Cougars Continue to Roll, Defeat Brick Memorial 6-2

After a disappointing 0-2 start to 2011, the Colts Neck High School boys varsity soccer team extended their winning streak to three games with a 6-2 victory over Brick Memorial on Monday afternoon.

The Cougars, who started off their season, and went through the entirety of their preseason, without a three-goal game, have recorded a combined 13 goals in their last three contests.

The first half of Monday’s game saw Colts Neck receive a huge contribution from all-state forward Jake Mikula. Mikula played a part in all three of the Cougars’ first half goals, assisting Kevin Alfaro on the first score of the game at the 12:40 mark, and scoring two goals of his own, one at 27:30 and the other at 37:00.

“I think the team is starting to come together a little bit,” said Colts Neck head coach Art Collier. “These guys are starting to find the seams and starting to find a system. I think the offense is growing because the central midfield is really starting to gel in terms of controlling the game and finding the feet of the forwards.”

In spite of an extremely physical game played by the Brick Memorial, Colts Neck displayed their resiliency on Monday, scoring three more goals on the Mustangs in the second half. Mikula recorded a second assist at the 43-minute mark after a goal from midfielder Jake Areman. The team’s other two goals of the second half came courtesy of Mike Jelinski, the first of which was unassisted, and the second coming with some help from Areman.

“I think we handled the physicality of this game very well,” said Collier. “We didn’t retaliate against anything. We did as well as we can. We’re a very, very small team.”

In addition to Colts Neck’s explosive offense, the team’s defense, led by goalkeeper Dave Reingold, allowed only six shots on goal against Brick Memorial. After recording two consecutive shut outs, Reingold allowed a mere two goals on Monday, the second-highest amount of goals scored against him in 2011.

The Cougars play the backend of successive home games on Tuesday when they’re visited by the Green Wave of Long Branch.