again and Dan Sverapa puts in the biggest of his nine goals this year.
The Devils are starting to click at the right time, and they'll have to keep clicking to beat defending sectional champion Somerville. I said that I thought the Somerville-Manasquan winner would win the section, and Somerville is certainly the favorite, but from what I've seen of Shore, they have the talent to be a CJ II champ. It's just a matter of whether they can be a CJ II champ this year with a strong Somerville squad standing in their way.
I'll wrap up thoughts on the other three winnners (CBA, Red Bank, and Point Beach) Wednesday and touch on some tidbits from losses by Neptune, TRE, TRN, MonDon, Manasquan, and Ocean.
Howell steals one from North Brunswick
Howell didn't necessarily steal a win from North Brunswick, but the winning goal was handed to them on a silver platter. For those that might have missed it, Howell was awarded a PK in the 77th and Cody Calafiore cashed in to give Howell a 2-1 win.
Yes, Bethel went down just inside the 18 and yes, calling it by the book, the call can certainly be made. But I think anyone watching that game wanted to see it play out, at least until it got to PKs at the end. I though Howell had the better of play in the second half, but once North Brunswick tied it, the game could have gone either way. Just before the foul in the box, Calafiore had two great looks at the goal and North Brunswick goalie Matt Perrella made one great save, and one of his defenders (didn't catch the number) backed his goalie up and got a foot on Calafiore's second shot. In the second half, North Brunswick had to do some scrambling in the back just to keep the game tied and, unfortunately for them, scrambled their way into a foul and a penalty kick.
The sad thing was this game was so much more than a penalty kick, but that's what it came down to. But getting past the kick, it was quite a game. Bethel comes up huge again with a header into the goal to put Howell up 1-0 and threw a nice shot fake at the defense to draw the foul. Calafiore gave him a perfect ball off a corner kick into a pretty stiff wind and the goalie came up to get it and it got over his head. Howell had five corner kicks previous to that one, so it seemed like only a matter of time before they got a really good shot off of one.
Ibrahim Kamara was as good as advertised, scoring on a beautiful shot that he floated over Brian McDonough and into the goal on a hop. He had five goals in three state games, two game-winners, one overtime goal, one in the last five seconds to beat Marlboro, and one against one of the toughest defenses in the state to tie the game. He played some perfect balls that his teammates just missed finishing on a number of occassions. He was the best talent on the field, which is saying something when you're sharing the field with Kyle Bethel.
Both teams dodged a couple of bullets along the way. North Brunswick hit a right post about as close to the goal line as you can without putting it in. As a matter of fact, the North Brunswick cheering section and the bench errupted as if their team scored until McDonough eventually tracked down the ball in front of the net and punted it away. In addition to the madness before the PK, Chris Katona hit a header that Perrella made a finger-tip save on. His momentum looked to carry him over the line and Bethel and Katona raised their arms as if to signal for a goal, but the official ruled that he kept the ball out.
Great game between two great teams with some outstanding skill on the field. It was too bad for NB that midfielder Evans Ofori missed essentially the whole game with a very tight hamstring. He would have been a nice counter to Calafiore. But all things considered, I thought both teams played well, North Brunswick was very impressive, and Howell continues to knock off the big guns on the way to their first sectional championship in 19 years. The first of six congratulations go to the Rebels.
GQ comes through
It's no secret that the Manalapan offense runs through George Quintano. When Quintano got his second yellow card in the Braves' quarterfinal win over Hunterdon Central, Manalapan hit a wall and held off the Red Devils long enough to get to PKs. Against the other Red Devils in the semis, Quintano stayed on the field and was the difference, scoring in the 88th minute. That goal was Quintano's 26th of the year, and with Eric Mackin watching the rest of the season, Quintano could end up the Shore's leading scorer with five more points. Those points will be hard to come by against Howell, but if Manalapan can beat their rivals for the first time this year, he may have a good shot.
Don't lose site of the fact that Manalapan has not allowed a goal in the State Tourney. Jake Grinkevich is playing at an All-Shore level and if not for a great sequence of passing from Eric O'Neill and Matt Salvatore, and a great finish by Kyle Bethel, Grinkevich might have stole the show in the SCT final. Against most teams, he'll give Manalapan a distinct advantage.
Did you guys hear that Shore won?
Just having a little fun with you Shore fans. It's kind of sad, because, at least on these threads, the Shore comments have overshadowed their play for anyone that doesn't know much about them.
On the field though, the Blue Devils are making plenty of noise. Brian Guadagno was a key player last year, and when he returned from injury in the Freehold Twp. SCT game, he still didn't look right. Shore's defense has not allowed a goal in 148 minutes and a healthier, more comfortable has to be a big reason why. On the scoring end, Scarpino and Novoa are right in the middle of things again and Dan Sverapa puts in the biggest of his nine goals this year.
