Shore Conference Boys Soccer NJSIAA Scoreboard, Nov. 12

Shore Conference Boys Soccer Scoreboard

Tuesday. Nov. 12

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Semifinals

Central Jersey Group IV

(3) Princeton 2, (2) Manalapan 0

Manalapan had a potential equalizer with in the 77th minute waved off for contact with the goalkeeper and Princeton junior Archie Smith countered with a breakaway insurance goal two minutes later as the Little Tigers (17-2-4) held off the Braves (17-4-1) to reach the sectional final for the second straight season.

Chase Hamerschlag scored off a free kick from Connor Hewitt — who also assisted Smith’s goal in the 79th — in the final two minutes of the first half. Princeton will continue its 2023 Group IV championship defense Friday, when it hosts No. 5 Monroe in the sectional final.

 

Central Jersey Group III

(9) Long Branch 3, (4) Middletown South 0

Senior Evan Santiago headed in a free kick from classmate Alejandro Lopez-Flores in the 74th minute to set off a stretch of three goals in just over three minutes that powered the Green Wave (11-10) past the Eagles (10-8-3) and into the sectional final for the third time in the last six seasons.

In the 66th minute, junior Brendan Mendoza appeared to give Long Branch a 1-0 lead when he knocked the ball into the net off a long pass ahead from goalkeeper Carlos Gerardo Rodas, but the officials ruled the ball went over the crossbar after the ball ended up outside the goal.

A foul 30 yards away from the goal set Long Branch up with another opportunity in the 73rd minute and as the clock passed into the 74th, Lopez-Flores served the ball into the middle of the box, where Santiago headed it through the grasp of Middletown South goalkeeper Carson Perry. The goal was the third of the tournament for Long Branch’s center fullback and senior captain.

The Green Wave added to its lead a little more than a minute later, when senior Johan Gomez scored the first of his two goals in a span of 2:04. The first was a curling, left-footed shot from 25 yards out that nicked the left post as it tucked into the side netting.

In the 77th, junior Thomas Silva skipped a pass through the defense for Gomez, who slipped behind the back line and beat Perry to the ball for a chip that ended up in the goal for Long Branch’s third goal in a span of 3:22.

After starting the season 2-10, Long Branch has reeled off nine straight wins to reach the Central Jersey Group III championship for the first time since 2021, when the Green Wave lost at Hopewell Valley. Long Branch will again travel to Mercer County in search of its first sectional title since 1997 on Friday, when the Green Wave take on No. 3 Steinert.

 

Central Jersey Group II

(2) Robbinsville 0, (6) Manasquan 0 – Robbinsville advances on penalties, 5-4

Senior goalkeeper Brody Kaplan saved the final shot of the round of penalties and the Ravens (19-1-2) kept their hopes of a third straight sectional championship alive by denying the Warriors (13-7-1) on their quest for their first title in program history.

Along with both defensive units, Kaplan and Manasquan goalkeeper Dylan Morris shined in goal for the 100 minutes leading up to the shootout.

Robbinsville — the 2022 and 2023 Central Jersey champions in Group III — will go for its first title in Central Jersey Group II Friday, when the Ravens host No. 4 seed and reigning South Jersey Group II champion Delran. Delran will be playing for its ninth straight sectional championship — the first eight of which came while playing in South Jersey Group II and does not include the 2020 season.

 

South Jersey Group IV

(4) Southern 4, (8) Central 1

Senior Kaan Zenger scored a goal in the first half, classmate Brody Reynolds bent in a corner kick early in the second half and senior Aidan Donnelly finished two insurance goals as the Rams (16-5-1) topped the Golden Eagles (12-8) to reach the sectional final round for the first time since 2020 and for the first time ever in a full-season NJSIAA Tournament.

Zenger scored off a throw-in from junior Caden Schweigart to open the scoring in the eighth minute. Southern maintained the 1-0 lead through halftime and gained the wind advantage in the second half. The Rams put that advantage to use on their first corner kick of the second half, which Reynolds put on frame and earned the goal when Central goalkeeper Kaden Stout collided with a defender. Reynolds’s goal made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute.

Donnelly added to the lead with a 25-yard free kick in the 48th minute and tacked on a fourth Southern goal when he chipped in a pass from junior Colton Davis in the 79th minute. Central broke up the clean sheet in the 67th, when junior Ilyas Ciltepe knocked in a cross from senior Jordan Benzon to cut the Southern lead to 3-1.

Southern will host No. 7 Toms River North in Friday’s sectional championship game in a rematch of a 1-0 Toms River North win during the regular season and a 3-2 Toms River North win in a 2020 championship game during the modified NJSIAA sectional tournament. The 2020 state postseason was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Toms River North and Southern played a memorable South Jersey championship game, which the Mariners won in overtime after trailing, 2-1. Friday will be Southern’s first official appearance in an NJSIAA sectional final.

(7) Toms River North 1, (6) Cherokee 0

Junior Brady Gillman scored the lone goal of the game in the 36th minute and the Mariners (16-6-1) held on to upend the Chiefs (13-6-1) and reach the South Jersey Group IV final for the fifth time in the last six seasons — including the truncated 2020 tournament.

Seniors Christian Caso and Frank Toledo played the combination that set up the winning goal, with Caso playing Toledo out wide to set up a cross into the box. Caso collected Toledo’s pass to the front of the goal and slid to to the top of the box, where Gillman nailed a shot inside the right post from just beyond the edge of the 18-yard box.

After sophomore Gavin Stryker finished off the shutout in goal following a clean first half in net by senior Alex Roman, Toms River North officially punched its ticket to Southern Friday for yet another appearance in the South Jersey Group IV championship game. The Mariners won three straight titles from 2019 to 2021 and lost in last year’s South Group IV championship game at Washington Township.

 

South Jersey Group III

(3) Moorestown 1, (2) Toms River East 0

Senior Alafy Depaula scored off a feed from junior Jack Vernick and the Quakers (18-5-1) made the lone goal stand up in a sectional semifinal win over the Raiders (16-4-1). Moorestown will travel to play top-seeded Shawnee Friday in the South Group III championship game.

 

South Jersey Non-Public B

(1) Moorestown Friends 5, (5) Ranney 2

Senior Saeed Torres scored the first of his two goals to tie the game in the 21st minute, but the Panthers (11-8-2) could not contain Preston Galanis and Preston Kostopoulos on the way to dropping their sectional semifinal to the Foxes.

Torres scored off a pass from Eddie Magherini to tie the game, but Kostopoulos scored off a pass from Galanis to regain the lead for Moorestown Friends in the 34th minute and struck again in the 38th to send the reigning sectional champions to the half with a 3-1 lead.

Galanis opened the scoring in the 12th minute of the match and extended the Moorestown Friends lead to 4-1 with a goal five minutes into the second half. Galanis then set up a goal by Jared Kolaris that gave the Foxes a commanding 5-1 lead in the 51st. Torres scored for the second time in the 64th off a pass from fellow senior Dev Nayer to close out his senior season with 27 goals.