Ocean County College Soccer Teams, Cross Country Kick Off 2016 Seasons

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Ocean County College fall sports season is underway and a number of local athletes are continuing their athletic endeavors at the collegiate level. Here's a look at how the teams have fared in the first two weeks of the season:

The men's soccer team is 1-1-1 through games of Sept. 8. The Vikings opened the season with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Howard Community College. Kieran Murphy of Toms River (a Toms River South graduate), scored in that game with Jeff Arevalo-Delgado of Point Pleasant and JT Timmes (Pine Beach/Toms River South) credited with the assists. They bounced back with a 3-0 victory over Cumberland County College. Doug Jensen (Ocean Gate/Central Regional) scored in the 5th minute to put the Vikings on the board and Andrew Jozwicki (Jackson/Jackson Memorial) added two more for a 3-0 halftime lead they would not relinquish. Gavin Dougherty (Barnegat/Southern Regional) had two assists, and Arevalo had the third. OCC then traveled to New Rochelle and tied Monroe College 0-0 as goalkeeper Bryan Jones recorded 10 saves for his second straight clean sheet. Monroe outshot OCC in that game, 21-3.

The women's soccer team also is 1-1-1. They opened with a 1-0 loss at Mercer County Community College. Kayla Froberg (Toms River/Toms River South) had 5 saves in the loss. They rebounded with a 7-1 victory over Cumberland Community College. Samantha Netterman (Brick Memorial) had two goals, Lexi Urban (Southern Regional) had a goal and two assists, Mikayla Dragonetti (Toms River East) had a goal and an assist; Leena Keghlian (Toms River East), Maria Rojas and Katelyn Page (Manchester) added goals while Emily Krebs, Allison Oberg (Cherokee High School) and Victoria Clement (Point Pleasant Beach) each recorded an assist. Froberg had four saves in 81 minutes and Clement finished out the final nine minutes facing one shot. OCC outshot Cumberland 60-6 in the game. They followed that with a 1-1 tie with Rowan College of Burlington County. Urban notched the Vikings' goal in that game, with Keghlian earning the assist. Froberg had nine saves in the double-overtime game where Rowan College held a 19-18 edge in shots.

In cross country, the Vikings' men's and women's teams started their seasons with a strong showing at the Ramapo Kick-Off Invitational at Garrett Mountain. Leading the OCC men was freshman Noah Reilly. Reilly was followed by classmates Xavier Ramirez, Eduardo Carvente, and Sam Lamberti. Jeremy Hernandez of Ramapo College took home the individual title. For the women's team, sophomore Amanda Guida paced the Vikings with a 17th place finish in the race. She was followed by fellow sophomore Bailey Malone (38th) and freshman Jessica Dimler (62nd). Paris Hughes of Ramapo won the indivdual title.

Logo via Ocean County College Viking Athletics Facebook page