Jackson enters second half feeling confident
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

JACKSON - With a 7-1 overall record and perched atop the A South division, the township high school girls soccer team is poised and confident as it makes the turn to the second half of the season.

The Lady Jags put forth a big effort last week, knocking off Brick Memorial and Toms River North, two key divisional opponents, without surrendering a goal. Coach Drew Gibson admits his defense has been the cornerstone of the success in the first half of the season.

"We are doing a great job of limiting scoring opportunities," Gibson said. "Our defense has been together now for a couple of seasons. These girls are playing as a single unit out there and it is making a huge difference."

Gibson cited the fine work of sweeper Kim Menafra as a key to squelching scoring chances.

"She is so good back there, that even if she does get beat she can recover in time and take away the opportunity," Gibson said. "She does a great job of seeing the field and anchoring the defense."

Sophomore goalie Shannon Watt continues to improve with each game, Gibson said.

"She was a backup last year for us and has handled the starting role very well," he said. "She is still very young to be playing goalie, but she did a good job in the preseason. She is gaining a ton of experience being out there."

Jackson's latest conquest was a 1-0 thriller over Toms River North last weekend. Jordan Bunch knocked in a goal past the Toms River North goalie with about 25 minutes remaining in the game and then the Jags' defense went to work.

Bunch took a cross from Dana Costello at the right side of the box and tapped in a shot that proved to be the game winner.

"Dana had beat her kid and made a great pass to Jordan, who was waiting," Gibson said.

Earlier in the week, Jackson registered a 3-0 shutout over Brick Memorial. Both wins were crucial in gaining the top spot in the division.

"They were both big games for us," Gibson said. "Now there is some definite separation in the division. Both of those teams have two losses. We like the position that we're in at this point in the season. We kind of figured we'd have a solid year with all the experience coming back."

There are no breaks in the schedule when competing in A South. This week Jackson squares off against Toms River East, Southern and Brick Township.

"All of these teams will be gunning for us," Gibson said. "We have six divisional games in the next two weeks. We're sitting in a very good spot as far as I'm concerned. But we still need to come out and take care of business game after game. We need to take care of that top spot in the division. If we continue to play as consistently as we have in the first half of the season, we're going to be in good shape."