The Devils are starting to click at the right time, and they'll have to keep clicking to beat defending sectional champion Somerville. I said that I thought the Somerville-Manasquan winner would win the section, and Somerville is certainly the favorite, but from what I've seen of Shore, they have the talent to be a CJ II champ. It's just a matter of whether they can be a CJ II champ this year with a strong Somerville squad standing in their way.
I'll wrap up thoughts on the other three winnners (CBA, Red Bank, and Point Beach) Wednesday and touch on some tidbits from losses by Neptune, TRE, TRN, MonDon, Manasquan, and Ocean.
posted by Matt Manley at 10:31 PM
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Semis Scores
CJ IV
Howell 2, North Brunswick 1 - (HOW) Bethel (Calafiore) 59', Calafiore (PK) 77'; (NB) Kamara 69'.
Manalapan 1, Rancocas Valley 0 (OT) - (MAN) Quintano (Russo) 88'.
CJ III
Red Bank 5, Ocean 1 - (RB) Stern (MacLonie) 16', MacLonie (Child) 44', Doherty (C. Neumann) 48', Stern (MacLonie) 77', Brandt 78'; (OCN) Billik (Lowy) 45'.
WWPN 2, Neptune 0
CJ II
Shore 1, A.L. Johnson 0 - (SHORE) Sverapa (Novoa) 15'.
Somerville 2, Manasquan 1
SJ IV
Lenape 3, TR East 1 - (TRE) Shore (pk) 48'.
Washington Twp. 1, TR North 0
SJ I
Point Beach 1, Woodbury 0 - (PB) Stuhler (Connors) 72'.
Non Public A
Gloucester Catholic 1, Monsignor Donovan 0.
CBA 2, St. Augustine 0 - (CBA) A. Liapis 23', A. Liapis 27'.
Howell 2, North Brunswick 1 - (HOW) Bethel (Calafiore) 59', Calafiore (PK) 77'; (NB) Kamara 69'.
Manalapan 1, Rancocas Valley 0 (OT) - (MAN) Quintano (Russo) 88'.
CJ III
Red Bank 5, Ocean 1 - (RB) Stern (MacLonie) 16', MacLonie (Child) 44', Doherty (C. Neumann) 48', Stern (MacLonie) 77', Brandt 78'; (OCN) Billik (Lowy) 45'.
WWPN 2, Neptune 0
CJ II
Shore 1, A.L. Johnson 0 - (SHORE) Sverapa (Novoa) 15'.
Somerville 2, Manasquan 1
SJ IV
Lenape 3, TR East 1 - (TRE) Shore (pk) 48'.
Washington Twp. 1, TR North 0
SJ I
Point Beach 1, Woodbury 0 - (PB) Stuhler (Connors) 72'.
Non Public A
Gloucester Catholic 1, Monsignor Donovan 0.
CBA 2, St. Augustine 0 - (CBA) A. Liapis 23', A. Liapis 27'.
posted by Matt Manley at 2:14 PM
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Monday, November 5, 2007
Sectional Semis
Only 11 games with Shore teams so we'll take a look at each one individually.
CJ IV
#4 Howell at #1 North Brunswick
This game is all about Howell's defense vs. North Brunswick's two playmakers. Evans Ofori and Ibrahim Kamara combined for all three goals in a 3-2 win over Marlboro, so even against solid defenses, those two can produce. But this Howell defense is better than just "good." In postseason play this year, the Rebels have allowed three goals in six games, with two goals coming against Marlboro in 5-2 SCT win and the other coming on a PK in the 78th minute of a 4-1 win over Trenton. Howell just needs to capitalize on a few of the opportunities that the Raider defense will give them and then keep the defense up. With this many playmakers on the field, these games can be decided based on mistakes moreso than great play. I expect Howell to win by a goal or two.
#6 Manalapan at #2 Rancocas Valley
Alexander Kotsas has been a Shore killer through two rounds of the tournament. He scored the game-winning goal against Brick Mem. in round one just 2:30 before the game would have gone to PKs, then scored the game-winner just 1:00 before the game would have gone to OT. Manalapan is a better team than both Jackson and Brick Mem., but that doesn't mean much if the Rancocas Valley defense continues to play this well. If they can kick the ball around a little bit, which they are capable of doing, and stay strong in the back, then they'll certainly have a shot. the problem for RV is that Manalapan's defense has been so good lately, that it's going to be hard to score on them within the 100 minutes while keeping them off the board, then go beat Jake Grinkevich in the shootout. Again, this game will be all about who breaks first. If George Quintano has space to operate, Manalapan will score at least a goal. Get ready for Howell-Manalapan IV.
