Girls Soccer SCT Quarterfinals Preview and Predictions

We enter the final week of the Shore Conference Tournament and there are still a lot of questions to be answered. Can we have three Class A North teams in the semifinals? Can an unranked team pull off an upset and make it to the semifinals? Lacey and Manalapan both had early exits last season in the SCT. Which one will make it to Neptune on Wednesday? Can Howell make it three straight appearances in the final?  Can Ocean continue its second-half surge and shock the Shore?

With the disappointment of two of the Shore Conference’s best teams playing each other in the opening round behind us, we have a lot of excitement coming this week. And maybe some more surprises.

 

No. 1  Middletown South at No. 5 Freehold Township, 3 p.m.

This is the fourth meeting between these two teams over the last two seasons. These two division rivals met last year in the quarterfinal round of the Shore Conference Tournament with Middletown South winning 2-1 on the way to its first SCT championship. This year the Eagles beat the Patriots in the regular season, scoring the game-winner late in regulation. Middletown South had a challenging road to get to this point, defeating No. 1 Wall and winning in double overtime against Group 3 rival Brick Memorial. The Eagles have been doing this without their star forward and Rutgers commit Bea Tinoco, who is still questionable. Middletown South has one of the best backlines in the Shore and they played a role in last year’s title run so they have the big game experience. Senior Riley Bent has made the Eagles’ defense even stronger since moving from outside back to center back next to Maria DeGregorio. 

Freehold Township started the season with four straight losses before winning six straight games. Out of those losses, three were against teams ranked in the top 20 in New Jersey. The Patriots had no issues in their opening round against Matawan but were put to the test by Toms River South in the round of 16. After a dominant first half in which the Patriots could only score one goal, Toms River South was able to tie the game in the opening minute of the second half and apply pressure in the second half. Senior Sophie Tonino scored the game-winner in the final minutes of regulation. Freehold Township has veterans who have been in these big games before. Senior Ashley Moore has been the starting goalie since her freshman season and has her best games on the biggest stages. Bucknell committs Gaby Parker and Danielle Howard have combined for 30 out of the team’s 36 goals. Prediction: Freehold Township, 2-1

 

 

No. 10 Manalapan at No. 4 Lacey, 3 p.m.

Manalapan has been inconsistent this season and struggling to close out games. Five out of their seven losses are by one goal or by shutout. The Braves advanced into the quarterfinals by defeating Manchester 2-0 in the opening round and with a 2-1 comeback victory against St. John Vianney in the second round. Manalapan went into halftime trailing 1-0 but scored two second-half goals to advance to the quarterfinals. Junior Daniella Butash scored the equalizer off an assist from her sister Callie Butash. Sophomore Devan Rosenzweig, who scored in the opening round, scored the game-winner. Sophomore Aryanna Lake has come up with big saves in her first year as a starter and made a couple against the Lancers to help Manalapan advance.

Lacey has been one of the best teams in the Shore Conference all season. The combination of Natalie McGovern, Reece Paget, and Mackenzie Brotherston forms the best trio in the Shore on the offensive side of the ball. They have combined for 49 out of Lacey’s 59 goals and have 32 assists on the season. Junior Ava Schmidt has been great in goal, posting 10 shutouts. In the second round of the SCT, Schmidt made 12 saves to shut out rival Central. Opposing teams focus on three stars for Lacey, but senior Ava Forde and junior Olivia Miller make a lot happen in the midfield with their hustle and determination to get to every ball first. Prediction: Lacey, 3-1

 

Ocean Township at No. 6 Howell, 3:30  p.m.

Ocean has played two different seasons so far this year. They started off losing their first six games. then went 7-1-1 over their next nine games which included the first two rounds of the SCT. The combination of senior Isabella Santucci and sophomore Mia Fiorentino has caused problems for opposing defenses. They have a total of 22 goals this season for the Spartans. Senior Alex Foley is the glue on the back line and is the leader of the team. Ocean defeated Toms River East in the first round on a goal by Fiorentino with 15 seconds left to play. The Spartans followed that with another thriller that went into a shootout. Ocean advanced to the SCT quarterfinal round by defeating Marlboro in a shootout, 4-3. Junior goalkeeper Grace Fuller kept the Mustangs scoreless for 100 minutes and made a save in the opening round of penalty kicks and then again in the fifth round to give Ocean an edge. 

Making the SCT final the last two years, Howell is no stranger to deep runs in the postseason. The Rebels have veteran leadership that have been here before and junior Leila Shaw also has big game experience in goal transferring from Manalapan this year. Senior Ashley Smith and sophomore Makenzie Memmolo provide a dangerous duo on the offensive side of the ball, combing for 18 goals. Howell has been playing without two important players in senior Gabrielle Snowden and junior Layla Barbosa who are out the rest of the season. Howell defeated Middletown North in the opening round on penalty kick by Allison Nase late in the second half. In the second round, Memmolo scored two goals in the first 8 minutes of the second half against Rumson. Shaw had nine saves and posted her eighth shutout of the season. Prediction: Howell, 3-0

 

Toms River North at No. 2 Point Boro, 4 p.m.

Toms River North is a team that used to be a staple in the SCT semifinals and looks to return to the final four for the first time since 2021. The Mariners are led by senior Jordyn Brown, who recently moved from center back to midfield. Brown has been one of the Shore Conference’s best center backs since her sophomore year, but Coach Tom Miller moved her to midfield during the season to generate more offense. Brown and sophomore Olivia Forlenza made for one of the best combinations on the backline, but Forlenza has had no issues becoming the leader of the defense with Brown’s move. Senior Angelina DeCesare and sophomore Lauren Kuhn have combined for 13 goals and 9 assists for North. DeCesare had an assist in the opening round and a goal in the second round and Kuhn has had an assist in both games. Both SCT games have been decided in overtime for Toms River North, first on the road against Point Beach with Brown scoring the game-winner. In the second round, the Mariners defeated division rival Jackson Memorial, 2-1 in overtime.

Point Boro defeated Toms River North 3-0 during the regular season on its way to the Class A South division title. The Panthers look to return to the SCT semifinal for the second time in three seasons. Point Boro only has one defeat this season, which came from outside the Shore Conference versus Chatham right before the SCT started. In typical Point Boro fashion, the Panthers have posted nine shutouts led by seniors Ava Bjorndahl in goal and Gabby Mellet on defense. West Chester commit Abby Hannemann is the playmaker for the Panthers and leads the Shore Conference with 16 assists this season. Junior Elise Viggiano, who battled injuries last season, leads the team with 11 goals, including one in a 2-1 win over Red Bank Catholic in the second round. Freshman Maddie Renna is making a case for Freshman of the Year with seven goals and nine assists. Renna scored the game-winner against RBC. Prediction: Point Boro, 2-0