Brick boys soccer teams going in different directions

Brick Township's boys soccer team plays its first Shore Conference Tournament game since 1998 on Friday, but it came with a dramatic twist.

The Green Dragons avenged a 1-0 loss to Brick Memorial earlier in the season by reversing the score with the Mustangs. The outcome also figured in Brick Memorial missing the Shore Conference tourney for the first time in 12 years.

Carey Brandsdorfer beat goalie Chris Pimentel, who has played superbly for Brick Memorial, at 8:51 into the second half on a ball taken off the defense and Brick Township goalie Dan Wroblewski made it stand up.

Bransdorfer and Andrew Smith, who has made a solid transition from midfield to sweeper, keynoted the victory as the only two prominent seniors on an 8-5-2 team dominated by juniors that also has it one win away from clinching an NJSIAA Tournament berth. That was postponed on Friday by Toms River North, which pulled out a 3-2 overtime victory despite goals by Brick Township's A.J. Kolesa and Dave Guedes.

"Having those two guys is huge for us," said coach Ken Lynch of Bransdorfer and Smith after the victory over Brick Memorial. "They've been here through the tough times and we're playing great now."

Brick Memorial coach Kevin Bleim, meanwhile, was nearly at a loss for words while assessing his 6-9-2 team. It was compounded by two other tough losses last week, a 2-1 loss on Toms River South, which converted a breakaway into a goal with 17 seconds left in regulation, and a 1-0 loss to Marlboro, which scored on a free kick with a minute left in the second overtime. There also was a 3-0 victory over Middletown South led by Justin Pfeiffer and Liam Tivenin, who played well and scored.

Now, the Mustangs are scrambling to make the NJSIAA Tournament as Bleim is trying to pick up a third opponent this week, with games on Monday against Long Branch and Friday against Ocean. Of course, the team would need to sweep three games to reach the .500 mark to qualify for the state tournament or miss it for the first time since the 1990 season.

"I don't understand it; we have the talent and have been playing well but we've just been unlucky," said Bleim.

The kids are playing well and playing their hearts out. I feel real bad for them."

Bleim agreed that a shortage of scoring, which has been a chronic problem over the years, has been an albatross this season.

"That's our weakness: finishing," said Bleim. "It has been but this year, it comes back to haunt us." But Bleim also said he was happy for Brick Township after it took its lumps over the past four years. His team's best opportunity came in the second half when Joe Kocher had a breakaway, only to have it broken up by Smith.

"They're playing the way the game is supposed to be played. They're playing a real nice style," Bleim said of Brick Township, which has beaten every team in Shore Conference A South at least once this season.