At some point this season, there’s a strong chance Brinley Reynolds will break the Southern Regional girls soccer team’s career goals mark. She needs just one goal, after all.

With two goals during the Rams’ penalty kick shootout loss to Manasquan in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament on Oct. 13, the junior midfielder pulled into a tie with former star Gianna Simon. Last week, it was reported she tied Megan Lockwood’s career goals mark the previous week, but that was incorrect. Simon finished her career with 45 goals, while Lockwood tallied 43.

On an assist from Riley Neyer, Reynolds gave the 20th-seeded Rams a 1-0 lead when she buried her 44th career goal during the second minute. The 13th-seeded Warriors bounced back just 12 minutes later, making it a 1-1 contest heading into the second half.

During the 53rd minute, Brooke Wagner set up Reynolds for her 45th career goal, and her 20th of the season, to give Southern a 2-1 advantage, which held until the 78th minute, when Manasquan’s Brooke Mack equalized to send the game into overtime.

Following a pair of scoreless overtime periods, the Warriors outscored the Rams in the shootout, 5-4, to advance to the second round. Two days later, Marlboro upended Southern, 1-0, in an SCT consolation contest, even though the Rams (7-8-1) outshot the Mustangs, 19-5.

Southern has three more regular season games before the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 tournament begins in November.

SCT Not Kind to Southern Boys

After scoring two goals or more in just three of its first 11 games of the season, the Southern Regional boys team fell short of advancing to the second round of the Shore Conference Tournament on Oct. 14, dropping a 3-2 decision to St. John Vianney in the first round.

The Lancers took a 3-0 lead into the second half before the Rams (5-7-2) mounted a comeback, receiving goals by Landon Nacarlo and George Katsianis during the final 40 minutes to pull within a goal. While the 19th-seeded Rams fired 11 shots on goal, the 14th-seeded Lancers managed just seven.

Unfortunately, Southern didn’t get back on a winning track in the following contest, an SCT consolation match against Toms River South on Oct. 16. The Indians won, 1-0, scoring a goal with less than two minutes left in the second overtime period.

TO THE TOP: Barnegat senior Nate Scisco scored four goals against Donovan Catholic not just to lead the Bengals into the Shore Conference Coaches’ Cup quarterfinals, but also to set the career goals mark with 49.

A second consolation match, on Oct. 19 against Long Branch, yielded Southern’s fifth win of the season, a 2-1 victory in overtime. Michael King scored both of the Rams’ goals.

Barnegat, Pinelands Bounced in Coaches Cup

As for the Shore Conference Coaches’ Cup tournament – the bonus event for the teams that miss out on the championship bracket – Barnegat’s boys had a chance to grab their 13th win of the season, but Holmdel scored a 2-0 win over the Bengals (12-5) in the quarterfinals Oct. 19. The Hornets (4-11) scored once in each half.

Following a first-round bye, the third-seeded Bengals knocked off 14th-seeded Donovan Catholic, 4-1. Senior Nate Scisco scored all four goals to set the Bengals’ career goals record, with assists coming from Aaron Aguiar, Jacob Yudman, Adam Sabine and Connor Glines. Scisco has 32 goals this season; 49 for his school career.

As for the Barnegat girls, they lost their opening game of the Shore Conference Coaches’ Cup, 2-1, against Brick Memorial on Oct. 13. However, the Bengals bounced back in a consolation clash with Long Branch, knocking off the Green Wave, 5-2, on Oct. 15.

During the Bengals’ sixth victory of the season, Jayla Duff scored twice and assisted on a pair of goals, while Cadence Melillo, Makena Fitzpatrick and Skylar Montefusco each scored goals. Melillo and Kaycie Batchelor also had assists, and goalkeeper Ella Tortorici tallied 12 saves.

Two days earlier, the Mustangs took a 2-0 lead into the second half and held on to win, despite a goal from Duff that cut the lead in half. Tortorici registered 13 saves.

Meanwhile, the Pinelands Regional boys came up empty in two Coaches’ Cup games. The Wildcats lost a 4-0 decision against St. Rose in the first round on Oct. 14, followed by a 1-0 defeat against New Egypt in a consolation contest Oct. 19. Sandwiched between the tournament games, the Wildcats (0-17) lost to Henry Hudson, 3-2, on Oct. 15.