The Shore Conference Tournament quarter finals are over. The four winners are set. Moving on to the semi finals: Holmdel in a win over Jackson Memorial 3-1; Rumson over Wall 3-0; Ocean over Toms River North in penalty kicks 5-3; and Manalapan over Colts Neck 1-0. There were no real upsets this year for boys soccer in the final rounds of the SCT. The 1,2,3,5 seeds are all going to the semi-finals which will be played Thursday night in Neptune.
Jackson Memorial got on the scoreboard first in their game versus Holmdel in the 30th minute and ended the half up 1-0. Holmdel dominated most of the second half, but despite lots of shots on goal, just could not put one in the net. Coach Nacarlo kept his team calm and focused. With 7 minutes remaining, junior, midfielder, Menos Hiras connected with a hard shot to tie the game at one all. Three minutes later, Holmdel went up 2-1 on a score by senior, forward, Jason Kyriacou. With the game now well in hand, Kyriacou scored again for Holmdel, with 25 seconds remaining. Kyriacou is now the high scorer for Holmdel with 11 goals on the season. With todays 3-1 victory, Holmdel's record is now 15-1-1.
Holmdel will face division rival Rumson this Thursday in Neptune for a chance to go on to the Shore Conference finals on Saturday. This will be Holmdel's third consecutive trip to the SCT semi-finals and the first appearance for Rumson. The finals and semi finals are played at a neutral site. Holmdel and Rumson played each other two other times this year, with Rumson winning the first contest and Holmdel the second. Holmdel and Rumson are the Class A Central co-champions and have identical records.
This will be the biggest game of the year so far for Holmdel. Put on your Halloween costume and come join us in Neptune to cheer on the boys. Rumson turns out a strong crowd and we need one of our own to root the Holmdel Boys Varsity Soccer team on to victory. I will see you there.