CJ III
#10 Ocean at #3 Red Bank
Ocean has been road warriors this postseason, going 3-1 away from home in the SCT and states, with the only loss coming to CBA in overtime. Heading into the SCT, it was hard to get behind them because they hadn't won in a month, their best win was a 1-0 win over Wall, and in the games in which they had chances to win, they usually ended up tying. Lately though, the Spartans have been finishing their chances to help out a pretty solid defense headed by sweeper Ben Lowy. Red Bank, meanwhile has been pretty consistent with a senior-heavy team. Rob Brandt, Rob Chid, and Marty Stern Have been are the top Bucs players, but the key to this game could be Red Bank keeper Bob Neumann. He's played well in big games for them and will be the best goalie Ocean has seen during their resurgence. Ocean has been playing well enough to win thise game in the midfield, but Marty Stern is probably the best midfielder in this game. I'm undecided in this one. When I think it through, I pick Red Bank, but I have a feeling Ocean is going to keep it going. Since I'm a journalist and have no feelings, I'll take Red Bank.
#12 West Windsor North at #8 Neptune
I broke down Neptune's success against team's it is familiar with in my last post, and since I don't know much about WWPN, I don't have much to add. Neptune has the talent to beat anyone in the section and if they can get Mike Cozzetta loose a couple of times in this one, then control the middle with Brennan Fitzsimmons, Vinnie Riozzi, and Omane McKenzie, they should advance to the finals.
CJ II
#3 Manasquan at #2 Somerville
I can recall talking to Raritan coach Mike Alosco after his team lost to Somerville in the CJ II finals last year, and him telling me that Somerville was very good. A game before, Raritan had to scratch anc claw their way to a PK win over Manasquan just to get a look at Somerville. The Warriors have a lot of players back from a battle-tested team and they have the experience and talent to take down Somerville on the road. Whether or not they will is not for me to say, considering that I haven't learned enough about Somerville to make an educated comparison to Manasquan. But I like the Warriors' style of play when it comes to these do-or-die games and I think it will show well as long as they are still playing. I think the winner of this game will win the section and if you begged me for a pick, I'd lean towards Somerville, but that's just because I can't pick every Shore team to win.
#8 Shore at #4 A.L. Johnson
Shore is healthy and hungry, and they now have that big win to go with all the talent. For one half against Freehold Twp., I thought Shore looked like a team that could win CJ II. Then they fell apart in the next half. Against Rumson, they were again a different team in each half, but they were better in the second half than they were bad in the first. I still feel like they haven't played their best game yet, and I'm sure Chris Gioia would agree. Who knows? Maybe their saving their best for last. But if they bring their A-game for Johnson, they can beat them.
SJ IV
#12 TR North at #1 Washington Twp.
I've given this matchup some play in the paper because I think it's an interesting contrast considering what happened last year. These two teams played to a tie and Washington happened to survive in PKs. Both teams brought back a lot of key players this year, but Washington turned into the top seed in SJ IV while Toms River North was fortunate just to get in. Now the two teams meet again after North put together two road victories, one of them in PKs, fittingly enough. The Mariners, when healthy, are strong all over the field, with the possible exception of goalie, where they are young moreso than weak. Anthony Tamburro came through in the PKs against Cherry Hill East, and Kevin Meinert has helped carry the load. I liked them at the beginning of the year because they had the senior leadership to go with the young talent and it looks like that is finally starting to show. TR East may not survive Lenape, but I think North will give Toms River a team in the SJ IV finals.
#3 Lenape at #2 TR East
Two teams that are very similar in style and talent square off. In cases like this, it just comes down to who plays the best. I thought East played a strong game in losing to Marlboro and they took their frustrations out on an overmatched Vineland team in their first state game. They won't be able to run Lenape off the field, but they will be tough to beat if they play like they did in the second half of the Marlboro game. I haven't seen Lenape so I don't know what this one will look like, but from what I've heard and what I've seen from East lately, I like their chances to beat the Indians and go on to win this section.
SJ I
#7 Point Beach at #6 Woodbury
Looks like another deep run for the Gulls. It's funny because we always mention how weak the B Central schedule is compared to the other divisions, but it's actually Point Beach's tough schedule that gets them ready for this tournament. They play mostly Group II schools because that's what is available, and when they "play up" so to speak, they end up playing Manasquan, Point Boro, and TR East. I see them winning this game and maybe the section, but I don't know what top-seeded Salem will have to say about that.
Non Public A
#4 CBA at #1 St. Augustine
A rematch of last year's Non Public A South final should be more of the same between the two teams: close game decided late. CBA beat them last year on two late goals to get a 2-1 win. The problem CBA is going to run into at some point that they didn't have last year is that they don't have a game-breaking keeper in goal. Steve Alessio has held his own, but he needs protection. CBA has given up a goal in all but one game, and most of the time, the attack can muster up two. They will have to do so against St. Auggies, but with the Hermits out for revenge, I think the goals will be very hard to come by.
