in A South contest
Second-half outburst
puts Jackson past Brick
Rodkey scores twice
in A South contest
By Mike White
Staff Writer
JACKSON — The Jackson High School boys’ soccer team exploded for four goals in the second half Monday en route to knocking off visiting Brick Township 5-1 in a Shore Conference A South game.
With the Jaguars holding a slim 1-0 lead at halftime, Jackson’s offense got untracked and scored four unanswered goals in the second half to win its seventh game of the season.
Brick scored a meaningless goal in the closing minute of play.
"We had a big second half," Jackson coach Fred Napoli said. "This team has the ability to score a lot of goals in a hurry. I think that is what happened out there today."
Sophomore standout Doug Rodkey led the attack with a pair of goals. Teammates Ryan Mogila, Nick Gkionis and Steve Kominos each chipped in a goal to round out the scoring.
"There are a lot of different players on this squad who can put the ball in the net for us," Napoli said. "It is nice to have so many options on offense."
Mogila is leading the team in scoring this season with 15 goals.
"I knew this kid was capable of scoring goals," Napoli said. "I just didn’t know how many. He has gotten off to a great start for us. Hopefully, he can continue to score at the rate he is."
Jackson now owns an overall record of 7-2. The Jags are scheduled to meet Toms River South Wednesday and Toms River East Friday. Jackson was a 3-0 loser to TRS in the first meeting between the two schools.
"We’re really looking forward to playing that game," Napoli said. "They got the better of us in the first matchup. But I feel that we are a better team now than we were then. It should be an interesting game.
Jackson and Brick played to a tie in a Shore Conference A South game.
Jackson girls tied Brick
Amy Rizzo scored the lone goal, and goalie Erica Midveitt made 20 saves as Jackson and Brick played to a tie in a Shore Conference A South game.
The Jags are 2-6-1 on the season.
Jackson coach Drew Gibson praised the efforts of Midveitt.
"She kept us in the game with her play," Gibson said. "She made eight or nine unbelievable saves. We could have easily lost this game if it were not for her."
Jackson has been fighting injuries all season. Senior Katie Batiuk recently returned after being sidelined for weeks with a back injury.
"It seems that we have been battling through injuries all season," said Gibson. "Just when we get one player back, it seems that another goes down with an injury. That’s the kind of season it’s been."
Gibson remains optimistic the Jags still have an outside chance of qualifying for the state tournament.
"We need to put some wins together in the next couple of weeks in order to make that happen," Gibson said. "We aren’t done just yet. If we can get everybody back healthy, and get a steady starting lineup out there game after game, we can still make it happen."