Brick Memorial celebrates its first division championship since 2002. (Photo: Matt Manley)

Brick Memorial Boys Soccer Wins First Division Title in 22 Years

Matt Manley|October 4, 2024|Last Updated October 7, 2024

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — The Brick Memorial boys soccer program has waited 22 years to climb back to the top of a Shore Conference division. With a chance to end that drought on Thursday at Point Beach, the Mustangs did not even have to wait 22 seconds to take the lead over the undefeated team standing in their way.

Junior Alex Santos scored 13 seconds into the match and senior Mason Muolo scored the winning goal a little more than a minute into the second half as Brick Memorial used its quick-striking ability to beat Point Beach, 2-1, and win a share of the Shore Conference Class C South title — the Mustangs’ first piece of a division title since 2002.

Santos saw a lane toward the goal on the right side and attacked it without hesitation right after the first whistle. He found himself unmarked on the right post and ripped a near-post shot in for a 1-0 lead 13 seconds into the match and his first goal of the season.

Watch: Alex Santos (Brick Memorial) goal

“It means everything,” Muolo said. “Maybe one day, my kids will be playing here and I’ll get to see my year on the banner on the wall. Hopefully there is more to come next year and years to come. I think that we’re building a winning program. The mentality going into next season is that we’re winners now.”

Point Beach recovered to keep Brick Memorial off the board for the remainder of the first half, but the first two minutes of the second half proved to be a problem for the Garnet Gulls as well. At just over a minute into the second half, the Garnet Gulls were cited for a handball inside the 18-yard box and Brick Memorial was awarded a penalty kick.

“It’s a great feeling, but you know you have to play hard for another 79 minutes and 45 seconds,” Muolo said.

Muolo stepped up to the spot and buried the penalty kick to the left side of the goal for a 2-0 Brick Memorial lead.

Watch: Mason Muolo (Brick Memorial) penalty kick

Along with Declan Smith and Juan Bahos, Muolo is one of only three seniors on the Brick Memorial roster. Muolo transferred from Point Boro before his junior season and has been part of a turnaround for a program that is on the way to its first winning season since 2017.

Point Beach made its push in the final 15 minutes and broke through with a goal in the 68th. Sophomore Brody Powers headed a cross from junior Dylan Ryan just under the crossbar to trim the deficit to one goal.

Brick Memorial’s defense held off Point Beach’s push to equalize over the final 12 minutes, led by Smith and sophomore Nate Stryker in front of junior goalkeeper Ryan Wheeler.

“You have to completely reset,” Muolo said of allowing the goal. “We were up 2-0, we were confident, we were cruising. They get their goal and we had to talk to the team and keep them level-headed, get the formation right and just hold them back.”

Point Beach entered Thursday 8-0, which made the Garnet Gulls the last remaining team in the Shore Conference without a loss or tie on their record. The Gulls missed a chance at an outright division championship, but still earned a share of the C South title for their first piece of an overall division championship since winning Class B Central in 2018. Point Beach also won a public division championship in 2021.

Brick Memorial’s road to the top of the Class C South division began over the past two years in Class A South, where the Mustangs’ underclassmen battled the likes of Toms River North, South and East, plus Southern, Jackson Memorial and Central Regional. Brick Memorial went a combined 5-18-9 over the last two years, but the nine draws came against some big names: Toms River South and Central a year ago, and Toms River North, Marlboro, Toms River East, Ocean, Wall, St. Rose.

That youth movement that has yielded a junior-heavy roster, plus sophomore twins Nate and Nick Stryker and freshman Matt Heptig. Tom Lecorchick took over as the head coach of the program for the 2023 season and has overseen the last two seasons of development for that group while making the switch from Class A South to Class C South. This year, against the new schedule, those close losses have turned into wins.

“It’s been big for our confidence,” Muolo said. “We’re actually performing to the level that we want to play and getting the results we want to get and the confidence just builds from there. We actually played exactly the way we wanted to play today. Once we got the lead, we knew we were going to win.”

Thursday’s game was part of the toughest stretch of games Brick Memorial will face this season and thus far, the Mustangs have answered the call. It started with a 3-0 loss to Ocean on Saturday, but the Mustangs bounced back by earning a 1-1 draw Tuesday against Toms River South before securing the division title on Thursday.

This stretch of games carries into next week, when Brick Memorial will travel to Southern on Tuesday with a spot in the Shore Conference Tournament on the line. The Mustangs picked up an eye-opening, 1-0 win over Long Branch on Sept. 14 in their first SCT group-stage game.

“We were ready,” Muolo said. “We have been putting the work in all year. This week, we came in with the right mindset, we were set and we knew we were going to win. Nothing else on our minds but winning.”

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