By Jim Hintelmann
LINCROFT – Holmdel and Christian Brothers Academy, two soccer teams that have been playing well the past couple of weeks, got together Monday in a nondivision game, and it was Holmdel that kept the momentum going with a 1-0 victory.
Both teams had got off to slow starts this season, but Holmdel, after a 3-6 beginning, increased its streak to 6-0-1 since that time as it prepares for this week’s Shore Conference Tournament, which got under way Thursday.
“I think that this is the first time we’ve ever beat CBA,” Holmdel coach John Nicarlo said, “but we haven’t played them that much. We lost to them in the Shore Conference Tournament a couple of years ago.
“We’ve given up only one goal in that streak and it’s something that I’m proud of,” Nicarlo said. “We did a good job of marking, covering for each other and defending in the back. Our kids played their butts off today.
“We made some switches after the 3-6 start,” Nicarlo said, “and we’ve been playing well since then.”
Senior Brian Healy accounted for the only scoring in the game when he received a pass from Rob Ceriello, got free and knocked the ball in from 3-yards out.
“That was my first goal this season,” Healy said. “I saw the ball being cleared from midfield, went down the line got a great assist from Rob and made the shot,”
CBA had the better of the action, but several great stops from Holmdel goalie Tyler Marchiano kept the game scoreless. It was his seventh shutout this season.
–SEAN SIMMONS
The loss was a disappointment for CBA coach Dan Keane, whose team had been playing well since its slow start.
“We played poorly today,” Keane said. “We were unbeaten in our last nine games. This was a match that we picked up so that both Holmdel and ourselves could get ready for the tournament.
“This was the fourth time that we’ve been shut out,” he said. “That has been our problem.
“The tournament is wide open this season. For once we are not one of the favorites, but we’ll see what happens,” Keane said.
