Jackson loss represents a missed opportunity
Howell also falls in CJ Group IV action
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

JACKSON - The Jackson High School boys soccer team had plenty of scoring opportunities. The Jaguars outshot their opponent by a 2-to-1 margin and fired a number of shots from close range, only to miss an open net.

When all the dust settled on the field at Jackson High School, North Brunswick managed to escape with an unlikely 2-1 victory in an NJSIAA Central Jersey quarterfinal game last Friday afternoon.

"We had a lot of scoring chances and failed to take advantage of them," Jackson coach Steve Bado said. "We thoroughly outplayed them for the entire game. We had a couple of lapses defensively which cost us. But it is very frustrating to go out and play a team and come out on the wrong side."

What made the loss even more devastating for the Jags, who were the No. 4 seed, was the fact that the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds all got knocked off. Top-seeded Howell, second-seed Sayreville and third-seeded Hunterdon Central all were beaten in the early rounds. That meant Jackson would have maintained home field advantage for the duration of the event.

"The door was wide open for us," Bado said. "The three tops seeds got knocked off. We would have played a couple of more games with the home field advantage. We were in a good position. We had things going in our favor. Playing at home in front of our fan support would have given us a big advantage."

North Brunswick took a 1-0 lead with five minutes left in the first half. The goal came off a throw-in. One of New Brunswick's players tossed the ball from the sideline and it bounced untouched in front of the Jackson goal before a teammate tapped it in for the early lead.

Bado could only watch in disbelief from the sidelines.

"I don't exactly know what happened on that play," Bado said. "We didn't do a good job of defending the goal on that play. In a game of this caliber, you can't afford to make a mental error like that one."

North Brunswick made it 2-0 in the opening minutes of the second half.

"We wanted to try and shut them down early in the second half and we end up giving them another goal," Bado said. "We had a little confusion at our end of the field. There was another bouncing ball and two of our guys started to go for it, but they managed to come away with it."

Jerry Mecca cut the deficit to 2-1 when he scored with 20 minutes remaining in the game.

In an early-round game, Jackson defeated West Windsor, 2-1, in overtime. Mecca scored off an assist from Ben Rodkey.

"Mecca really stepped up for us in the postseason," Bado said. "He came up with a couple of crucial goals."

Jackson finished with an overall mark of 14-4-2.

"We had a good season," Bado said. "Overall, I thought the kids did a solid job. We ran into some tough luck in the state tournament, but that stuff is going to happen."

Top seed Howell knocked out

by Manalapan

Howell and Manalapan finished the 2006 boys soccer season dead even, 2-2.

But, it was the Braves of Manalapan who won the two most important games.

One week after beating Howell in the semifinals of the Shore Conference Tournament, which the Braves went on to win, the Braves did it again, topping Howell, 2-0, Friday in the quarterfinals of the Central Jersey Group IV playoffs.

With six straight wins in tournament play, the Braves (17-3-1) are obviously peaking and are one win away from playing for a second championship this fall.

Forward George Quintano said it was a matter of the team doing a better job at finishing its scoring opportunities.

"We're executing our chances more and playing great defense," he said.

Quintano as much as anyone is responsible for the team's tournament play. He was again the center of the Manalapan counter-attack. With his speed and foot skills, he's a threat every time he touches the ball.

After Howell had the best of the early moments of Friday's game, played at the St. Rose High School fields in Wall Township, Quintano put the Braves on the board, converting a pass from Erik Ilisije just 11:42 into the game.

With that goal, the game changed in Manalapan's favor, just as Howell coach Rich Yuro had feared.

"They were able to pack the box, try and take away KB [Kyle Bethel] and counterattack with Quintano," he explained.

Quintano struck again 10 minutes later. Jason Dorfschneider headed a ball into the box that Quintano was able to chip over the Howell defense. Jay Berger, charging in from the wing, had a wide-open target and slid the ball inside the near post for the 2-0 lead that, with the Braves defense sparked by Jeff Weitz, Bradon Cohen and Joe Avento and goalie Jake Grinkevich, was huge.

"You shoot the ball high and Jake will get it, and anything low their defense will block," Yuro said of the obstacles his team faced trying to come back from a two-goal deficit.

The Rebels would get some chances in the second half, but Grinkevich was equal to the task.

For Howell (16-2-2), Friday's loss was certainly disappointing. They went through the regular season unbeaten and champions of the Shore Conference A North Division. But they were the top seed at both the SCT and the state sectional and came up short.

"It's a very empty feeling," said Yuro. "You work hard all season looking for better results."

Yuro knows that in a couple of weeks, the Rebels will look back on the season in a more positive light. But that's down the road. For now, it's Manalapan that's still playing.

-Tim Morris contributed to this story