Lakewood girls come through in the clutch

BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

LAKEWOOD — The Lakewood High School girls soccer team put itself in a precarious situation as it attempted to qualify for the postseason.

The Lady Piners needed to win two consecutive games last week in order to reach the .500 mark to qualify for the state tournament before the cutoff date.

A calm and poised group, Lakewood notched victories over Pinelands and Matawan to qualify for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III playoffs, which begin next week.

"Earning a berth into the state tournament was one of the goals we had set for ourselves at the start of the season," Lakewood coach Miguel Arroyo said. "There was a point in the season where we weren’t playing well, and it was questionable if this group would make it. But we came together in the latter part of the season. We’re excited about how the season ended."

On Saturday, the Lady Piners overcame a sluggish first half and exploded for five goals en route to a 7-2 romp over Matawan.

Christina Freeland scored the hat trick, while teammate Erin Cunliffe added two goals. Both players notched a pair of assists.

Jennifer Smoke and Amanda Finkle each scored a goal.

"We didn’t play well as a team in the first half," Arroyo said. "I think maybe we took them a little too lightly because we had beaten them pretty easily earlier in the season. All of a sudden, we found ourselves in a fight. We needed to have this game in order to qualify. Luckily, we came around in the second half and took it to them."

In a 2-0 win over Pinelands, senior Jeanette Mahieu delivered in a big fashion, scoring both goals.

"She had been having some difficulty scoring, and this was a breakout game for her," Arroyo said. "She stepped up in a big spot and got it done. That was a key win."

After starting the year with a paltry 4-7 mark, Lakewood recovered to win six of its next nine — including four straight — to close the regular season with a 10-9-1 mark.

Lakewood escaped with a 1-0 victory over a winless Long Branch team on Monday afternoon. Playing in rainy, windswept conditions, the Lady Piners notched the game’s only score when Freeland took a pass from Cunliffe and knocked it past the Long Branch goalie.

Arroyo feels his team is yet to peak this season.

"We still haven’t clicked as a squad yet," he said. "We have the capability of being a very dangerous team. We play to the level of the competition. We upset Point Boro earlier in the year. If we can knock off a team of that caliber, I think we can step up and give some team a problem."

LHS boys qualify

for SCT and states

The Piners put the finishing touches on a solid season by earning berths into both the Shore Conference Tournament and the state playoffs.

The Piners suffered a 6-0 loss to Middletown North in the first round of the SCT. Lakewood is scheduled to compete in the NJSIAA Group III playoffs against a yet-to-be-determined opponent next Tuesday.

"Getting an invite to the Shore Conference Tournament says something about how well we’ve played," LHS coach Gene Drumright said. "The kids have worked extremely hard, and we have a number of impressive victories to show for it."

Lakewood is 10-7 overall.

Jax boys upset in Round of 16

The sixth-seeded Jaguars ran into a scrappy Ocean Township squad last Saturday, as the Spartans recorded a 2-1 win over the Jags.

Jackson trailed 1-0, when Joe Ferro knotted the score in the 25th minute. Jamel Carson assisted on Ferro’s goal.

Ocean sophomore Brian Galicia scored the game winner.

Jackson, which qualified for the state tournament, falls to 10-4-1 overall.