#3 Gloucester Catholic at #2 Monsignor Donovan
The Shore Conference teams are not usually the ones that get home games as the result of an light schedule, but I'm wondering if that might be the case for Donovan. I think most people around here (myself included) would rate CBA ahead of them, yet the seddings don't reflect that. So when the Griffins meet GC Tuesday, it's hard to say how the talent will stack up. With that said, Mon Don is legit. They were one-and-done last year and I'm sure the players have thought about it during their two weeks off between postseason games. I find it hard to believe that any team could be a lot better than them, but GC only has to be better for a day.
CJ IV
#4 Howell at #1 North Brunswick
This game is all about Howell's defense vs. North Brunswick's two playmakers. Evans Ofori and Ibrahim Kamara combined for all three goals in a 3-2 win over Marlboro, so even against solid defenses, those two can produce. But this Howell defense is better than just "good." In postseason play this year, the Rebels have allowed three goals in six games, with two goals coming against Marlboro in 5-2 SCT win and the other coming on a PK in the 78th minute of a 4-1 win over Trenton. Howell just needs to capitalize on a few of the opportunities that the Raider defense will give them and then keep the defense up. With this many playmakers on the field, these games can be decided based on mistakes moreso than great play. I expect Howell to win by a goal or two.
#6 Manalapan at #2 Rancocas Valley
Alexander Kotsas has been a Shore killer through two rounds of the tournament. He scored the game-winning goal against Brick Mem. in round one just 2:30 before the game would have gone to PKs, then scored the game-winner just 1:00 before the game would have gone to OT. Manalapan is a better team than both Jackson and Brick Mem., but that doesn't mean much if the Rancocas Valley defense continues to play this well. If they can kick the ball around a little bit, which they are capable of doing, and stay strong in the back, then they'll certainly have a shot. the problem for RV is that Manalapan's defense has been so good lately, that it's going to be hard to score on them within the 100 minutes while keeping them off the board, then go beat Jake Grinkevich in the shootout. Again, this game will be all about who breaks first. If George Quintano has space to operate, Manalapan will score at least a goal. Get ready for Howell-Manalapan IV.
CJ III
#10 Ocean at #3 Red Bank
Ocean has been road warriors this postseason, going 3-1 away from home in the SCT and states, with the only loss coming to CBA in overtime. Heading into the SCT, it was hard to get behind them because they hadn't won in a month, their best win was a 1-0 win over Wall, and in the games in which they had chances to win, they usually ended up tying. Lately though, the Spartans have been finishing their chances to help out a pretty solid defense headed by sweeper Ben Lowy. Red Bank, meanwhile has been pretty consistent with a senior-heavy team. Rob Brandt, Rob Chid, and Marty Stern Have been are the top Bucs players, but the key to this game could be Red Bank keeper Bob Neumann. He's played well in big games for them and will be the best goalie Ocean has seen during their resurgence. Ocean has been playing well enough to win thise game in the midfield, but Marty Stern is probably the best midfielder in this game. I'm undecided in this one. When I think it through, I pick Red Bank, but I have a feeling Ocean is going to keep it going. Since I'm a journalist and have no feelings, I'll take Red Bank.
#12 West Windsor North at #8 Neptune
I broke down Neptune's success against team's it is familiar with in my last post, and since I don't know much about WWPN, I don't have much to add. Neptune has the talent to beat anyone in the section and if they can get Mike Cozzetta loose a couple of times in this one, then control the middle with Brennan Fitzsimmons, Vinnie Riozzi, and Omane McKenzie, they should advance to the finals.
CJ II
#3 Manasquan at #2 Somerville
I can recall talking to Raritan coach Mike Alosco after his team lost to Somerville in the CJ II finals last year, and him telling me that Somerville was very good. A game before, Raritan had to scratch anc claw their way to a PK win over Manasquan just to get a look at Somerville. The Warriors have a lot of players back from a battle-tested team and they have the experience and talent to take down Somerville on the road. Whether or not they will is not for me to say, considering that I haven't learned enough about Somerville to make an educated comparison to Manasquan. But I like the Warriors' style of play when it comes to these do-or-die games and I think it will show well as long as they are still playing. I think the winner of this game will win the section and if you begged me for a pick, I'd lean towards Somerville, but that's just because I can't pick every Shore team to win.
