Brick Mem. soccer team's seniors moving on to college

It's a typical spring for Brick Memorial High School's girls soccer team, where returning players are preparing for next season and the seniors are preparing for college careers.

Seven players graduating from the team all are set for college, led by Caitlin Conway, a midfielder, who is headed for Rutgers, and Megan Heerwagen, a goalkeeper, who is headed to the NCAA Division II program at Kutztown University. Both Conway and Heerwagen received scholarship packages.

Also moving on are goalie Amanda Simon, who is going to Western Connecticut State University, defender Jackie Janicky and midfielder Caitlin Carey, who are going to Kean University, and midfielder Alex Montalto, who is going to Ocean County College and expects to extend her career at a four-year college. Heerwagen, Simon and Montalto are playing lacrosse again this spring, and Janicky is joining Brick Memorial's lacrosse team for the first time.

Midfielder Brianne Toomey, who also is playing lacrosse this spring at Brick Memorial, will pursue that career at East Stroudsburg University.

All of them played important roles in Brick Memorial's winning its second straight Shore Conference A South title, its third in four years, and the NJSIAA Group IV Central Jersey championship.

Ten alumnae from Brick Memorial played on the college level last fall, although Jessica Fuccello missed most of her season at the University of Pennsylvania because of an injury. Shana Brady completed her college career at Siena and wants to join the Brick Memorial coaching staff. Sara Conway, at Monmouth University, and Caitlin Toomey, at Rowan, were upperclassmen. Others included Kylie Stankiewicz at Virginia Tech and Mallory Baker at Maryland, Ann Mc- Carthy at The College of New Jersey, Christina Cuffari at the College of St. Rose, and Cathy Dyciewski and Alyse Newman at Ocean County College.

"I know my coach for PDA [Player Development Academy], Mike O'Neill, a long time, and he encouraged me to visit Rutgers," Conway said. "I liked the school and the girls on the team."

Rutgers made the field of 16 in the NCAA Tournament last fall, losing, 1-0, to Stanford, and finished 13-7-2 under head coach Glenn Crooks.

"I'm really excited. I know it's going to be a great season," said Conway, who currently is playing for PDA. "I want to make an impact again. I'll be concentrating pretty much on fitness. Once you go to Rutgers, it's challenging and you have to be fit."

Conway is the second Brick Memorial midfielder to head to Rutgers in recent years. Tierney Brady went on to play for the Scarlet Knights and ended her fine college career two seasons ago. Lauren Acosta also went on to Rutgers as a goalie and currently is the goalies coach for Brick Memorial.

Conway was the heart and soul of the Brick Memorial team last fall that went 15-4.

"Last season we definitely had the most heart, even though we did not have the most skill," Conway said.

"That senior class was a special group," said Caruso. "Not many classes can say they've won three Shore Conference A South championships, and winning a state section last season. As freshmen, they won A South and the Shore Conference Tournament."

One player who showed heart was Heerwagen. Despite suffering a badly dislocated shoulder last April while playing for her MatchFit club team, Heerwagen gritted through the soccer season with the Mustangs last fall and participated reliably in practices. Like Baker, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her junior year but still was high on Maryland's recruiting list, Heerwagen remained very much in Kutztown coach Erik Burstein's recruitment for his third season.

"It's out of state, and I can get a very good education there to be a teacher," Heerwagen said. "It's a good soccer program with a lot of recruits coming in. It should be a good year there."

Kutztown cracked the top 25 in a national poll, finishing tied for fifth in the Atlantic Region, and went 11 games without a loss in a 12-6-2 season.

Heerwagen suffered her injury at a tough time. She collided in a game with an opposing player and landed on her cheekbone and shoulder, which separated a capsule, so that when she'd reach upward, the shoulder would pull out of the socket.

The injury forced Heerwagen to miss the rest of the lacrosse season when she was the second leading scorer on the team. Two other key lacrosse players also suffered season-ending injuries: Corinne Coyle and Dana Lennaper. Heerwagen practiced sensibly and put off surgery until the end of soccer season.

"I played a little bit. It was hit or miss: one week I was allowed to play and another week I couldn't," Heerwagen said. "I had a lot of practices but no contact. It was tough watching the girls from the sidelines."

As for her college recruitment, Heerwagen said it was a good thing the Kutztown coach saw her play before she got injured.

"I constantly let him know what was going on," she said. "To see him still interested in me was very reassuring."

"She put off the surgery and kept doing physical therapy to stay with us during the season, which is pretty noble," Caruso said.

Heerwagen, ironically, had a chance to play in her junior year because of regular goalie Amanda Simon's injury. She turned in some outstanding efforts.

"We always knew she was good, but she got caught up as backup goalie, which stinks," Caruso said. "When you're a backup field player, you always get some chance to play. She didn't play a lot for us, but we knew she was talented."

Caruso said he wanted to play both of his goalies, but that it's hard to make a smooth change during close games, and his team was locked in many of those.

"I don't think we won more than one or two games by a goal," he said.

Heerwagen is preparing for another lacrosse season as low attack, second home, going from a goal stopper in soccer to a goal scorer to help the lacrosse team this year after it bounced back a bit from the nightmare weekend of injuries last season.

"A lot of girls stepped up," she said. "I was very happy to see that."

Now Brick Memorial is preparing for next season with captains Briana Fischer, a senior, and Ricki Suhl, a junior. Caruso, who suffered a heart attack in January, expects to rejoin his team by the summer. Courtney Richardson, who coaches the girls lacrosse and field hockey teams, has included Brick Memorial's returning girls soccer players in her strength and conditioning program that she set up with field hockey assistant Kelly Johnson.

"Hey, I had a month off," Caruso said with a laugh. "It wasn't blockage, but blood pressure. So, I didn't need surgery, but I'm taking five pills a day, which has made me bloated and tired. I hate taking the pills, and I haven't felt this heavy in years, but at least I'm feeling fine."

And he's eager for the start of another promising season.