Little Indians Playing Big

If freshman forward Taylor Troutman was looking for a role model or mentor on the Indians girls soccer team to help break her into life on the varsity squad, it shouldn’t have taken her long to find one.

Toms River South currently starts six sophomores, all of whom earned varsity experience as freshman last year, and behind that group, three senior starters and a dynamic scoring threat in Troutman. 

The young Indians are off to a 4-0 start as they head into a key Shore Conference Class A South showdown against Toms River North on Wednesday.

“You never expect to start 4-0, especially against the quality of competition we’re playing, but we knew we had a talented group that could be pretty dangerous,” Toms River South coach John Crowley said. “We are very young, so there’s always a question of how the young players will respond to the challenge of playing in A South in varsity games, but pretty much all of our sophomores gained valuable experience last year. So they’re young, but they also have experience.”

In her first four games as a varsity player, Troutman has scored five goals, all coming in the first three contests. She scored two goals in her first ever varsity game – a 2-1 win over on Sept. 9 – and added a two-goal performance in a 2-1 win over Jackson Memorial on Sept. 14.

“I thought I could help the team win, but I never would have thought I’d be scoring this much,” Troutman said. “We have a lot of really good players and I’m just getting good opportunities.”

Troutman played only 40 minutes in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Point Pleasant Borough after getting kicked in the eye midway through the first half and resting with the game in hand for the final 20 minutes. The win over the Panthers is the only game in which she has not scored.

“The great thing about her is her work rate,” Crowley said of Troutman. “When you take her skill, her touch, her speed and you combine it with the fact that she’s always in motion, that makes her a very tough player to match up with.”

Sophomore sweeper Madison Kenny can relate to Troutman after Kenny burst onto the varsity scene as a freshman last year. In her first season, Kenny played center midfield for the Indians but made the move back to sweeper this season.

“I play outside back for my club team, so playing in the back is more natural for me,” Kenny said. “This way I can see the field, see what the formation looks like and get the ball where it needs to go. We have plenty of players who can get forward and score and my job is to win the ball and get it to them”

Troutman’s scoring prowess notwithstanding, the Toms River South sophomores have been the main reason for the Indians’ fast start. Kenny, Lauren Mendez and Shealyn Dwyer have accounted for four of the Indians 10 goals and five of the eight assists so far. Dwyer has assisted five of the Indians 10 goals and Mendez has scored four, including two in Saturday’s win over Point Borough.

The senior trio of midfielder Taylor Van Zile, midfielder Kailey Savacool and goalkeeper Casey O’Connor also has been a rock for the Indians. Van Zile scored assisted one of Mendez’s goals against Point Boro and one-timed a cross from Kenny for a goal of her own.

“We (the seniors) are loving having this group of girls around us,” Van Zile said. “We were looking forward to this sophomore class coming in last year and with a year together and now adding Taylor, it’s just made us that much better. Everyone communicates, everyone gets along, we look out for one another. It’s just a really good team atmosphere.”

Wednesday’s match at home against Toms River North will be another stern test for the young Indians core and a win would leave Toms River South in the A South driver’s seat.

“It’s always a challenge anytime you play North,” Kenny said. “They have some really fast forwards and I always look forward to that challenge. I want to play the best because it makes me play better.”

In Other Girls Action

Toms River North got back in the win column with a 4-0 win over Monsignor Donovan on Monday. Shannon Groffie scored two goals and Ali Hicks and Remi Piccirillo each added one a piece as the Mariners scored four second-half goals.

The win was a bounce-back effort following a 1-0 loss at the hands of Southern on Wednesday. Freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Dell’Acqua saved seven shots in the loss, an effort that was sandwiched in between shutouts of and Monsignor Donovan.

Toms River East put together a two-game winning streak with 2-0 wins over Brick Memorial and Lacey. Senior Dana Dambrosio and sophomore Emma Sinanan scored a goal in each of the wins to lead the scoring charge. The duo scored twice in the first half in the Lacey win on Friday and twice in the second half in the win over Brick Memorial on Wednesday.

In Boys Action

After dropping its opener to Toms River East, Toms River North has won two straight with wins over Southern and Monsignor Donovan. Senior forward Tanner Sica has scored a goal in all three matches as he’s established himself as the Mariners’ clear go-to option up top.

Like the Mariners, Toms River South has recovered from an opening-day loss to an in-town rival, a 3-2 loss at the hands of Monsignor Donovan. Since dropping the opener, the Indians are 3-0 with wins over Brick Memorial, Jackson Memorial and Point Pleasant Boro.

Toms River South needed overtime to outlast Point Boro 2-1 on Saturday, a game that ended with senior Andrew Hourigan heading in a corner kick from senior Tyler Sakolsky in the eighth minute of extra time.

Sakolsky also scored the game-winner in the 78^th minute of a 1-0 win over Jackson Memorial last Wednesday.

Toms River North will host Toms River South Wednesday. The Indians swept the season series last year.

Toms River East remained unbeaten with wins over Brick Memorial and Point Boro bookending a tie against Lacey on Friday. Senior forward Kenton Gottshall has scored a goal in three straight matches, while senior forward Matt Wedding has scored three goals to go with two assists over the three-game stretch.