Boys Soccer – Shore Rolls On, Blanks St. Rose

BELMAR – Shore Regional’s talented collection of sophomores experienced something during their 2013 freshman season in the Shore Conference Class B Central that their elder teammates had not: losing.

After two straight unbeaten seasons within the division, the Blue Devils lost three games to B Central opponents last year and finished tied for second place with Asbury Park, one game behind division champion Point Pleasant Beach.

So far this season, the Blue Devils – both young and old – have rediscovered divisional dominance, as they showed by beating St. Rose, 4-0, on Saturday at the St. Rose Sports Complex.

“We were upset to lose last year and it’s definitely put more of a drive within us to come back and win,” senior center fullback Jake Friedland said after his team’s seventh shutout of the season. “I’m a senior so I’ve got to win something this year.”

St. Rose entered Saturday’s game unbeaten in Class B Central, but could not keep up with Shore’s possession game, nor defending several well-timed runs at the goal. That has been a common theme for opponents of the Shore’s No. 4 ranked team, even those opponents from outside of the B Central division. During its 8-1 overall start, Shore is 8-0 against the Shore Conference with a scoring advantage of 35-1. In addition to six division wins, Shore also has 3-0 decisions over both Middletown North and Ocean.

“It’s a confidence boost to know we’ve beaten some quality teams so far, but ultimately, it doesn’t really matter,” Friedland said. “We can’t be defined by what we do at the start of the season. We need to keep getting better.”

Sophomore Dante Montesinos scored two goals and set up another to lead the Shore scoring barrage. He assisted junior J.T. Kessler’s goal to open the scoring in the sixth minute and scored off a pass from senior Marcelo Armondes 2:30 later. Each goal involved a well-timed run to the net and pass through the defense.

“Our passing is probably the area where we have improved the most,” said Montesinos, who cracked the starting lineup as a freshman last season. “It’s been getting better and better every game and today we really worked the ball around and made good decisions.”

Sophomore Stevie Johnson had a hand in Shore’s two second-half goals, scoring the first on a 10-yard strike from straight on after senior Lucas Bongarzone slid him the ball from the left side of the 18-yard box. Johnson then sent the ball through to Montesinos, who ran onto to and lifted a shot over Purple Roses goalkeeper Kellen Jordan and into the far right corner of the goal to cap the scoring in the 56th minute.

Montesinos’ older brother, Lukas, started the fourth goal by winning the ball at midfield and pushing it ahead to Johnson. Lukas Montesinos missed nearly all of last year with a broken arm, one of several key injuries that, in part, contributed to Shore’s relative struggles within the division.

“I know my brother was upset about the losses last year and that he wasn’t able to play in those games,” Dante Montesinos said. “It means a lot to have him back and healthy. We have a good group of guys and we’re playing well together, so hopefully we all stay healthy and keep getting better.”

Box Score

Shore 4, St. Rose 0

Goals (Assists): (S) Kessler (D. Montesinos) 6’, D. Montesinos (Armondes) 9’, Johnson (Bongarzone) 47’, D. Montesinos 56’
Saves: (S) Coffey 6; (SR) Jordan 2, Gates 0
Shots: Shore 10, St. Rose 7