Memorial girls advance in state soccer tourney

Brick Memorial's girls soccer team is the last high school program left standing in the township again this season and can give part of the credit to Brianne Fisher after knocking off top-seeded Montgomery, 1-0, in the NJSIAA Group IV, Central Jersey semifinals on the road Friday.

The school's boys team was eliminated by North Brunswick, 1-0, in the section semifinals early last week on a goal that deflected off a Mustang defender into its own net seven minutes into the game.

Fisher got the deciding goal with 11:27 left after Ricky Suhl settled a free ball off a scramble in front of the net and Fisher beat the goalie from six yards out into the upper right corner. She did it despite a nagging hip flexor that kept her out of practices and limited her time in last Tuesday's 2-1 section semifinal victory at East Brunswick when Suhl and Jordan Downs scored, both in the first half.

"She was a fullback last year and the first month of this season and we moved her up (to forward), which was so much better because we could keep possession with her and Suhl up front and Caitlin Conway in the middle (at center halfback)," said coach Bill Caruso.

It was only the second goal this season for Fisher but the other was also a game-winner in overtime against Lacey early in the season.

Amanda Simon also drew praise from Caruso for her sixth shutout, although that was jeopardized with a shot that went off the bar and was cleared out by Alex Monalto.

"You don't just win because you're good. It's a little bit about heart and absolutely a lot about luck," said Caruso.

Next stop was on Tuesday in Brick Memorial's second game this season against an unbeaten nationally ranked team when it played No. 7 ranked Lenape in the South Jersey finals at Neptune. Lenape (24-0) won Group IV last year but Brick Memorial (15-3-2) has beaten it three straight times after losing to Lenape in their first state tournament match-up in 2000. Brick Memorial beat Lenape in 2001 and 2002 in the sectional finals when Brick Memorial played in the South section and in 2004 in the state semifinals as it went on to its third straight state title, fourth overall.

But Caruso feels the pressure is on Lenape, just like it was on Montgomery, which came in with a 19-0 record, and Freehold Borough, which was ranked No. 22 when it escaped with a 1-0 victory over Brick Memorial in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals. He fully remembers three seasons ago when his team saw an unbeaten season and the No. 2 national ranking go by the boards in a section championship loss.

"We just go out and play as hard as we can," said Caruso. "It's too late to

switch anything now." And he has enjoyed this ride that he has said was not in his expectations coming into the season. "It's a great feeling, not like the teams in the past because this is more about working hard," said Caruso. "I should retire after this season because I'll never have another coaching year like this. It's been an

absolute joy."

Brick Memorial's boys, meanwhile, packed away their gear as coach Kevin Bliem faces a huge rebuilding task for next fall with 18 seniors graduating fro this team.

"And a bunch of them were firstyear varsity players," said Bliem, whose team finished 12-10. "It took a while for them to get used to the system but I have to credit the captains and the veterans who made those players blend into a team. Next year, I'm starting all over again."

Only three starters return, including midfielders Liam Tivenan and defender

Kevin Bull along with goalie Justin Vinton, a junior who was backed up by freshman Seamus Conway while sophomore Ryan Shaughnessy also was available as the regular goalie for the junior varsity team. Midfielder Kyle Wogan also returns after chipping in some good contributions. But it will be difficult to fill the void left by Krishna Nathu, who led the team with 10 goals and

sparked a scoring outburst late in the season that was pretty silent up to that point. Other graduating starters include midfielders Trevor Reilly and Nick Deodato, middle defender Connnor Brady and forward Justin Pfeiffer. Bliem said sweeper Brian Rushalski performed beyond his expectations and midfielder Wes Buckley and defender Justin Schulthorpe also depart.

"It was a great season," said Bliem. "We progressed nicely after a slow start."