Sports
Saint Rose of Belmar Rebounds With Wins Over Henry Hudson and Mater Dei
Back-to-back 5-0 shutouts point Purple Roses in right direction.
Photo above: The Saint Rose boys soccer team prepares for action
HIGHLANDS – The Purple Roses of Belmar got the ball rolling again with back-to-back 5-0 shutout wins over Henry Hudson Tuesday afternoon and Mater Dei Thursday after a disappointing 4-0 loss to Class B Central leader Shore Regional – ranked No.3 in the Shore Conference – last Saturday.
The win leaves St. Rose (7-3, 7-1) a game behind the Blue Devils (10-1, 8-0) for the division lead with the two schools scheduled for a rematch October 16 at Shore Regional. That game will not only give St. Rose a shot at redemption, but is also shaping up to have major Class B Central title implications.
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“Shore Regional is definitely the best team we’ve seen so far,” first year St. Rose head coach Brian Pringle said. “I’m still trying to grasp what I could’ve of done different and done better; they’re a very good team and I give them a lot of credit.”
“My center midfielder Brett O’Malley is injured and didn’t play in the game,” Pringle added. “Not having Brett was a huge factor. He’s an academy level soccer player and my No. 1 guy. He’s not a big goal scorer but he’s a fantastic soccer player and the quarterback of the team.”
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In Tuesday’s win over the Admirals, senior striker Joe Forlenza - a 2013 All-Class B Central selection – registered his second hat trick of the season, scoring three goals in the match to give him ten for the season along with four assists.
“At the beginning of the season I was a little bit concerned about scoring goals,” Pringle said. “I didn’t feel like we had a true attacker but Joe has proved me wrong. He was used more as a midfielder last season but he’s been up top for me all season. He’s been a consistent scorer there and when he doesn’t find the back of the net he’s helping other guys find it.”
The Purple Roses held a 2-0 lead at the half and broke the game open with three goals in the second half. In addition to Forlenza, senior forward Matt Hunt netted a goal while sophomore midfielder Matty O’Malley added a goal and an assist.
“Matty is Brett’s younger brother and I slid him into Brett’s spot,” Pringle said. “He’s done a tremendous job for us in Brett’s absence.”
Sophomore defenseman Jack Cusak, senior defender Travis Cloney and senior John Sullivan all contributed assists in the game for the Purple Roses.
In Thursday’s 5-0 win over Mater Dei, St. Rose jumped all over the Seraphs scoring five first half goals en route to their seventh win of the season. Cloney hit pay dirt twice for his first two goals of the season, while senior midfielder Ryan O’Malley, Cusak and sophomore forward Brendan Hueth each scored once. It was Hueth’s third goal of the season and he picked up his fourth assist as well. Junior midfielder Michael Gowen contributed an assist and senior goalkeeper Kellen Jordan registered his fourth shutout of the season.
Pringle feels his defense has been rock solid. “My two center backs are seniors, Craig Sushecki and Kyle Bruche, and they’ve done a tremendous job. Then right in front of them is Cloney - who’s a holding midfielder - and those three have really held down the fort back there.”
St Rose soccer is one of the all-time winningest programs in the Shore Conference having won 10 state championships in the schools storied soccer history. Since 2002 - when they were co-champions with Morris Catholic - St Rose has reached the Non-Public B finals six times, winning its most recent title in 2010, beating Oratory Prep 3-0 for its first state championship since 1988.
They didn’t make the Shore Conference Tournament last year and the last two seasons the Purple Roses have been eliminated from the state tournament in the quarterfinals.
“We have three things going on I tell the guys,” Pringle said. “I’m pretty certain we’re going to make the Shore Conference Tournament this year as a lower seed, and we’re hoping we can beat a couple higher seeded teams – anything can happen once you’re in the tournament. Then if we win the rest of our conference games that sets up the Shore game, which if we win, we tie for the division, and I absolutely feel we have the talent to compete for title in the states. We play a number of tough non-division games – like Manasquan, Wall and CBA - to help us prepare for the states and I hope to go pretty far. ”
