Week 6 Top 10

 10/9 to 10/15

(Previous Rank)

1. Freehold Township (1) 13-1-0 - They are the best in the Shore and they are doing it without one of the best players in the state. Gabby Koluch does not get the accolades she deserves. She was NJ.com midseason defender of the year, she might be the midseason player of the year.  Freehold Twp. took care of Rumson 4-0, all 4 goals in the second half. Then they beat TRS 5-1 to advance to the SCT semis and face SJV on Wednesday at 630. If they win, they face winner of Howell/Point Boro Saturday in Neptune.

2. Howell (7) 11-2-1 - I said Howell would surprise people and they have but not me. They move onto the SCT semis by defeating St. Rose in the first round 3-0 and then defeated Manalapan 1-0 in the quarters. If they can beat Point Boro they will move on and most likely face Freehold Twp for the title. They played last week and even though they lost 3-0, they looked good against Freehold and had their fair share of chances.

3. Point Boro (8) 12-1-0 - Point Boro had an easy regular season schedule and that concerned me going into the postseason, but they are proving they can play with the big Monmouth county schools. They beat TRN 1-0 in round two, a game where their defense was really tested in the closing minutes. They then went up to Red Bank and upset the #2 seed RBC 3-1.  When you look up "team" in the dictionary you see a picture of this Point Boro squad. They play for each other and you can see that on the field. They play the 6th seed Howell Wednesday.

4. RBC (2)  10-3-0 - Behind Freehold everyone thought RBC was the next sure thing to make SCT Semis or even finals, but Point Boro ruined that plan. After RBC defeated Marlboro 2-0 in the second round, they lost to Point Boro 3-1 to end their SCT title hopes. Now they have to regroup and get ready for states. 

5. SJV (10) 9-4-1 - When this season started I did not think SJV could be where they are after graduating a large part of their team, including my All Shore goalie Kelsea Nolen.  All the players have stepped up and senior Katie Webb has been great in goal to help SJV reach the SCT Semis. Milani Thompson does everything for SJV and always seems to find the right teammate at the right time to score game winning goals. They hope to keep their dream season going when they face #1 Freehold Wednesday in Neptune. 

6. Manalapan (3) 8-3-1 - If Manalapan was in a different part of the bracket they could be playing Wednesday, but they were put in the hardest part of the bracket with Central, Lacey, and Howell. In round two they were able to defeat Lacey 5-2 behind four goals by Vanessa Sarf. Less than 24 hours later they had to face division rival Howell, who they tied 1-1 during the season, and lost 1-0.  Now Manalapan will start preparing for states.

7. Toms River South (9) 7-4-1 - TRS proved beating Brick Memorial last week was no fluke as they defeated for the second time 1-0 in the second round of SCT. Unfortunately they had to face #1 Freehold and were defeated 5-1, after taking the lead 1-0 in the first half. They play TRE on 10/18 and a win clinches them A South.

8. Manasquan (NR) 10-4-0 - I am unsure the last time Manasquan, if ever, they made the Top 10 in a Shore Conference poll, but here they are after they went into Middletown and defeated the #4 seed Middletown South 2-1 in overtime. They trailed 50 seconds into the game and fought all game. Renee Herbert is a game changer with her set pieces, especially her corners. Manasquan lost to SJV in the quarterfinals 2-0, but Coach Price has this program looking up as they prepare for the state tournament.

9. Middletown South (4) 7-4-1 - When the SCT bracket came out last week, Middletown South looked to be in a perfect spot compared to division rivals Manalapan and Howell, but Manasquan proved otherwise. Middletown South had several chances to close the game out in the second half but could not finish. Now they will prepare for states where they hope to make some noise.

10. Brick Memorial (5) 7-3-1 - The Mustangs got handed their second loss to TRS in less then a week. First it cost them A South and now a chance in the SCT.  This team can be very dangerous at times and hopefully they use the next two weeks to get prepared for a state run. 

Bubble

Lacey 9-4-1 - Unfortunately they were on the wrong side of the bracket and Manalapan came out on fire. Lacey can be a top 5 team when they are on their game. Now they prepare to defend their sectional title.