#image_title

Shore Conference Boys Soccer NJSIAA Sectional Final Scoreboard

Matt Manley|November 15, 2024|Last Updated November 19, 2024

Shore Conference Boys Soccer Scoreboard

Friday, Nov. 15

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Championships

South Jersey Group IV

(4) Southern 6, (7) Toms River North 3 | Watch

Senior Aidan Donnelly scored a sectional-final hat trick, classmate Brody Reynolds set up four of the six Southern goals and the Rams (17-5-1) rode an offensive explosion against the rival Mariners (16-7-1) to their first ever NJSIAA sectional title.

Southern stormed out to a 3-0 lead by halftime thanks to the wind at its back and an overall dominant performance. The Rams caught an early break when a Toms River North defender headed a free kick by Reynolds into the goal in the fourth minute. In the 28th minute, Reynolds blasted a ball from well behind the midfield line ahead and Donnelly ran it down in time to head it past oncoming goalkeeper Alex Roman and into the net as the two collided with another Toms River North defender.

Senior Nick Prosperi made it 3-0 in the 36th minute when he headed another corner kick by Reynolds across the mouth of the goal and in.

Toms River North showed some early spirit to open the second half and broke onto the scoreboard in the 44th minute on a finish by senior Josh Brazier off a cross from classmate Frank Toledo. Donnelly, however, countered with his second goal of the game just 39 seconds after Brazier’s goal, running onto a pass from senior Cristian Alvarado and ripping it past sophomore goalkeeper Gavin Stryker.

Senior Kaan Zenger got into the act in the 54th minute by elevating over a defender to head in yet another corner kick from Reynolds, stretching the lead to 5-1. Donnelly capped his hat trick three minutes late by curling a free kick inside the right post from 25 yards out and Southern appeared to be on its way to a rout.

The momentum, however, shifted in Toms River North’s favor when Southern senior center back Shane Holden was cited for his second yellow card of the match and sent off the field in the 64th minute. Mariners senior Christian Assante buried the ensuing free kick from 20 yards out and Toms River North was within 6-2 and playing with a man advantage on the field.

One minute after Assante scored, sophomore Chris Ruggiero pushed up from his starting center back position and hammered a shot from close range off the crossbar and in to cut the Mariners deficit to 6-3 with 15:32 still showing on the clock and Southern playing with only 10 men.

Toms River North made another bid for a goal in the 70th minute, but Southern senior goalkeeper Ryan Schweigart made two diving saves within seconds of one another. Two minutes later, Toms River North senior defender Mike Venegas ran through Schweigart on a challenge for a 50-50 ball in the box and was issued a yellow card. Several Southern players raced to Schweigart’s aide, with several starting a shoving match with Venegas that prompted players from both teams to race onto the field to help separate the parties involved. Alvarado took over in goal for the remainder of the game and Venegas drew another yellow card two minutes later to even up the game at 10 players on both sides.

Southern advances to the Group IV semifinal and will host its first ever appearance in the round on Tuesday, when the Rams host reigning Group IV champion Princeton.

 

Central Jersey Group III

(9) Long Branch 1, (3) Steinert 0 | Watch

Junior Thomas Silva scored the tie-breaking goal in the 53rd minute and junior goalkeeper Carlos Gerardo Rodas saved a second-half penalty kick to help deliver the Green Wave (12-10) a win over the Spartans (16-5-3) and the program’s first sectional championship since 1997.

Early in the second half, Steinert earned a takedown inside the penalty box that gave junior Tyler Tafrow a chance to give the Spartans the lead in the 44th minute. Rodas, however, anticipated the shot to his right and punched it away with a diving attempt to keep the home team off the board and the scored tied, 0-0.

In the 53rd, senior Alejandro Lopez-Flores served a corner kick into the box, where senior back Tristan Pierre-Louis got the first head on the ball. Junior Brendan Mendoza then flicked a header across the goal, and with Steinert goalkeeper Dennis Chaykovskyy tied up in traffic on the near post, Silva slammed in a volley to the far left corner for the first strike of the match.

Rodas made one more acrobatic save to preserve the lead, which came in the 60th minute. The junior goalkeeper one-hand swatted a curling shot by Matt Tafrow away from both the goal and the awaiting head of Tyler Tafrow on the far post.

With Friday’s win, Long Branch extended its winning streak to 10 and also snapped a four-game losing streak in the sectional final round, including a Central Group IV loss in 2019 and a Central Group III loss in 2021. Three current seniors — Evan Santiago, Johan Gomez and Lopez-Flores — started as freshmen  in that 2021 championship game at Hopewell Valley.

Long Branch will hit the road for the fifth time this tournament Tuesday, when the Green Wave travel to play South Jersey champion Shawnee for the right to play in the Group III championship game next weekend.

 

Related Articles