#8 Shore at #4 A.L. Johnson
Shore is healthy and hungry, and they now have that big win to go with all the talent. For one half against Freehold Twp., I thought Shore looked like a team that could win CJ II. Then they fell apart in the next half. Against Rumson, they were again a different team in each half, but they were better in the second half than they were bad in the first. I still feel like they haven't played their best game yet, and I'm sure Chris Gioia would agree. Who knows? Maybe their saving their best for last. But if they bring their A-game for Johnson, they can beat them.
SJ IV
#12 TR North at #1 Washington Twp.
I've given this matchup some play in the paper because I think it's an interesting contrast considering what happened last year. These two teams played to a tie and Washington happened to survive in PKs. Both teams brought back a lot of key players this year, but Washington turned into the top seed in SJ IV while Toms River North was fortunate just to get in. Now the two teams meet again after North put together two road victories, one of them in PKs, fittingly enough. The Mariners, when healthy, are strong all over the field, with the possible exception of goalie, where they are young moreso than weak. Anthony Tamburro came through in the PKs against Cherry Hill East, and Kevin Meinert has helped carry the load. I liked them at the beginning of the year because they had the senior leadership to go with the young talent and it looks like that is finally starting to show. TR East may not survive Lenape, but I think North will give Toms River a team in the SJ IV finals.
#3 Lenape at #2 TR East
Two teams that are very similar in style and talent square off. In cases like this, it just comes down to who plays the best. I thought East played a strong game in losing to Marlboro and they took their frustrations out on an overmatched Vineland team in their first state game. They won't be able to run Lenape off the field, but they will be tough to beat if they play like they did in the second half of the Marlboro game. I haven't seen Lenape so I don't know what this one will look like, but from what I've heard and what I've seen from East lately, I like their chances to beat the Indians and go on to win this section.
SJ I
#7 Point Beach at #6 Woodbury
Looks like another deep run for the Gulls. It's funny because we always mention how weak the B Central schedule is compared to the other divisions, but it's actually Point Beach's tough schedule that gets them ready for this tournament. They play mostly Group II schools because that's what is available, and when they "play up" so to speak, they end up playing Manasquan, Point Boro, and TR East. I see them winning this game and maybe the section, but I don't know what top-seeded Salem will have to say about that.
Non Public A
#4 CBA at #1 St. Augustine
A rematch of last year's Non Public A South final should be more of the same between the two teams: close game decided late. CBA beat them last year on two late goals to get a 2-1 win. The problem CBA is going to run into at some point that they didn't have last year is that they don't have a game-breaking keeper in goal. Steve Alessio has held his own, but he needs protection. CBA has given up a goal in all but one game, and most of the time, the attack can muster up two. They will have to do so against St. Auggies, but with the Hermits out for revenge, I think the goals will be very hard to come by.
#3 Gloucester Catholic at #2 Monsignor Donovan
The Shore Conference teams are not usually the ones that get home games as the result of an light schedule, but I'm wondering if that might be the case for Donovan. I think most people around here (myself included) would rate CBA ahead of them, yet the seddings don't reflect that. So when the Griffins meet GC Tuesday, it's hard to say how the talent will stack up. With that said, Mon Don is legit. They were one-and-done last year and I'm sure the players have thought about it during their two weeks off between postseason games. I find it hard to believe that any team could be a lot better than them, but GC only has to be better for a day.
posted by Matt Manley at 5:01 PM
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Saturday, November 3, 2007
State Musings
I hope everyone fulfilled their soccer fix somewhere Friday. We didn't have too much in the paper considering everything that happened, so here are my thoughts on some of the games.
Howell 1, Montgomery 0
Sloppy game from what I gathered. Both teams were just launching the ball into the wind for much of the second half, according to Rich Yuro. He said his team's actually excited about playing on the road.
But how about Kyle Bethel? I've metioned his resurgence many times in this spot and in the paper and there's really not much to add. He's one of the most dangerous players in the state and he's playing like it now. The thing that has impressed me most is that last year, as the defenses gave him more looks getting into tournament time, he had a little trouble adjusting, particularly against Manalapan. Now, he's learned a lot by playing through injury and in just getting used to drawing so much attention that he can play with it now. Cody Calafiore is going through a bit of the same thing Bethel went through last year in dealing with more attention, but I think his production has levelled off more because he has played a true midfield now that Bethel is playing like Bethel again. Before, he'd push up more, and he can score as well as anyone, and now he's moving the ball and playing more defensive-minded. I've said it once and I'll say it again: I find it hard to believe there's a better team in CJ IV than Howell. Tuesday's game against North Brunswick should be a good one.
