Colts Neck Boys Soccer Takes Down RBC

Coming off a hard-fought loss to St. Joseph’s Metuchen on Saturday, the Colts Neck boys varsity soccer team came out strong on Tuesday when they defeated the Caseys of Red Bank Catholic 3-0.

Led by midfielder Jake Areman and all-state forward Jay Mikula, who each had a goal, respectively, the Cougars got their first win of the season in a game which saw them get off to a rather slow start.

“I think that we were a little bit sluggish coming off our big game against St. Joe’s on Saturday,” said head coach Art Collier. “We came out a little bit flat. Also, I just think (Red Bank Catholic) hustled today and really pushed us.

“We played very poorly, technically speaking, in the first half. They put a lot of pressure on us by hustling and we just didn’t put it together. In the second half, we played much better. We settled down a little bit, got some breaks and scored.”

The Caseys pushed Colts Neck so hard that it wasn’t until roughly around the 46-minute mark that the Cougars scored their first goal, courtesy of Areman. Shortly after, at the 54-minute mark, Mikula contributed his score to give his team the 2-0 lead. Colts Neck’s third goal of the game came as an own goal against Red Bank Catholic.

“(Our second half) was better in the terms that it was nice to see us score three goals,” said Collier. “That’s the first time we’ve reached three goals in a game this season, or even in scrimmages. We had a lot of opportunities that we didn’t put away in the first half, but in the second half we did that.”

The Cougars take the field again on Thursday when they travel to Neptune to take on the 1-1 Scarlet Fliers.