This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Soccer Notes: Toms River East Boys Still Love the Hate

The Toms River East boys soccer team started its season in impressive fashion; Monsignor Donovan shocks Toms River South; Toms River South and Toms River North pick up steam in girls soccer.

The boys soccer players hate that the overriding sentiment among Ocean County and Shore Conference soccer coaches stipulated that the Raiders would be, at best, the second-best team in the Shore Conference Class A South division behind rival

They also loved that they could do something about it on the first night of the season Monday when the two teams met for the first time.

The phrase “love the hate” has been a rallying cry of coach Ted Gillen’s program since the 2008 season, although it was not actual Gillen who started the mantra. During that season, during which Toms River East went 15-2-5, won the division, reached the Shore Conference Tournament semifinal and the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV final, all the while embracing their own perception that outsiders did not believe such results were possible – hence the phrase.

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For the second straight season, Toms River East made a statement in its first game and did so against Toms River North. The Raiders held on to beat the Mariners 2-1 Monday night at Toms River East High School, a win over the team ranked No. 2 in the Shore Conference by both the Asbury Park Press and All Shore Media and cited by the Newark Star Ledger as one of a short list of teams that could win a Group IV championship.

"Whatever it is, whether it's the lights or the rivalry or that they see that North is ranked ahead of them in the poll, our guys get up for this game," Gillen said. "I have a team full of seniors, and I think that's made this group a particularly hungry bunch. While I don't think we played particularly well tonight, we played hard, and that's why we were able to come out on top."

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Last year, Toms River East completely dominated the Mariners on opening night, beating them 2-0 with a 9-0 shot advantage in a game that last only one half because of rain. Toms River North did outshoot Toms River East on Monday, but goals by Tom Kosenski in the 18th minute and Kyle Smyth in the 56th erased an early 1-0 Mariners lead.

“Between the rivalry and playing under the lights and it being opening night, it’s a lot for the kids to handle,” Toms River North coach Joe Mahon said. “As soon as I saw we were opening with them again, I said ‘Jeez, here we go again.’ It’s almost too emotional for our guys, but I was actually happy with the way we controlled our emotions on (Monday).”

The two senior-heavy teams played a physical game that involved plenty of chirping and extracurricular shoving, which resulted in four direct kicks in the final 24 minutes. Toms River North nearly put one in on a Tanner Sica header that hit the crossbar, a shot that would have been Sica’s second goal of the game had it found the net.

“We go after each other on the field, but the rivalry stays on the field,” Kosenski said. “We beat each other up when we’re between the lines, but once the game is over, those guys are our friends.”

Griffins on the Rebound

Last season was one of the more frustrating ones in the history of the Monsignor Donovan program, but the Griffins did not take long in putting 2010 behind them.

Seniors Adam King and Andrew Hemberger each scored in the final five minutes to lead Monsignor Donovan to a win over defending Class A South champion and 2009 Group IV champion Toms River South on Friday.

The Griffins finished last season with a record of 4-13 and King and Hemberger were their top two scorers despite combining for only six goals.

“We have guys who can play,” Monsignor Donovan coach Ken Oliver said. “The key for us, other than health, obviously, is going to be scoring. Last year we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net and that’s why we struggled. If we can find some guys to score this year, I think we can be pretty good.”

Monsignor Donovan played most of last year without juniors John Underwood and Dylan Thompson-Sevcik and the health of those two players is a key to a potential bounce-back year, according to Oliver.

Back on the Horse

Toms River South washed out the bad taste from the Monsignor Donovan loss with a 4-1 win over Brick Memorial in Monday night’s Class A South opener. Senior Tyler Sakolsky and Andrew Hourigan, and juniors Vinnie Ignatowicz and Ben Osei each scored a goal in the win.

Ignatowicz added two assists and scored his goal off an assist from Nick Ligouri, a transfer from Raritan high school. Ligouri started on Raritan’s 2009 team that went 15-2-2 and beat Toms River South in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

In Girls Action

Toms River South opened its season with an impressive 3-0 victory over Brick Memorial behind goals by Madison Kenny, Taylor Troutman and Lauren Mendez.

Toms River North rebounded from a 4-0 opening-day loss to four-time defending Group IV champion Lenape by shutting out Toms River East 3-0. Sophomore Shannon Groffie, sophomore Samantha Santos and junior Jenna Lobello each scored for the Mariners in the win.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?