Memorial girls soccer wins the battle of Brick
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI Staff Writer
Just as in past seasons at this time of year, the Brick Memorial's girls soccer team is rounding into postseason form.

Ask coach Bill Caruso. And ask his rising star player of late - Alyssa Keating.

"So far, so good," said Caruso, whose 12-2 team begins Shore Conference Tournament play at home on Friday and will have its seeding determined in the NJSIAA Tournament after Friday's Shore tourney score on that cutoff date.

"We've been playing well now that the tournament is coming," said Keating.

And crosstown rival coach Mike Berardinelli of Brick Township agrees after his team battled hard before losing to Memorial, 2-1, on Saturday night.

"They're pretty close [to being ready]," said Berardinelli after his team struck first on Jess Durnian's first goal of the season before Brick Memorial answered with goals from Ann McCarthy and Caitlin Conway, the latter with 10 minutes left.

Megan Heerwagon stepped into goal the last two games for Amanda Simon, who suffered a fractured finger but who has been cleared to play.

"He [Caruso] has them ready," said Berardinelli. "They should go pretty far in the state tournament. They're definitely one of the teams to beat."

And Keating has done her part with eight goals while playing alongside Christina Cuffari, who leads the way with 13.

"This has been the best season I've been playing; the last few games I've been playing really well," said Keating, who last weekend made an official visit to Manhattan College of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and has just two other NCAA Division I choices where she plans to schedule visits - St. John's and Pittsburgh, both of the Big East. "I'm working harder than in the past."

That showed early last week when Keating had the hat trick in a 6-1 victory over Toms River South. Cuffari added a pair of goals and Conway had the other.

"We've been playing the ball inside and then going forward with our outside midfielders," said Keating.

A victory on Monday over Southern Regional would clinch the Mustangs' eighth Shore Conference divisional championship under Caruso, 10th overall. They last won the A South two seasons ago.

But it hasn't always come easily as in the comeback win over Brick Township.

Durnian beat Heerwagon high, thanks to a pass from Kim Price for one of the few times this season that Brick Township struck first, although it has lost many close, low-scoring games in a 2-12-1 season. Heerwagon also stopped a penalty kick attempt by Durnian in the first half and another threat by Corey Pannone glanced over the bar.

"We tried to go at them in transition and go up the side away from Jourdan Thompson [at middle back], and then as soon as their defense went to the ball, we got it over to the weak side and got three or four opportunities that way," said Berardinelli, whose team had a different showing than a 5-1 loss to Brick Memorial last month.

The coach said the switch of Chelsea Garkowski from forward to defense has solidified the back line. Garkowski got off to a fast start with four goals early in the season but her scoring slowed as she suffered injuries. "We wanted to take her out of the constant grind on offense of running and chasing balls," said Berardinelli, who also praised the work back there of Kaci Brannick,

Carol Ann Carlson and Alyssa Brown in keeping games close, such as the 3-2 overtime loss to Jackson as well as losses to Toms River North, 1-0, early last week, to Point Pleasant Borough, 1-0, and Lacey, 2-1.

Brannick, Brown, Pannone, midfielder Starri Stark and forward Heather Murphy are the only seniors on the team, but all of them start as the Green Dragons wind down their season to Monday's finale. Lauren McElroy made some saves in goal of point blank shots by Brick Memorial.