Colts Neck girls top-seed in Central Jersey Group III

Manalapan girls
No. 2 in CJ IV
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff RBC’s Brittany Smith gains control of the ball in front of Colts Neck’s Michelle Fazzari during an SCT semifinal game at Wall High School on Thursday.

An undefeated regular season earned Colts Neck’s girls soccer team the No. 1 seed in Central Jersey Group III.

The NJSIAA state sectional soccer championships begin this week and Dave Irvine’s Cougars have stamped themselves as the team to beat.

Colts Neck received a first-round bye and will play the winner of the Monmouth Regional (No. 9) and Wall (No. 8) match tomorrow in Colts Neck.

Unlike last year when, according to Irvine, winning the B Central title was enough for his Cougars, this year it isn’t.

Colts Neck did get to the state sectional semifinals last year which left the team hungry and motivated.

"The girls had a taste of what we could have done last year and it has carried over," said Irvine.

The first sign that Colts Neck was not satisfied with winning B Central was the Shore Conference Tournament where they erased any lingering doubts that they could beat the best teams in the conference when they advanced to the semifinals for the first time. Along the way, they beat A North champion Manalapan, 3-2.

They lost in the semifinals to the No. 2-ranked team in the state, Red Bank Catholic, 1-0.

Colts Neck has been led by four-year starters Michele Fazzari, a forward, and Meighan Kelly, a midfielder. Add to that mix midfielder Suzanne Witkowski and the Cougars have a very potent offense.

Danielle DeNigris, Kelly Romisoukas and Jenna Salvati anchor a solid defense that has Sam Areman in goal.

The Cougars are 17-1 overall.

Heshy Moses’ Freehold Borough Colonials are the No. 7 seed in Group III and they are the last team higher seeds want to see in their bracket. The Colonials are red hot.

The Colonials played No. 10 Lakewood in Freehold Monday afternoon in their first-round match. If the Colonials won that match, they play No. 2 seed Monroe on the road tomorrow.

With a strong defense in front of goalie Jen Towers, the Colonials are a very dangerous tournament team because the shootout always looms on the horizon. Veterans Cristin Grimm and Kim Agbulos, and freshman Jen Palucci have teamed up to give the Colonials one of the Shore’s best defenses.

A meeting between Colts Neck and Freehold Borough in the sectional final, set for Nov. 13, would not be a surprise. The two teams are on opposite sides of the bracket. Colts Neck won the regular-season match between the two teams.

A North champion Manalapan was seeded No. 2 in Group IV and received a first round bye. The Braves will play tomorrow at home against the winner of the game between No. 7 Howell and No. 10 North Brunswick.

Defense and balanced scoring have been Manalapan’s ingredients for success this fall as the girls won their third straight division title. The Braves have settled in since moving Lindsay Kotula from sweeper to forward. She and Pam Yellin, a midfielder, have fueled the offense.

Morgan Ball stepped up in the second half of the season.

Toni-Ann White, Katie Candiano and Annie Perragine have been an outstanding unit in front of goalie Angelica Lyons, who has been very solid all year.

After two disappointing, early exits in the state tournament, Rick Garretson’s Braves are determined to make a run at a sectional title last won in 1999.

Howell is one of the more dangerous lower seeds in the section. Manalapan and Howell played twice during the regular season with the Braves enjoying a 1-0-1 edge. Their 1-0 turned out to be the difference in the A North race. Laurie Downs’ Rebels will be looking for a little payback if they won at home against North Brunswick Monday.

The Rebels will look to make up for their second place in the division with a big showing in the state tournament. As goes sweeper Courtney Krol, a four-year starter, so goes Howell. Krol is the uncontested leader of the Rebels and has them ready for every game.

Sarah Clayton, Kaitlin Rosenberg, Sam Vadas and Christie Novatin have keyed a Howell defense that is tough to score on.

For the boys, Colts Neck’s B Central champions got the No. 2 seed and won’t play until Friday when the Cougars will host the winner of Princeton (No. 7) and Long Branch (No. 10).

This was supposed to be a rebuilding season for Art Collier’s Cougars; however, they developed chemistry early and rode that to a 12-2 regular season.

With goalie Matt Novielli, they are in very good hands. He has seven shutouts this year and 23 for his career with one year left.

Veterans Sean Settles, Todd Stoner and Carson Sorsby have been steady as she goes while a pair of freshmen, John Bailey and Nick Westendorf, have made a big impact on the team.

Marcos Morales has thrived at midfield since moving there from marking back.

Manalapan’s A North champions are seeded No. 6 in Group IV and played yesterday at home against No. 11 Hillsborough. A Braves victory would put them in the quarterfinals Friday against the winner of the Rancocas Valley (No. 3) and South Brunswick (No. 14) match.

John Natoli’s Braves have been one of the top teams in the Shore since the start of the season. They dominated A North early and rode that to the division title. Scott Gross, Andrew Chorney and Alex Baker have brought a new dimension to the Braves’ offense — speed. Greg Arenson and Phil Kaiser have been the team’s consistent scorers, and Scott Sheridan has been a leader in goal.

Freehold Township’s seniors developed a sense of urgency as the soccer season reached the midpoint. It carried Jesse Renna’s Patriots back into the postseason. A 3-2 win over Manalapan late in the season put the Pats over .500, and they rode that momentum to the states.

Freehold Township is the No. 12 seed in CJ IV and played against fifth-seeded Hamilton East yesterday.

The Pats have been led by Greg Hartlein, a sweeper, and forward Kevin O’Connor.

Marlboro, last year’s sectional runner-up, qualified at No. 15. The Mustangs opened up yesterday at No. 2 Brick Memorial.

Last year Dave Santos’ ’Stangs enjoyed a magical ride, reaching the state sectional finals for the first time. Marlboro, which needed an SCT first-round win to clinch an NJSIAA berth, drew a very tough opponent; however, the Mustangs have a chance because they can score.

Damien Woodley, Jara Habib, Lawrence Fox and Danny Litwok give Marlboro a lot of scoring options. If they get hot, Marlboro can go far. Ravi Gill, who experienced last year’s run in net, is a steadying force for the defense.