The Week 6 version of the Surf Taco Girls Soccer Player of the Week has a postseason twist to it. The Shore Conference Tournament kicked off on Friday and a number of players came up with big performances to impact the tournament's first round, as well as which teams got in the tournament. Read about some of the Shore's most clutch performances below and vote for the best of the best in the poll at the bottom of the post. Voting runs until 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

 

Nominees listed alphabetically

Karagan Bulger, Southern

Southern’s junior center back has not only led the defense but showed offensive prowess to boot last week. Bulger scored a goal in Southern’s 3-0 win over Central on Tuesday and pitched in a goal and an assist in the Rams’ 3-1 win over Red Bank in the Shore Conference Tournament opening round.

Alli Hemphill, Rumson-Fair Haven

After a lukewarm start to the season, the Bulldogs have come on strong under first-year coach Megan Heerwagen. Rumson’s latest win was a first-round victory over Lacey in the SCT and Hemphill starred with two of the four Bulldogs goals. Hemphill also scored a goal earlier in the week as part of a 5-1 win over Raritan.

Samantha Howard, Marlboro

The Mustangs appear to have caught fire at the perfect time, beating Toms River East and Middletown South to get into the SCT as the No. 24 seed and knocking off No. 9 St. Rose in the first round on Friday. Howard stepped up in the upset of the Purple Roses by scoring both Marlboro goals in the 2-1 win.

McKayla Hughes, Point Beach

Not only was Saturday’s Shore Conference Tournament first-round game an elimination game for Point Beach but it was also a bragging rights match against cross-town rival Point Boro. Hughes rose to the occasion with a goal and an assist on the golden goal by Sarah Shwahla to complete the overtime win for the Garnet Gulls.

Lindsay O’Keefe, Middletown North

Last week, Middletown North clinched the Class B North title, an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament and O’Keefe’s goal essential clinched all three. The senior forward scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Colts Neck on Wednesday and added another score in an 8-1 rout of Mater Dei on senior night to up her season total to 10 goals.

Remi Reinhardt, Wall

Reinhardt has scored three goals but two of them came last week and two of them have been in pressure situations. The senior scored the game-tying goal Friday in Wall’s penalty-kick victory over Brick Memorial after a 1-1 draw in the SCT opening round. That followed a goal in Wall’s 5-1 win over Ocean earlier in the week. Reinhardt’s first goal of the season was part of a 3-2 win over St. Rose on Sept. 8 in which the Crimson Knights rallied from a 2-1 deficit.

Hannah Vates, St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney’s senior starting outside has been a versatile member of a tough, battle-tested Lancers team, playing all over the field over the course of the season. Vates assisted a goal in a 3-0 Senior Night win over Red Bank and was an integral part of a defense that posted four straight shutouts before conceding a goal to Jackson Liberty in Vianney’s 2-1 SCT win over the Lions on Saturday.

Sam Yorke, Jackson Liberty

Speaking of Jackson Liberty, the Lions have had a strong season thanks to the performance of the best goal-scorer in program history. Yorke is Jackson’s Liberty’s all-time leading scorer and is just two shy of 50 for her career with two full weeks to go before the start of the NJSIAA Tournament. Last week, Yorke scored two goals in a 3-1 win over Barnegat to qualify for the SCT and also scored in a 2-1 loss to SJV in the first round. That goal was the first allowed by St. John Vianney since Sept. 23.

 

 

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