Upset Avoided: Two Second-Half Goals Send Manalapan to Shore Girls Soccer Final
NEPTUNE — When special teams have their backs against the wall, they dig deep and find a way to overcome the challenge. That is what the Manalapan girls soccer team did when their perfect season was starting to slip away in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinal.
Manalapan — the No. 1 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament — found a way to mount a comeback in the final 15:19 and defeat No. 13 seed Rumson-Fair Haven, 2-1. The win sends Manalapan (15-0) into their first SCT Championship game since 1988.
The Bulldogs put the pressure on the Braves early, attacking on the wing with Duke commit Jordyn Sullivan. Sullivan, who is second in the Shore Conference with 26 goals, was able to beat two defenders on the right wing and cross the ball to an open Chase Memmott for the goal in the 16th minute.
“That was the first time all season we were trailing at any point,” Manalapan coach John Rogers said. “At halftime we said what we are made of. We’ve been saying all year that at some point we are going to be hit with adversity and it is going to be finding out what this team is made of when this happens.”
Senior Daniella Butash raised her game to an even higher level as the minutes began to tick away and was involved in both goals. Butash found Kayla Sasso on the far post after creating space on the goal line and crossed the ball in the air for Sasso to tap it in with 15:19 left.
Kayla Sasso celebrating after scoring the equalizer with 15:19 left in the game. 10/23/25 Photo by Tom Smith
Butash took advantage of a little bit of luck with 6:47 left when she ripped a shot that deflected off a Rumson defender to change direction and prevent goalkeeper Ella Curran from making the save. Curran initially moved in the opposite direction before the deflection and watched helplessly as the ball struck a defender and bounced into the side of the opposite the side she dove.
Daniella Butash scored the winning goal with 6:47 left in regulation for Manalapan in the SCT semifinal. 10/23/25 Photo by Tom Smith
“It was an amazing feeling,” said Butash after she scored the game-winner. “It has been a rough three years so being able to put the team on my back in a big moment like this that we have come up short in the last few years is great.”
Manalapan got a total team effort from the forwards to the midfielders and the back line, but the hero of the game was goalkeeper Aryanna Lake. Lake made the play of the game 8 minutes into the second half to prevent Rumson from taking a 2-0 lead.
After making a run down the wing like they did on the first goal of the game, the Bulldogs were able to get an open player in the middle of the box to take a shot, but Lake made a diving save and the Brave defense was able to recover and clear.
Aryanna Lake makes save against Rumson-Fair Haven in the SCT semifinal round in Neptune. 10/23/25 Photo by Tom Smith
“I saw the cross coming and knew she was going to hit it and I used muscle memory and dove,” Lake said. “I wish I could have caught it, but I had Devon (Rosenzweig) and she came out to clear it and it kept us in the game.”
After a strong first half by the Rumson offense, the Manlapan defense was able to keep Memmott and Sullivan in check for the majority of the second half. Sullivan has been one of the best players in the Shore Conference during the SCT with four goals and two assists. In the second round against No. 4 Red Bank Catholic, Sullivan scored the golden goal with 1:14 left in the second overtime. She followed that with both goals against No. 5 Point Boro in the quarterfinal round win.
Jordyn Sullivan had an assist in the 16th minute to give Rumson a 1-0 lead in the SCT semifinal. 10/23/25 Photo by Tom Smith
“She (Sullivan) is incredible,” Rogers said. “She is probably the biggest test we had all season. Dina (Contstantina Papadakis), Callie (Butash), Sonya (Hofmann), and Devon (Rosenzweig) all worked their butts off. I can not say enough about the defense. They have carried us and continue to battle.”
Manalapan has been the No. 1 team in the Shore Conference since the preseason rankings after coming off a remarkable Central Jersey Group 4 run last year that sent them to the finals. The Braves fell short in that game in penalty kicks, but every single player returning from last year sent a message with that run: Manalapan would the team to beat in 2025.
Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Memorial Field in Neptune, the Braves will play No. 10 Trinity Hall for a chance to win their first SCT title since 1988. Trinity Hall, which might be the strongest 10-seed in the history of the tournament, is playing for something too: the Monarchs can win the first SCT title in the school’s history. Trinity Hall had one of the hardest paths to the championship game, having to defeat No. 2 Central in the quarterfinals on penalty kicks and No. 3 Howell in the semifinals.
