Jags turn attention to loaded state tourney
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

NEPTUNE - Following an emotional overtime victory in the quarterfinals, the Jackson High School boys soccer team was hoping to ride the wave of momentum to the Shore Conference Tournament championship game.

The only problem was the Jags needed to get past a scrappy Toms River East squad in order to secure a date in the final. The Raiders managed to score a goal in each half and then used a stingy defense to hold on for a 2-0 shutout last Thursday night at Neptune High School.

TRE met Manalapan, who knocked off top-seeded Howell in the other semifinal, in the title game Saturday and suffered a 4-2 loss.

The loss drops Jackson's record to 14-3-1 overall. The Jags squared off against West Windsor Tuesday in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV playoffs.

"There weren't a lot of scoring opportunities for either team," Jackson coach Steve Bado said. "We felt good about our chances going in. We were coming off a good win and felt that we were prepared to take them on. Both teams went at it and they managed to get the better of it. I'm still proud of the way the kids fought the entire game. I think we surprised a lot of people by how far we advanced in the tournament. We're hoping to stay focused and relaxed as we head to the state tournament."

Jackson played with a high level of intensity, especially in the opening 15 minutes of the game. But then Toms River East's Peter Fitzsimmons knocked a shot past Jackson goalie Alex Morgans at the 39:10 mark. That gave the Raiders momentum heading into halftime.

"We wanted to be the team that struck first," Bado said. "In a game of this magnitude, the first goal scored is usually important."

In the second half, a TRE goal was called back because of a handball. However, the Raiders didn't let the gaffe suspend their intensity. A few minutes later the Raiders scored again to build a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Joe Somma took a feed from teammate Trevor Curtis and scored to add the insurance goal.

"We were playing up and just got caught," Bado said. "At that point in the game we needed to score. We took some chances because we were behind, and they scored."

Jackson outshot TRE by a 12-11 margin, but didn't stage many good scoring opportunities. The Jags had a shot bounce off the crossbar in the opening half.

"There was only one or two real good scoring chances," Bado said.

In the win over TRS, Ben Rodkey scored the game winner 19 minutes into the extra session. Joe Aletta assisted on the goal that put Jackson in the semifinals. Cory Weismann scored Jackson's other goal.

Bado says the Jags have their hands full in the state tournament, playing in a bracket that includes several teams ranked in the top 20 in the state.

"It's a real tough bracket," he said. "We're going to have to fight and scrape for every win we get. The rest of our games are going to test our patience, poise and intensity."