Manalapan beats Hunterdon Central on PKs
Jake Grinkevich is certainly on my mind for All-Shore goalie and he is starting to build up that list of All-Shore performances. He played a great game in the SCT final and was brilliant against HC Friday. George Quintano got his second yellow in the middle of the second half, something that Manalapan can't afford anymore. Hunterdon Central has played GQ tough in their last two meetings, but he still broke loose in last year's meeting. This year, the defense and Grinkevich stepped up and won this game for the short-handed attack, which didn't seem to do much without Quintano. Rancocas Valley shutout two Shore teams already, but it sounds like Manalapan should take them. The way the keeper and the defense is playing, Manalapan is in good shape.
TR North beats Cherry Hill West on PKs
I have to thank both TRN and Washington Twp. for both winning their games Friday. For anyone that didn't read my notebook in the paper Saturday, the first part was about a possible Wash-TRN rematch this year. I wrote it on Thursday thinking I did a good job writing regardless of what happened in the game. My editors didn't think so, and they were very happy both won so they didn't have to change everything.
Anyway, the Mariner ship sails on. Coach Dave Mitchell felt very confident about this game when I talked to him Thursday, although no coach feels confident about a shootout, especially with a sophomore in goal. The good thing for East, in my eyes, is that they haven't really been able to string victories together, and despite not playing as well as they would have liked in this one, they still played a tough game and got a great win. They went to kicks with Washngton last year and the M's have some key players back. Obviously the sophomore platoon in goal will have to keep doing the job (No GA in states), but they could use a couple early goals to help them out. TRN is a talented team and not only can win this game, but could certainly beat TRE or Lenape in the finals.
Neptune Shocks Princeton 3-0
When I heard Neptune was up 3-0, I was pretty surprised, but if you look at this Fliers team, it shouldn't be that shocking. First of all, they are very talented and can score the ball. But look at the Fliers schedule this year. The first time through Class B North, Neptune went 2-4. Second time through? 6-0. Their four game losing streak? Hamilton, Red Bank, Freehold Twp., Central. Now they've won back-to-back games against Lawrence and Princeton.
So what can we gather from this? For whatever reason, Neptune is excellent against teams it is familiar with. Hamilton, Red Bank, FT, and Central were all teams the Fliers hadn't seen before. Lawrence gave Neptune trouble, but seeing Hamilton (also from the CVC like Lawrence) had to help them a little bit in that game. Princeton beat up on Neptune last year 5-0 and both teams returned most of their players. Neptune made their adjustments defensively and converted on an early opportunity and took it from there. It's is a tribute to coach John Knight and his players that they can make adjustments and prepare for an opponent. Getting past WWPN will be a new challenge, but a familiar opponent awaits in the finals: Neptune has seen both Ocean and Red Bank.
Ocean stuns Monmouth 3-2
Speaking of Ocean, the Spartans are rolling. This isn't that surprising, but I use the term "stun" because this was a very talented Monmouth team with a lot of seniors that expected to be in the championship game. Ocean wasn't having it though and they have shown some of the ability that helped them start the year 5-0. It seems like the Spartans do just enough to get the job done. They won just enough games to get into the SCT and states, and once they got in they've played about as well as you can play.
Manasquan tops Gov. Livingston 2-1 in OT
Typical Manasquan tournament game here with Moises Iniguez coming up with both goals. They have become used to these down-to-the-wire games in the state tournament in recent years, and here are the Warriors again in the sectional semis. I said before that I like Manasquan to win the section, but defending sectional champion Somerville will be very tough. Whoever wins this game would be my pick to win the seection, no disrespect to Shore or A.L. Johnson.
Some thoughts on the next round later tonight.
Howell 1, Montgomery 0
Sloppy game from what I gathered. Both teams were just launching the ball into the wind for much of the second half, according to Rich Yuro. He said his team's actually excited about playing on the road.
But how about Kyle Bethel? I've metioned his resurgence many times in this spot and in the paper and there's really not much to add. He's one of the most dangerous players in the state and he's playing like it now. The thing that has impressed me most is that last year, as the defenses gave him more looks getting into tournament time, he had a little trouble adjusting, particularly against Manalapan. Now, he's learned a lot by playing through injury and in just getting used to drawing so much attention that he can play with it now. Cody Calafiore is going through a bit of the same thing Bethel went through last year in dealing with more attention, but I think his production has levelled off more because he has played a true midfield now that Bethel is playing like Bethel again. Before, he'd push up more, and he can score as well as anyone, and now he's moving the ball and playing more defensive-minded. I've said it once and I'll say it again: I find it hard to believe there's a better team in CJ IV than Howell. Tuesday's game against North Brunswick should be a good one.
