Boys Soccer – Geerinck Sets Single-Season Goals Record as TR South Wins SJ 3 Title

Last season, the Toms River South boys soccer team endured a long bus ride back from Ocean City High School after losing to the Red Raiders in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III final.

This year, there was no bus ride, but there was a big celebration.

This time playing on Toms River turf, senior Cameron Geerinck scored two goals in the first half and the Indians held on to beat the Red Raiders Friday to capture their first sectional title since winning the overall Group IV championship in 2009.

The win also marks the first time in program history that the Indians (20-3) reached 20 wins in a season, according to coach Ron Laycock, who has been a head coach and assistant in Toms River since the early 1990's.

Geerinck's goals were his 26th and 27th of the season and the first of the two broke the single season school record. Geerinck has now scored in 11 straight games and Toms River South has gone 10-1 during that stretch. Since dropping to 5-2, the Indians are 15-1 in their last 16.

"He knew he was going to have to be the man for us by scoring goals and he's done that," Laycock said after Geerinck tied the record against Lacey on Wednesday. "He's very opportunistic, and that's what makes great forwards great forwards. It takes a certain personality to score goals and he has it, he has that composure."

Geerinck struck for his first goal in the 13th minute off a pass from junior Dylan Dannelson, which pushed him ahead of Dave Mitchell for sole possession of the single-season record. In the 34th minute, junior Dylan Parks found Geerinck for his second goal of the game to put Toms River South ahead 2-0 heading to the half.

Junior goalkeeper Dom Pizzi came up with a key save in each half to momentarily preserve the shutout until Ocean City (11-9-2) broke through with 12:20 left on a goal by Logan Bloomstead.

Toms River South will play Ocean for a spot in the Group III semifinals Tuesday night at Toms River North at 7 p.m. - the third time the two teams will meet in a postseason game in the last four years. Ocean routed Toms River South, 8-2, on the way to winning the Shore Conference Tournament title in 2012, but the Indians got the Spartans back by eliminating them on penalty kicks in last year's Shore Conference Tournament round-of-16 game in Toms River.

This sectional championship is the first for Laycock as a head coach. He and current assistant Ed Leibe switched job titles just days prior to the season after Leibe suffered a heart attack in mid-August. Laycock was the Indians head coach from 1994 to 2001 before Leibe took over as head coach and Laycock became his assistant.