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Sectional Semifinals

Central Jersey Group IV

(4) Monroe 1, (1) Howell 1 -- Monroe advances on penalties, 5-4

Monroe scored the equalizer in the 68th minute and fired home five penalty kicks during the shootout to overcome the top-seeded Rebels and reach the sectional final Saturday at No. 3 Freehold Township.

Senior J.P. Candela staked Howell to a 1-0 lead with a goal in the first half and the Rebels were true on four of their penalty-kick attempts, but Monroe goalkeeper Justin Graham saved the Rebels' second attempt of the shootout to give his team an opening.

(3) Freehold Twp. 3, (15) South Brunswick 0

Senior Jake Visco scored his third goal in the last two games to open the scoring and junior Alessandro Principato contributed a goal and two assists to help lead the Patriots to a win over the Vikings.

For the second straight year, Freehold Township will host the Central Jersey Group IV final as the Patriots go for their second straight championship. No. 4 Old Bridge will visit Freehold Township on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Visco scored off Principato's first assist in the 11th minute and Principato got a goal of his own in the 38th off a pass from senior Aidan Englander. Just 20 seconds after assisting Principato, Englander got a goal for himself and it came off a helper from Principato.

 

Central Jersey Group III

(1) Robbinsville 2, (4) Neptune 0

Bora Turker broke a scoreless tie in the 74th minute and Adrian Ivanov put the game away with an insurance goal as the top-seeded Ravens denied the Scarlet Fliers a trip to the sectional final.

(10) Allentown 1, (14) Matawan 0 (OT)

Thomas Laurinaitis scored the golden goal during the second overtime period and the Redbirds ended the underdog run of the Huskies in the sectional semifinals. Allentown will head to play No. 1 Robbinsville Saturday in the Central Group III championship game.

 

Central Jersey Group II

(2) Holmdel 2, (6) Manasquan 0

Junior Frankie Brusco headed in a free kick from David Weiner in the 47th and Weiner added a penalty kick in the 56th as the Hornets blanked the Warriors to advance to the sectional championship round for the second straight season.

Manasquan had the game's first high-percentage chance -- an eight-yard shot by freshman Cruz Farkas that whistled over the crossbar in the 46th minute. One minute later, Brusco elevated for a back-post service by Weiner and headed it into the far side netting.

A handball at the edge of the 18-yard box gave Holmdel the penalty kick that Weiner converted. Manasquan manufactured one more near-goal, but senior goalkeeper Ilan Golden made a diving save to keep it out of the upper 90.

Holmdel will host No. 8 Wall in the Central Group II championship game on Saturday.

(8) Wall 2, (5) South River 1 (OT)

Junior Bo Pepe scored the golden goal in the ninth minute of overtime and the Crimson Knights beat the Rams to reach its third sectional final in the last four seasons.

Wall jumped on top, 1-0, on a goal by senior James Damiano in the 46th minute. South River struck back in the 59th on a own goal -- the first surrendered by Wall during the NJSIAA Tournament.

After another dramatic win away from home, Wall will hit the road Saturday for the sectional final at No. 2 Holmdel. It will mark the third meeting of the season between the teams and the second straight year they will meet at Holmdel in the NJSIAA Tournament. Holmdel won both matchups during the season -- the second of which was in the Shore Conference Tournament -- and won last year's Central Group II quarterfinal on penalty kicks after 100 scoreless minutes.

 

Central Jersey Group I

(8) Shore 5, (12) Point Beach 0

Junior Ty Jackson and freshman Cooper Attaway each scored two goals and the Blue Devils continued their dominance during the state tournament with a semifinal win over the Garnet Gulls.

Senior Conner Katz opened the scoring in the ninth minute by finishing a corner kick by sophomore Stephen Molnar. Jackson then made it 2-0 off a pass from freshman Santino Scarponi in the 35th, followed by Attaway just 1:27 later off a pass from senior Nick DiNapoli.

Attaway added his second goal 14:10 into the second half off a pinpoint cross from junior Tyler Zachorczyk after being played through by Jackson, who then capped the scoring off another assist from Scarponi.

After getting an unexpected home game as the No. 8 seed in the sectional semifinals, Shore will make its second road trip of the tournament -- this time to play No. 3 Florence in Saturday's sectional final. It will be the second sectional final of the last five seasons for Shore and the first as a Group I program since winning Central Jersey Group I in 2014.

 

South Jersey Group IV

(2) Cherokee 2, (6) Toms River North 1 (OT)

Senior Brandon Michael scored the golden goal in overtime and the Chiefs exacted their revenge against the two-time defending champion Mariners to advance to the sectional final Saturday at No. 1 Rancocas Valley.

Senior Miguel Graterol assisted the game-winner, as well as a goal by senior Jackson Bialy that gave Cherokee a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the second half.

Senior Ray Keller eventually drew Toms River North even to keep the Mariners' hopes of a fourth straight sectional championship alive, with two of the three straight coming as South Jersey Group IV champions. Last year, Toms River North defeated Cherokee on penalties after a scoreless 100 minutes to win the South Group IV championship.

 

Sectional Quarterfinals

South Jersey Non-Public A

(1) CBA 4, (8) St. John Vianney 0

Junior Dylan Millevoi scored and assisted a goal and senior Will Thygeson scored in his return to the lineup as the Colts blanked the Lancers to advance to the sectional semifinals Saturday against No. 4 Pingry.

Millevoi tapped in a cross from senior Charlie Paparella to open the scoring 10 minutes into the match. Junior Lawrence Mancino made it 2-0 in the 26th by rifling home a shot off a set-up by senior Jack D'Eletto.

CBA added one more goal before halftime, with junior Max Koczan heading in a corner kick by Millevoi in the 34th minute.

Thygeson capped the scoring with a goal in the 54th minute off a feed from D'Eletto. Thygeson missed the final three rounds of the Shore Conference Tournament due to a hamstring injury, with his last game action coming in an SCT round-of-16 win over Southern on Oct. 14.

 

South Jersey Non-Public B

(1) St. Rose 4, (9) Princeton Day 3

Senior James Vitale scored two goals and assisted the game-winner by classmate Packy O'Hearn in the 72nd minute as the Purple Roses overcame a man disadvantage to beat the defending sectional champion Panthers.

St. Rose jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of penalty kicks by senior Matt Cheney and Vitale within the first eight minutes of the match. After Princeton Day cut the deficit in half, Vitale scored another goal off a pass from junior Aidan Bonczek to send St. Rose to the half with a 3-1 lead.

The Panthers drew even by the 67th minute and in the 72nd, O'Hearn got his head to a cross from Vitale and slammed it in to break the tie. St. Rose then dug in and held Princeton Day down for the final seven-plus minutes to escape with the win and earn a sectional semifinal game vs. No. 12 Moorestown Friends on Saturday.

(3) Bishop Eustace 1, (6) Ranney 0

Jackson Gatelin scored the game-winner in the final 10 minutes and the Crusaders survived a spirited challenge from the Panthers to earn a sectional semifinal home game against No. 7 Noor-ul-Iman.

 

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