Brick Memorial uses complete performance to sink Toms River North and win Coaches Cup championship

BRICK TOWNSHIP — A late-April loss cost Brick Memorial a chance at qualifying for the Shore Conference Tournament, but there was a silver lining. The Mustangs instead earned the top seed in the Coaches Cup and an opportunity to right a wrong from a season ago.

With a tournament title on the line Friday afternoon, Brick Memorial delivered its best game of the season to secure the program’s first championship.

Seven different players scored goals and six players posted multi-point games to give the Mustangs a quick lead while the defense was lights-out in front of senior goalie Matt Hillin when Brick Memorial rolled to an 11-1 victory over 6th-seeded Toms River North to win the 2025 Shore Conference Boys Lacrosse Coaches Cup.

Senior attackmen Matt Malanga and Austin Edwards and freshman midfielder Colin Fanning registered two goals and one assist each to pace a balanced offense that opened a 3-0 lead after the first quarter and a 7-0 advantage at halftime. Junior attackman Nick Correia had a goal and two assists, junior attackman Jack Deufemia scored twice, and junior midfielder Justin Karlbon delivered three assists. Junior midfielders Evan Rojas and Shane Trautweiler added one goal apiece.

Defensively, the Mustangs denied Toms River North quality looks from start to finish and made life relatively easy for Hillin, who finished with 10 saves. Hillin also assisted on a goal by Deufemia in the third quarter.

“We worked for this all year,” Correia said. “We obviously wanted to get into the Shore Conference Tournament, but we didn’t. Losing in the (Coaches Cup final) last year, losing by one, it was pretty bad. Today, we came out strong right off the bat.”

Brick Memorial reached the Coaches Cup final last season where it lost to Barnegat, 6-5.

“Seeing the seniors sad and mad after last year’s loss to Barnegat, this is for them, too,” Hillin said.

It was evident early that Brick Memorial’s offense was clicking. What stood out to Mustangs’ head coach Brent Middlemiss was how they were generating goals. Karlbon set up Deufemia at 9:09, then dished to Fanning for a goal at 7:56. An extra-man opportunity goal by Malanga off a setup from Deufemia put the Mustangs ahead 3-0 after the first 12 minutes.

“We got rid of the iso ball and really moved it around,” Middlemiss said. “We usually end up with a few kids on the score sheet, but today we had balanced scoring. We played really well.”

“Pass, pass, re-dodge was a big part of what we did today,” Correia said. “The coaches have been drilling that into us since the beginning of the season and today we showed it completely.”

Senior FOGO Frank Taylor went 10-for-15 at the face-off X and senior defenseman A.J. Ehrmantraut picked up a game-high 11 ground balls to keep giving Brick Memorial possessions. Their confidence grew, and so did the lead.

Malanga scored his second goal early in the second quarter to make it 4-0 and then Correia scored off a feed from Fanning to make it 5-0. A goal by Fanning off a ground ball after a shot by Edwards pushed the advantage to 6-0 before Correia set up Trautweiler for a blast from 13 yards out that gave Brick Memorial a commanding seven-goal edge at halftime.

Toms River North scored at 3:56 of the third quarter on a goal by Michael Facchinni but Brick Memorial answered with three goals in the final 2:35 of the quarter to open a 10-1 lead. Hillin cleared the ball himself, crossed the restraining line, and dished inside to Deufemia for a goal that made it 8-1. Karlbon set up Edwards from X 35 seconds later and Rojas dodged to the middle and hit a bouncer with 22 seconds left.

In the fourth quarter, Edwards capped the scoring with his second goal off of Karlbon’s third assist.

While the Mustangs’ offense was buzzing, the defense was also putting together one of its best performances of the season. Hillin has had to make 15 or more saves in nine of 17 games this season, but he wasn’t tested nearly as often on Friday. Brick Memorial’s backer zone is designed to force teams to attempt low-percentage shots from the outside, and they did that and more against a Toms River North offense averaging 11 goals per game this season.

“Getting through the slide packages and the rotations was the main thing,” Hillin said. “And a big adjustment was getting the intensity up. The sideline was electric.”

After the teams shook hands, the Mustangs doused Middlemiss with the customary water-jug bath. It was a nice respite on a humid afternoon, for sure, but it was more than that for the longest-tenured head coach in program history.

“We were a little disappointed that we had some hiccups that cost us a spot in the Shore Conference Tournament,” said Middlemiss, who took over in 2008 during the Mustangs’ third varsity season. “That’s what you strive for, to play against the best. It didn’t work out for us but these kids wanted to win something and they came out and did it.”

“It’s not just for them. I’ve been the head coach for 18 years and it’s for all the kids who have come through this program. From the Dan Lamelas and the Darren Romaines to the kids that nobody knows about, the kids who never played lacrosse before but came out and played four years to help us build something. That’s what I’m most happy about. They helped us get to this point.”

“You still want to make the big dance but this is something no one can take away from us. This group won the first title for Brick Memorial lacrosse.”