Middletown North downs Long Branch 6-2

Scoring both Long Branch goals in the 6-2 loss to Middletown North was freshman Adriana Ramirez (15).

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Lady Green Wave soccer team of Long Branch High School hosted Middletown North on Tuesday afternoon and held a 1-0 first half lead. However, the Lions scored six goals in the second half beating Long Branch 6-2.

Both Long Branch goals were scored by freshman Adrianz. She is one of the fastest players on the pitch and possesses great ball skills in dribbling and passing. The Middletown North game was only the third game of the season and Adrianz has four total goals.

In the goal for the Lady Wave was senior A’layah Vincent, who was making incredible athletic saves. She finished the game stopping 13 shots. What is amazing about her four-year career is that as of the Middletown North game she has 542 saves. As a freshman she made 64, as a sophomore it increased to 194 saves. Last year as a junior, Vincent had 245 stops in goal. So far in 2023 she has 39 saves.

Long Branch opened at Jackson Liberty and lost 6-2. In that game, Ramirez had a goal as did Ava Rodriguez, senior. Vincent had 20 saves for the Lady Green Wave in the loss to Jackson Liberty.

Game two, Long Branch traveled to Matawan where they lost 2-1 to the Huskies. In that game, Ramirez had the lone Green Wave score. Vincent was not as active in goal, as she had six saves.

Long Branch plays in the B Central division of the Shore Conference. In the top spot after three games is Monmouth Regional. They are followed by Point Beach, Asbury Park, Keyport, Long Branch, Ranney and St. Rose.

Over the past five years Long Branch has not won a divisional game, however that record does not truly reflect the teams. Unlike some of the other schools, Long Branch does not have a big feeder program for girls’ soccer. Many of the players only started kicking a soccer ball in middle school. With that said, they do have some very talented athletes.

This year, Long Branch has three freshman playing varsity. Besides Ramirez, there is Layla Bland and Chelsea Martinez-Garcia. There are also three sophomores on the roster; Chloe Lehman, Ashley Martinez-Garcia and Dairy Mijangos-Mendoza.

Juniors on the varsity squad for this season are Leomary Diaz-Merino, Larissa Ferreira Alves, Emily Garcia, and Gisela Herrera. The five seniors playing their last year for the Lady Green Wave are Jenifer Ariza, Wyslla Dias-Merino, Natalie Galicia-Herrera, Samantha Ramirez-Posadas, Rodriguez and Vincent. The team is coached by Katherine Gooch-Alcott.

Additional photos of this game and other Shore Conference games can be viewed at www.Facebook.com/TheLinkSports