Elite Shore Conference Boys Soccer NJSIAA Sectional Final Scoreboard, Nov. 14

Elite Shore Conference Boys Soccer Scoreboard

Friday, Nov. 14

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Finals

Central Jersey Group III

(2) Middletown South 4, (1) Colts Neck 0

Junior Connor Saul recorded a hat trick and the Eagles (16-3-1) blew open the championship game at Colts Neck to rout the Cougars (19-3) and claim their first ever sectional championship.

Middletown South made it to halftime with the score, 0-0, and broke the ice in the 47th minute on a corner kick by senior Luke Strada the Saul turned into a 1-0 lead. With the ball bouncing in the box and his back to the goal, Saul threw his left foot at the goal and volleyed the ball backward into the goal.

With Colts Neck pushing for the equalizer, Middletown South countered and after weaving through a pair of defenders, Saul slammed a shot to the far corner of the goal for a 2-0 lead in the 66th minute. Saul made it a hat trick in the 75th minute by winning the ball away from a defender off a pass from senior Jack Cohen and again finding the left corner of the goal.

Junior Grant Pipercic capped the scoring by touching a long pass from sophomore Luke Strukiewicz past the keeper and walked it in for the fourth Middletown South goal.

Senior goalkeeper Carson Perry saved four shots for his 11th shutout and 10th in the last 12 games.

 

Central Jersey Group II

(4) Robbinsville 3, (11) Wall 1

Nico Matthews scored two goals in the first half to bookend a penalty kick by Max Goldberg as the Ravens (16-7-1) rode a hot start to a win over the Crimson Knights (11-10) that clinches their fourth consecutive sectional championship.

Senior Tyler Gordon broke up the shutout bid by Robbinsville with a goal in the 64th minute for Wall.

 

South Jersey Group

(5) Southern 5, (3) Cherry Hill East 1

Senior Brody Nacarlo scored three goals in a span of 10 minutes early in the second half and the Rams (16-6-2) erupted for five goals after halftime to steamroll its way past the Cougars (15-6-1) in earning their second straight sectional championship.

The two teams played to a scoreless stalemate through the first 40 minutes and it took fewer than three minutes of second-half action for Nacarlo to set off the scoring fireworks. On a 28-yard direct kick, Nacarlo knuckled a strike inside the upper near corner of the goal to give Southern the game’s first goal.

Five minutes later, Nacarlo struck again, this time by poking in a back-heel flick from sophomore Juan Victoria in the 48th minute. Nacarlo completed his 10-minute hat trick by running onto a well-paced through-ball from Victoria on the right side and slipping the ball to the far left corner of the goal for a 3-0 lead in the 53rd minute.

In the 56th, Nacarlo returned the favor by finding Victoria’s head in the box. Nacarlo tracked down the ball after striking a direct kick into the Cherry Hill East wall, then crossed the ball from the left corner into the box, where Victoria headed in Southern’s fourth goal in the first 25 minutes of the first half.

Cherry Hill East broke up the shutout in the 60th, when Mason Fowler made a far-post run and poked in a cross from Cruz Candray.

Southern withstood a Cougars push for a second goal, then buried the dagger in the 68th minute, with senior Nick Leiriao running down a pass from junior Jaxson Simon, cutting back past a defender and striking a left-footed shot just under the crossbar for a 5-1 Southern lead.

With its second straight five-goal performance — Southern defeated Washington Township, 5-4, on Tuesday — Southern earns a home game in the Group IV semifinal Tuesday, when the Rams will host Central Jersey champion North Brunswick.