Boys Soccer Thursday Scoreboard, 10/17/19
Class A North
Long Branch 3, No. 5 Marlboro 1
Senior Eryck Lazo scored two goals in the second half and the Green Wave (7-7-1, 5-2-0) took advantage of a Marlboro red card to top the Mustangs (11-3, 5-2) and keep open the possibility of a share of the Class A North championship.
Marlboro senior center fullback Ethan Schlesinger dragged down a man as the last defender on a breakaway in the 45th minute, which drew a straight red card and gave Long Branch a man advantage the rest of the way.
The Green Wave finally capitalized in the 57th minute, when Lazo took a pass from junior Augusto Bontempo and ripped a deflected shot into the goal from just inside the top of the 18-yard box for the go-ahead goal.
Lazo added another goal in the 65th, powering through a defender and chipped a shot over Marlboro sophomore goalkeeper Nick Tango for a 3-1 Green Wave lead.
Long Branch tied the game with 33 seconds left in the half on a shot by junior Victor Pessoa off a corner kick by Lazo. Senior Patrick O'Dwyer got his head on the ball first and the ball bounded to Pessoa, who was ready to fire.
Marlboro grabbed the early lead on a penalty kick by senior Max Shushkovsky.
With Thursday night's result, Freehold Township clinches no worse than a share of the Class A North championship and can win it outright by beating or tying Middletown South in a game that has yet to be scheduled for a definitive date. A Middletown South win would mean Freehold Township, Long Branch and Marlboro split the division title three ways.
Class B South
Pinelands 2, Manchester 1
Senior Creed Nass and Logan Johnson each scored a goal and the Wildcats (8-4-1, 6-0-1) held off a late charge from the Hawks (8-9, 5-2) to clinch the outright Class B South championship for the third straight year.
Nass ran down a pinpoint pass from junior Johnny Hart and slipped a shot past Manchester keeper Rich Mariotti for the game's first goal in the 17th minute.
After a dominant first half playing with the wind and a 9-1 advantage in shots, Pinelands extended its lead to 2-0 in the 55th when Johnson knocked in a cross from sophomore Nate Szwed to the front of the goal, where the senior ran down the pass and finished.
Manchester came alive facing a two-goal deficit, with freshman Owen Edwards lining up a touch from sophomore Brandon Sogness and skipping a low shot into the lower left of the goal in the 62nd minute.
The Hawks hit the crossbar twice in the final nine minutes, with Pinelands junior goalkeeper Gavin Harris getting a hand on both. Junior Dallas Hopkins smashed a 40-yard free kick that the wind took toward the far right corner of the frame, but Harris got enough of it to parry it up to the bar.
Edwards got a clean look in the 76th but Harris again got just enough of the shot to push it up off the crossbar.
Pinelands ended a 28-year drought when it won the first of its three straight titles in 2017 and in winning its third straight, the Wildcats denied Manchester its first since 2002.
Point Boro 2, Lacey 1
Non-Division
Ocean 3, Raritan 0
Sophomore Aidan Tisony scored two goals and assisted one by classmate Brian Miranda to lead the Spartans (8-8) past the Rockets (6-8).
Red Bank 3, St. Rose 2
Three different Red Bank players scored a goal and sophomore Phil Stolfa assisted two of them as the Bucs (6-7-1) edged the Purple Roses (7-6-3).
Junior Matteo Balderas, Miles Cunningham and senior Erik Christie found the net for Red Bank. St. Rose scored on an own goal and one by senior Christian Riozzi-Bodine.
Monmouth 2, Howell 0
Sophomore Ryan Kuldanek assisted a goal by senior Mason Martelloni and scored one off a pass from senior Brian Leonard to lead the Falcons (13-4) past the Rebels (4-11).
No. 9 Manasquan 1, Brick Memorial 0
Senior Chris Pierro buried a free kick for the game's lone goal and the Warriors (8-5-2) topped the Mustangs (5-8-2) while preparing for Saturday's SCT semifinal vs. CBA.
Middletown South 6, St. John Vianney 2
Junior Matt Glynn scored two goals and an assist and senior Danny Minze put up a goal and two assists to lead the Eagles (9-4-3) to a win over the Lancers (3-11-1). Seniors Sean Liner, Matt Cozzi and Mike Barbara each added a goal for Middletown South.
Neptune 3, Barnegat 0
Senior Louis Pennington scored two goals and senior Ryan Gannon added a goal and two assists to pace the Scarlet Fliers (9-6) to a win over the Bengals (9-5-1).
Matawan 5, Brick 0
Five seniors - Tommy Arendt, Marcelo Colonna, Chris Dietrich, Gavin Klamm and Ryan Leonard - scored on Matawan's Senior Night and the Huskies (8-5-1) rolled to a win over the Green Dragons (7-7-1).
Toms River East 1, Toms River North 0
Senior Vasco Pereira scored the lone goal on Senior Night and the Raiders (6-5-3) edged the Mariners (6-6-1). Senior Joe Sasso picked up the shutout in goal.
Keyport at Lakewood, 5 p.m.
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