When Jackson Liberty High School’s boys soccer team took a 2-1 halftime lead on Oct. 17 over Shore Conference B South Division leader Point Pleasant Borough High school, it was a crossroads situation for the game and the season.
Earlier in the season, Jackson Liberty likewise had a 2-1 halftime lead, only to see Point Pleasant Borough rally to send the game into overtime and win it, 3-2. Neither team would score again in the second half this time.
Jackson Liberty beat Lakewood High School in its next game on Oct. 18 to stretch its win streak to five games for a 9-4 league and overall record coming into this week. Its other losses include a pair of one-goal setbacks to Central Regional High School by scores of 1-0 and 2-1, and a 3-1 loss to Monsignor Donovan High School.
“We have 10 seniors, but many don’t play much. So, this is a young team,” coach Brett Mallinson said. “It’s just confidence and us starting to come together as a team.”
The streak started with victories over Manchester Township High School, Barnegat High School and Pinelands Regional High School. Senior goalie Kyle England said the hot streak is more about intangibles than focusing on any area of the field, whether it is the defense, controlling the ball at midfield or scoring.
“We became a family. Every team seems to progress, but we can read each other and know what works,” England said.
Against Point Pleasant Borough, junior center midfielder Adam Haidi scored on a long distance shot. He also crossed the ball to sophomore Brandon Pirog, who headed in the other goal. “We just know how to be more consistent,” Mallinson said. “We’re young. We want to make a nice run in the state tournament and, if possible, in the Shore Conference Tournament, which is tougher.”
The team has been playing its best soccer at the end of the season, which many teams hope to have happen.
“We’re definitely hot at the end of the season, without a doubt,” Mallinson said.
The Shore Conference Tournament begins on Oct. 24, with pairings decided on Oct. 21. The state tournament begins in early November.
“We need to keep that motivation and fire. We’ve got to want it,” England said. “We’ve just really started to catch our stride. We’ve really been fairly good at finding the motivation to keep it going.”
Credit that to a team that capitalizes on possession and momentum in a formation devised by Mallinson that uses only one forward in Pirog, although junior defensive midfielder Jake McKenzie pushes up often into the attack. England has seen regular action at goalie after senior Jacob Gardocki patrolled the nets earlier this season. There have been limited opportunities by opposing offenses because of the play of juniors Joe Pasqualini and Ben Siragusa as sweeper and stopper, respectively, and the Pellegrino brothers— senior Joe and sophomore Nicky — at outside backs. Tyler Chamra, a senior, is a solid reserve midfielder.
Sophomore Bryan Garry is the other center midfielder with Haidi, while the outside midfielders are senior Kaliph Piper and junior Jeremy DeBoer. Chris Galifi, a junior who came into the season highly regarded, has been restricted by a hamstring injury.
Sophomore Morgan Barkley has also contributed as an outside midfielder.
Junior Aiden Benbrook is a reserve forward, but Mallinson said he’ll be the goalkeeper next fall based on his quality of play on his club team. Sophomore Zach Moran is a backup defender.