Manalapan beats Hunterdon Central on PKs
Jake Grinkevich is certainly on my mind for All-Shore goalie and he is starting to build up that list of All-Shore performances. He played a great game in the SCT final and was brilliant against HC Friday. George Quintano got his second yellow in the middle of the second half, something that Manalapan can't afford anymore. Hunterdon Central has played GQ tough in their last two meetings, but he still broke loose in last year's meeting. This year, the defense and Grinkevich stepped up and won this game for the short-handed attack, which didn't seem to do much without Quintano. Rancocas Valley shutout two Shore teams already, but it sounds like Manalapan should take them. The way the keeper and the defense is playing, Manalapan is in good shape.
TR North beats Cherry Hill West on PKs
I have to thank both TRN and Washington Twp. for both winning their games Friday. For anyone that didn't read my notebook in the paper Saturday, the first part was about a possible Wash-TRN rematch this year. I wrote it on Thursday thinking I did a good job writing regardless of what happened in the game. My editors didn't think so, and they were very happy both won so they didn't have to change everything.
Anyway, the Mariner ship sails on. Coach Dave Mitchell felt very confident about this game when I talked to him Thursday, although no coach feels confident about a shootout, especially with a sophomore in goal. The good thing for East, in my eyes, is that they haven't really been able to string victories together, and despite not playing as well as they would have liked in this one, they still played a tough game and got a great win. They went to kicks with Washngton last year and the M's have some key players back. Obviously the sophomore platoon in goal will have to keep doing the job (No GA in states), but they could use a couple early goals to help them out. TRN is a talented team and not only can win this game, but could certainly beat TRE or Lenape in the finals.
Neptune Shocks Princeton 3-0
When I heard Neptune was up 3-0, I was pretty surprised, but if you look at this Fliers team, it shouldn't be that shocking. First of all, they are very talented and can score the ball. But look at the Fliers schedule this year. The first time through Class B North, Neptune went 2-4. Second time through? 6-0. Their four game losing streak? Hamilton, Red Bank, Freehold Twp., Central. Now they've won back-to-back games against Lawrence and Princeton.
So what can we gather from this? For whatever reason, Neptune is excellent against teams it is familiar with. Hamilton, Red Bank, FT, and Central were all teams the Fliers hadn't seen before. Lawrence gave Neptune trouble, but seeing Hamilton (also from the CVC like Lawrence) had to help them a little bit in that game. Princeton beat up on Neptune last year 5-0 and both teams returned most of their players. Neptune made their adjustments defensively and converted on an early opportunity and took it from there. It's is a tribute to coach John Knight and his players that they can make adjustments and prepare for an opponent. Getting past WWPN will be a new challenge, but a familiar opponent awaits in the finals: Neptune has seen both Ocean and Red Bank.
Ocean stuns Monmouth 3-2
Speaking of Ocean, the Spartans are rolling. This isn't that surprising, but I use the term "stun" because this was a very talented Monmouth team with a lot of seniors that expected to be in the championship game. Ocean wasn't having it though and they have shown some of the ability that helped them start the year 5-0. It seems like the Spartans do just enough to get the job done. They won just enough games to get into the SCT and states, and once they got in they've played about as well as you can play.
Manasquan tops Gov. Livingston 2-1 in OT
Typical Manasquan tournament game here with Moises Iniguez coming up with both goals. They have become used to these down-to-the-wire games in the state tournament in recent years, and here are the Warriors again in the sectional semis. I said before that I like Manasquan to win the section, but defending sectional champion Somerville will be very tough. Whoever wins this game would be my pick to win the seection, no disrespect to Shore or A.L. Johnson.
Some thoughts on the next round later tonight.
posted by Matt Manley at 5:54 PM
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Friday, November 2, 2007
Scores
Sorry so late. They had me on football. There's a lot to talk about too, which I'll get into at some other time. For now, just the results.
CJ IV
Howell 1, Montgomery 0 - (HOW) Bethel 16'.
Manalapan 1, Hunterdon Cent. 0, Manalapan wins 4-3 on PKs - Sounded like Grinkevich played a big game (15 saves, pk save); DeFalco winning pk; Quintano 2nd yellow midway through second half.
Rancocas Valley 1, Jackson 0 - Kutsas GWG in 79th. Same kid who scored the game-winner in the 98th against Brick Mem.
CJ III
Ocean 3, Monmouth 2 - (OCN) Hovendon (Rosenheck) 8', Franze (Mahaninaranda) 25', Davis 71'; (MONM) Mackin (pk) 21', Martin (Dutra) 43'.
Red Bank 2, Hopewell Valley 1 (OT) - (RBR) Caban (Stern) 31', McAlonie (Stern) 81'; (HV) Papperman (Maida) 15'.
Neptune 3, Princeton 0 - (NEPT) Riozzi (McKenzie) 9', Cozzetta 56', Harran (Fitzsimmons) 72'. (PRIN) First loss of the season (17-1).
