Brick Memorial High School girls soccer coach Bill Caruso called it “absolutely heartbreaking” when his team dropped its Shore Conference Tournament round-of-16 game against unbeaten Colts Neck, 2-1, on Oct. 22.
But Caruso hopes his team will bounce back for its NJSIAA opener on Nov. 3.
“We like to think so,” he said. “That [state tournament] is where we shine. This game [against Colts Neck] was a hard one, but I’m so proud. We really played so hard and left everything out there.”
Caruso predicts his team, which comes into this week 9-7-1 looking to pick up two games after completing its schedule, should be seeded No. 15 for the state tournament and open at tough East Brunswick High School. Brick Memorial won the NJSIAA Group IV Central Jersey championship last year.
After opening last week with a 1-1 regular season tie with Freehold Borough High School, Brick Memorial won its Shore Conference Tournament opener, 1-0, over St. John Vianney in overtime as Brianne Fischer hit the golden goal. Then came the Colts Neck game, where Jackie Caravella struck first for a goal off a cross from Fischer for a 1-0 halftime lead. Colts Neck tied it on a penalty kick when Caruso disputed the referee’s call of a push in the box. Colts Neck went ahead with a breakaway that beat goalkeeper Jaci Kosh into the low right side of the net.
“That was a momentum changer,” Caruso said of the penalty kick. “We felt like it was a game we could win. We just felt going in that if we played straight up with them, we’re as good. We outplayed them most of time, and that penalty kick changed things. We played well and had our chances, but that breakaway caught us pushing up a little bit and caught us flat, and their girl ran right onto it.”
Caravella was part of a defense that Caruso said “played its best game of the season. We played our hearts out against a 17-0 team.”
Jade Gouvel, Jordan Down and Marie Moore were the other defenders.
Now the team has its last chance to define a season in which it was unseated as Shore Conference A South champion and exited early from the conference tournament.
“It’s going to take us a few days to get over this one, but, hopefully, we’ll get a couple of games in this week and get back to work to get ready,” Caruso said.