Toms River Soccer Teams Begin Shore Conference Tournament Quests

TOMS RIVER, NJ — It's tournament time in the high school soccer season, and four of the eight Toms River high school teams are chasing glory in the Shore Conference Tournament.

Both the boys and girls teams at Toms River South and Toms River North qualified for the tournament, and all four received byes. The Donovan Catholic boys team also qualified for the tournament, but the Griffins lost their preliminary game in a shootout against Asbury Park on Friday.

On the girls side, Toms River South scored two goals in a five-minute span late in the second half to knock off eighth-seeded St. John Vianney in Holmdel on Friday, according to app.com.

Katie Hammack scored in the 72nd minute to draw the Indians (11-3-1) even with the Lancers, and then Caitlyn Carroll drove home a rebound in the 77th minute for the victory, and Taylor Dean had seven saves. Toms River South next plays at top-seeded Wall, a 3-0 winner over Brick, in the quarterfinals.

Toms River North (14-1), the third seed, got two goals from Krystal Hund and a goal apiece from Marisa Tava and Melissa Wilhelm to beat Middletown North 4-0 on Friday. The Mariners, whose only loss is to Toms River South, will face Point Pleasant Boro (16-2-1) in the quarterfinals in what will be a duel between Mariners goalkeeper Ashley Tutzauer, who has 84 saves and nine shutouts this season with just seven goals allowed, and Point Boro goalkeeper Amye Zalesky, who has 78 saves, 10 shutouts and 16 goals allowed.

On the boys side, Toms River North, seeded fifth, hosts Central Regional at 1:30 p.m., while the Toms River South boys were scheduled for an 11 a.m. start against Jackson Memorial.

The boys quarterfinals are scheduled for Tuesday, with the semifinals on Thursday, Oct. 27. The girls and boys Shore Conference Tournament championship games are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 29, at Central Regional High School, with the girls at 5 p.m. and the boys at 7 p.m.

Karen Wall photo