Toms River North Captures SCT and A South Girls Soccer Titles By Eric Braun

TOMS RIVER – The Toms River North girls soccer team capped an impressive run to end their regular season and Shore Conference Tournament runs with two championships. After starting the season with a record of 3-3 and struggling to find consistency, the Mariners regrouped and pulled o

ff an incredible run finishing the regular season and Shore Conference Tournament with nine wins and one tie in 10 straight games.

                After a disappointing 0-3 result against Ridge in The Mountains vs. The Seas Tournament, Toms River North went back to work and put in the hard work and determination to attain the goals still within their reach.  This started with taking care of business in an always tough A South Division where they would finish by capturing another divisional crown with a record of 6-1-1.

                The Mariners, after their loss to Ridge, went on a tear that included eight shutouts, 32 goals for and only four goals against.  Led by Emily Royson (11 goals), Alexa Peto (10 goals), Julia Fiorito (eight goals), Marsa Tava (six goals, nine assists), Jasmine Brown (six goals, eight assists) and Morgan Curtis (six assists), Toms River North’s offense started clicking at the right time— tournament time.

                Coach Tom Miller would have plenty of fire power and leadership this season to earn their place in Shore Conference Tournament history.  Royson, a Duke University commit, continues to be a threat on both sides of the field. When Royson moves back to play alongside senior Curtis, the pair is hard to beat.  This opens the offense for players like University of Pittsburgh commit Tava, Brown and Peta to dominate on the offensive side of the ball. 

                Heading into the Shore Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed and if they wanted to get the respect they deserve, they would have to take down No. 12 Saint John Vianney,  No. 4 Shore Regional, No. 1 Middletown North and No. 2 Red Bank Catholic. Despite years of success and hard work, no one seemed to respect Toms River North and this was the extra motivation this group needed to make their tournament run.  To most, this would seem like an impossible feat, but someone forgot to tell the Mariners, as they pulled off the unthinkable and became the Shore Conference Tournament champs.

                Toms River North pulled off the first major upset by knocking off top-ranked and previously undefeated Middletown North, 2-1, in a thrilling SCT semifinal, when Brown scored the go-ahead ahead goal with minutes left in regulation.  Fiorito gave Toms River North a 1-0 lead by burying a goal off a misplay from Middletown North's keeper.

                In the SCT championship game on the campus of Point Pleasant Borough High School on a frigid evening, the Mariners were not going to let their momentum slip away.  Controlling the play for the majority of the contest, the Mariners finally struck when Peto scored the lone goal of the game.  The Mariners held off a relentless Red Bank Catholic rush the last 10 minutes of the game to raise the trophy for the first time since 2012.

                After their Shore Conference Tournament win Coach Tom Miller said of his team’s late success, “We had a lot of new people in, but we also had a lot of new people back, so I think it took awhile for us to gel, when it all gelled, it was just like, ‘OK, here we go.’  The girls really started to pick up their play together and play off each other. It was just a fabulous run.”

                The Mariners are hoping to add one more title to their trophy case as they head into the NJSIAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament.

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