Girls Soccer – Central Outlasts TR South to Reach SJ 3 Final

TOMS RIVER – Almost a year ago to the day, the Central girls soccer team was a mere 25 minutes away from capturing its first NJSIAA sectional championship before the chance eventually slipped away against Toms River South.

With a chance to avenge that South Jersey Group III championship loss from a year ago, the Golden Eagles again jumped out to an early lead at Toms River South and this time, they did not give it up.

Amanda Carolan scored two goals and assisted another by Gianna Argento – all in the first 19 minutes of the game – and the No. 8 seed Golden Eagles knocked off defending sectional champion and No. 4 Toms River South, 3-2, to advance to their third straight South Jersey Group III championship game. Central will travel to play No. 3 Moorestown on Friday in search of the program’s first sectional title.

“Our season ended here last year, so we were definitely motivated to come back and beat them this time,” Carolan said. “One thing we talked about was getting off to a good start, because playing on the road, if you can score first and continue to put the pressure on, it can give you a big edge mentally.”

Carolan’s early offensive burst buried Toms River South in a 3-0 hole, one which the Indians threatened to erase but never could completely overcome. The Indians outshot Central 24-7 with nine shots on goal, but Central created five one-on-one opportunities against Toms River South goalkeeper Dean Taylor and cashed in on three of them.

“It’s not how many shots you take or how many opportunities you get, but how many you take advantage of,” Carolan said. “We spent a lot of time at practice working on finishing, hitting shot after shot to make sure that if any of us got a chance to score, we didn’t miss.”

Carolan has not missed much this season, as her two goals on Tuesday increased her season-total to 45 and her school-record career total to 108. Carolan slipped behind the back line in the third minute, took a pass from Argento and buried a shot to the far post to open the scoring. After Toms River South missed a number of chances on the other end over the next 14 minutes, Carolan slipped a ball through to Argento, who took on Taylor unchallenged and converted to make it 2-0 in the 17th minute.

Just two minutes later, after taking advantage of two high back lines for the first two goals, Carolan swiped an errant pass in the Toms River half of the field and outran the defense before striking another breakaway goal into the net in the 19th minute.

“Against a team like this in a game like this, you can’t think about the score,” coach Kristee Paknis said. “You have to keep attacking. That’s why, after every goal, we say, ‘Zero-zero.’ If we let up or change anything, that’s when you allow the other team back in the game.”

The Indians scored their first goal in the 25th minute, when Mackenzie Ryan one-timed a cross from Samantha Labianca and knocked it into the goal to trim the deficit to 3-1.

Although Toms River South lived in the attacking third for the duration of the game and mounted dangerous run after dangerous run, the Golden Eagles did not stray from their defensive strategy and continued to look to counter. Indians senior forward Taylor Troutman fired shot after shot at the goal – including a left-footed shot off the crossbar in the 57th minute – and also set up several near goals. Central did not drop sweeper Mel Buckley deep until Toms River South cut the Central lead to 3-2 on a penalty kick by Charly Slavick in the 69th minute.

“We decided to man-mark them and we stuck with that for the whole game,” Paknis said. “We trusted our backs to stay with their assignments and we knew our sweeper, Mel Buckley, would be able to cover any mistakes and, for the most part, we were able to execute that.”

The strategy, although it led to some anxious moments for freshman goalkeeper Noah Smith, nearly paid off in a fourth goal, but Taylor saved two Central breakaway chances in the second half to keep Toms River South in the game.

Smith, meanwhile, did not have to make any such saves, but she did stop seven shots and controlled the box as Toms River South threatened throughout the game.

“She came in with big shoes to fill and has gained more and more confidence every day,” Paknis said, referring to graduated standout goalkeeper Lindsey Mahnkin. “She’s learned how to communicate with her defense and when to be aggressive and getting that experience has made her a more composed, confident player.”

Central has won its last two games of the NJSIAA Tournament on the road, knocking off top-seeded Delsea, 6-4, and the defending champion on Tuesday. The Golden Eagles made a similar surprise run in last year’s Shore Conference Tournament, when they reached the championship game as a No. 14 seed, the highest to ever reach the final. While Central could not get out of the first round in this year’s SCT, they did have one last tournament run in the reserves.

“We like when that doubt creeps in, because that’s what we feed off,” Carolan said. “We would rather be the underdog like we were in the last two games. Playing the number one seed last round and then the defending champs and the team that beat us last year, not many people expected us to win. Hopefully, we can do it one more time.”

Box Score

Central 3, Toms River South 2

Goals (Assists): (C) Carolan (Argento) 3’, Argento (Carolan) 17’, Carolan 19’; (TRS) Ryan (Labianca) 25’, Slavick (PK) 69’
Shots: Toms River South, 24-7
Saves: (C) Smith 7; (TRS) Dean 2