BMHS girls soccer team headed to state tourneys

Brick Memorial High School's girls soccer team clinched berths in the NJSIAA and Shore Conference tournaments when it beat Brick Township High School, 4-2, on Oct. 17.

Shore Conference pairings were scheduled to be decided on Monday, with opening-round games on Wednesday. The state tournament cutoff is Friday.

"We respect Brick [Township]," Brick Memorial coach Bill Caruso said. "If you don't play well against them, they can beat you. We tried to set the tempo right away and did that with a quick goal."

Brick Township the previous week handed Jackson Memorial High School its first loss of the season. Brick Memorial beat Brick Township, 3-0, earlier in the season.

Ricky Suhl, who leads the team with 13 goals, had the hat trick against Brick Township. Her first two goals staked the Mustangs to a 2- 0 halftime lead it never lost, including the first one just 1:30 into the game. Jordan Downs converted a free kick to make it 3-0, and that was all that goalkeeper Jaci Kosh needed.

"The big part of Ricky scoring is having Brianne Fischer back from mononucleosis," said Caruso, whose team is 8-5-1. "Having her [as a threat] gives Ricky some room, and they feed off each other."

The game concluded a week in which Brick Memorial lost to Toms River North, 3-0, and then beat Southern Regional High School, 4-1, as Jackie Caravella scored twice and Fischer also connected. Brick Memorial and Southern played to a scoreless tie earlier in the season. Toms River North beat Brick Memorial, 1-0, in their previous meeting.

"I'm very happy with the whole week," Caruso said.