CJ II
Shore 3, Rumson-FH 2 - (SHORE) Novoa 46', Moran (Kahle) 56', Novoa (Kahle) 68'; (RFH) Marrelli 1', Giustiniani 16'.
Manasquan 2, Gov. Livingston 1 (OT) - (SQUAN) Iniguez (Maher) 64', Iniguez (Maher) 99'; (GL) Amezquita 80'.
SJ IV
TR East 7, Vineland 0 - Fitzsimmons, Wynn 2 G each.
TR North 1, Cherry Hill West 0, TRN wins 5-4 on pks - Dan O'Neill clinching pk. Tamburro saved third pk.
Lenape 2, TR South 0
SJ III
Deptford 1, Central 0
North 2 III
Nutley 1, Holmdel 0, Nutley wins 3-0 on PKs - Holmdel got outshot 19-3, but according to John Nacarlo, Dan Marino was outstanding.
CJ IV
Howell 1, Montgomery 0 - (HOW) Bethel 16'.
Manalapan 1, Hunterdon Cent. 0, Manalapan wins 4-3 on PKs - Sounded like Grinkevich played a big game (15 saves, pk save); DeFalco winning pk; Quintano 2nd yellow midway through second half.
Rancocas Valley 1, Jackson 0 - Kutsas GWG in 79th. Same kid who scored the game-winner in the 98th against Brick Mem.
CJ III
Ocean 3, Monmouth 2 - (OCN) Hovendon (Rosenheck) 8', Franze (Mahaninaranda) 25', Davis 71'; (MONM) Mackin (pk) 21', Martin (Dutra) 43'.
Red Bank 2, Hopewell Valley 1 (OT) - (RBR) Caban (Stern) 31', McAlonie (Stern) 81'; (HV) Papperman (Maida) 15'.
Neptune 3, Princeton 0 - (NEPT) Riozzi (McKenzie) 9', Cozzetta 56', Harran (Fitzsimmons) 72'. (PRIN) First loss of the season (17-1).
CJ II
Shore 3, Rumson-FH 2 - (SHORE) Novoa 46', Moran (Kahle) 56', Novoa (Kahle) 68'; (RFH) Marrelli 1', Giustiniani 16'.
Manasquan 2, Gov. Livingston 1 (OT) - (SQUAN) Iniguez (Maher) 64', Iniguez (Maher) 99'; (GL) Amezquita 80'.
SJ IV
TR East 7, Vineland 0 - Fitzsimmons, Wynn 2 G each.
TR North 1, Cherry Hill West 0, TRN wins 5-4 on pks - Dan O'Neill clinching pk. Tamburro saved third pk.
Lenape 2, TR South 0
SJ III
Deptford 1, Central 0
North 2 III
Nutley 1, Holmdel 0, Nutley wins 3-0 on PKs - Holmdel got outshot 19-3, but according to John Nacarlo, Dan Marino was outstanding.
posted by Matt Manley at 8:21 PM
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Thursday, November 1, 2007
State Score
I could have sworn these games were on Friday like all the others. Sorry to anyone who was interested and didn't go because they thought it was Friday like the paper said. I happen to be one of those people, so I feel your pain.
South Non-Public A
#4 CBA 4, #5 SJV 1 - (CBA) - Brennan (A. Liapis) 23', Lannon (Liapis) 25', A. Liapis (Rague) 45', Mergenthaler 75'; (SJV) S. Gilpin 52'.
South Jersey I
Point Beach 1, New Egypt 0, Point Beach win 5-4 in penalty kicks.
South Non-Public A
#4 CBA 4, #5 SJV 1 - (CBA) - Brennan (A. Liapis) 23', Lannon (Liapis) 25', A. Liapis (Rague) 45', Mergenthaler 75'; (SJV) S. Gilpin 52'.
South Jersey I
Point Beach 1, New Egypt 0, Point Beach win 5-4 in penalty kicks.
posted by Matt Manley at 1:49 PM
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About Me
- Name: Matt Manley
- Location: Princeton, NJ, United States
I am a sportswriter for the Asbury Park Press. I cover whatever they'll let me, which is primarily high school boys soccer, girls swimming, and boys track. I played soccer and swam when I was much younger, although I never swam as a girl. I have never participated in track competitively, but I have ran before, and even jumped a few times. My base of knowledge in sports is in the big three: baseball, basketball, and football (in that order). In addition to my discussions about my high school beats, you'll hear plenty from me on those other topics.
Previous Posts
- All A South Ballot
- All A Central
- All Shore Ballot (A North)
- Manalapan wins Group IV Title (Sort of)
- Group IV Finals Preview
- Thoughts on the CBA loss
- Manalapan wins 2-0
- CBA Falls 2-0
- And then there were two
- Howell-Manalapan Post-Game Thoughts
Archives
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
