Jenna Eichenbaum kicks Shore to sectional title

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Scoring four of the five goals for Shore Regional in the win over Point Beach was Jenna Eichenbaum (4). The Blue Devils beat Point Beach 5-3 to win the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 Sectional Title.

For the first time in five years the Blue Devils of Shore Regional have a girls’ sectional title in soccer, in large part due to one of the smallest players on the pitch. Jenna Eichenbaum, senior forward, who is one of the smaller players in physical appearance, has big game skills.

Eichenbaum is one of the team’s captains this season. She has tremendous speed and ball control skills, but also possesses great power in her kicks, with either foot. That makes her such a threat, as she is so hard to defend. But what is also impressive about her style of play is that she has great vision and makes great passes to her very skilled teammates.

Saturday morning, the Blue Devils hosted their rivals the Garnett Gulls of Point Pleasant Beach in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 sectional finals. These two programs have battled each other the last three years in postseason play, with the Gulls besting the Blue Devils every time.

Early in the first half, Point Beach was called for a penalty in the box. George Moutis, head coach of the Blue Devils, sent Eichenbaum to take the penalty kick. It was a strong shot, but the Garnet Gulls goalkeeper was able to make the stop.

However, Point Beach would get two more penalty calls in the box. On each of those kicks, Eichenbaum was perfect giving Shore Regional a 2-0 lead. She wasn’t done! Eichenbaum had two other goals in the 5-3 Blue Devil win. The other Shore Regional goal was kicked in by Megan Kelly, senior midfielder.

The starting line-up for Shore is one of the strongest teams they have had in some time. Besides the versatile Eichenbaum and Kelly, Shore is powered by Ava Coyle, Devan Schiavo, Tori Spadavecchia, Teagan Waters, Meredith Doehner, Aubrey Giunta, Gabby Garofalo, Mia Painchaud and in the goal Sydney Tilton.

Defensively, Garofalo, who is a junior fullback, also has a very powerful leg and can kick the ball from one end to the other. She is also very good at directing her teammates on where to position themselves while defending.

Watching the Blue Devils this season was exciting, as they are very quick and all the players regardless of position, except Tilton, can score goals. When defenders think they can shut down one Blue Devil player, the other step up.

The Blue Devils won their Shore Conference divisional title this year, their 15 overall. They also now have 11 NJSIAA sectional titles. Wednesday, Shore will face Haddon Township in the NJSIAA Group 1 semifinals.

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