Shore repaid a long overdue debt against Point Pleasant Beach.
After Point Pleasant Beach knocked the Blue Devils out of the playoffs the past three years, including in the sectional final last season, Shore finally got its revenge on the biggest stage on Saturday morning.
Six-seeded Shore defeated nine-seeded Point Pleasant Beach 5-3 in the championship round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 playoffs in West Long Branch. Shore was led by senior Jenna Eichenbaum’s four goals in the contest.
Head coach George Moutis praised his team following the victory.
“I’m happy for the girls on our team. What they focused to do, they did, which accomplished our goal. They did a great job from the beginning of the game and came out fierce.”
“We were winning the 50-50 balls and we focused on our possession style game throughout.”
This sectional title for the Blue Devils comes after having previously gone on a dynasty run of their own, with sectional championships from 2012-2019, before the Garnet Gulls went on their own recent three-year run.
Shore controlled the tempo from the start and lived in the Point Pleasant Beach zone, earning multiple scoring opportunities.
Jenna Eichenbaum scored on a penalty kick with just over 31 minutes remaining in the first half, handing the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead. Later in the opening half, Eichenbaum buried another penalty kick past a diving Point Pleasant Beach goalkeeper, extending Shore’s lead to 2-0 at halftime.
The Blue Devils dominated the first half as the more aggressive team. Shore’s defense shut down the Point Pleasant Beach offense, rarely letting them get looks at the net.
Coach Moutis continued,“We knew Baileigh (Johnson) is their top player, so we put Teagan (Waters) on her and told her not to let her turn because she likes to take outside shots.”
Eichenbaum’s hot streak continued when she added her third goal of the day just two minutes into the second half to give the Blue Devils a three-goal cushion.
Eichenbaum added her fourth and final goal with about 37 minutes remaining in regulation to wrap up her phenomenal performance with a sectional title trophy on the line.
“I saw the net and just wanted to shoot and if I missed, I just kept shooting before I finally scored,” Eichenbaum said.
“She has unbelievable skill and tenacity with a mindset to run after the ball,” coach Moutis said of Eichenbaum. “Sometimes I worry and have to take her out towards the end of the game because I don’t want her getting hurt, especially since we still have two important games left.”
Eichenbaum added what it means to her to win the sectional title in her final year of high school eligibility.
“It’s amazing. My heart is out of my chest and I’m so happy with my teammates and myself. I’ve done so much to get to this point, and I wasn’t going to let a team who we’ve had trouble with for the past three years take away my senior year.”
Freshman goalkeeper Sydney Tilton dominated in net by carrying a shutout deep into the second half.
“I’ve been playing soccer for a while and lots of practice and training has really helped me get to the point to perform well during the game.”
“She’s probably one of the best goalies I’ve ever had in my 20 years coaching here at Shore,” coach Moutis said of Tilton. “During the offseason, we were playing in the summer league and the first time I saw her the ball looked like it was glued to her hands with all of the saves that she made.”
Tilton continued with her response to coach Moutis’ compliment of her play, “I feel very proud of myself because that’s a big accomplishment, and I’m happy that he thinks that because I know we’ve had other good goalies in the past here at Shore.”
Senior Baileigh Johnson got the Garnet Gulls on the board with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation, but Shore answered right back with a goal by senior Megan Kelly.
Sophomore Nikki Meyer and junior Avery Barger each added a late goal for Point Pleasant Beach, but it was too late as Shore rolled to victory.
Point Pleasant Beach fell to 11-11 on the season and head coach Adam Curtis discussed what he believed the difference in the match was.
“Giving up three penalty kicks in the first 10 minutes of the game really hurt us. Having to play in a hole 10 minutes into the game and being down 2-0 makes it hard to come back from.”
“They’re (Shore) a very good team and we came back, but we left a few good chances hanging. We had three breakaways that their goalie came up with really nice saves on. We scored three great goals and if we put two of those breakaways away, it’s a tie game.”
Shore (12-7) advances to the state semifinals on Wednesday.
Point Pleasant Beach (11-11) 0 3 – 3
Shore (12-7) 2 3 – 5
Goals (S) Jenna Eichenbaum (4) and Megan Kelly. (PPB) Baileigh Johnson, Nikki Meyer and Avery Barger.
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