Sports Shorts

The Old Bridge girls U10 Thunder defeated the Jackson Cheetahs, 3-1, in a MOSA Premier Division clash in Old Bridge on Sunday. Gina Colamonico made eight saves, and fullbacks Nicole Velez, Angelique Giglio and Alyssa Kramer thwarted the attack from Jackson. Gianna Taranto scored on a corner kick from Nicole Velez, and Alexandria D'Acunto scored on a cross from Samantha Potts. Kristina Hourican capped the scoring with a 20-yard strike for Old Bridge. Alexis Suarez, Tanvi Lodhia, Meaghan Kenny and Vanessa Mantione provided extremely spirited play all day. The Thunder record now stands at 4-1-2.

The Thunder is looking for additional players from either Old Bridge or out-of-town, to play next season, as the team prepares itself for full-sided, 11-vs.-11 soccer. The Thunder will either play in MOSA Premier, MAPS or JAGS for the fall season. They practice two or three times per week, and play a fall, winter and spring schedule along with six to seven tournaments per year. They are professionally trained, along with a very committed coaching staff. Tryouts are May 21 and May 29 at 6 p.m. For information regarding tryouts, or the opportunity to guest play, call Chuck Mantione at (732) 566-9299.

The Garden State U12 Knights, an AAU basketball team based in Old Bridge, advanced to the Final Four of the NJAAU 12-year-old division, thus ensuring an invitation to participate in July at the National Championships in Hampton, Va. The Knights won all three games in Vernon, by besting Rahway, 52-28, and the N.J. Panthers, 57-53, in OT, before outlasting the N.J. Futurz, 65-63, again in OT.

In the Rahway game, Patrick Timulty, Stephen Meigh and Jonathan Kuryla paced the Knights in scoring with fine defensive play by Dwayne Trawick and Aidan Albrecht. The next two games were nail-biters. The outcome against the Panthers was sealed by two clutch free throws by John Matajy, as well as some big rebounds by Billy Andrews and Dylan Hroncich. The third game against N.J. Futurz was back and forth until Stephen Meigh scored the final eight points in OT. Timely ball handling by Justin Torrisi and Patrick Timulty helped secure the victory.

The next weekend saw the Knights needing to win in Paterson to secure a spot in the national championships, and they did just that, beating North Brunswick, 51-48. A balanced attack had all 10 Knights players breaking into the scoring column. The Garden State Knights eventually dropped the last two games and finished fourth in New Jersey - no small feat for this first-year team. The last three games in Paterson also saw the return of Eddie Romanik, sidelined with a strained back, chipping in 14 points over the weekend. Due to new age restrictions, Hayden Warren was unable to compete in this tournament and was greatly missed. The Knights will continue to participate in numerous tournaments this month and look forward to having Hayden back. The coaches are Manny Abad and Artie Meigh.

The successful spring campaign continued for the Old Bridge Hustlers U12 girls softball team. The Hustlers won their third consecutive tournament by defeating Toms River, 16-2, in the finals of the Mid Jersey Cup on May 13. Seeded first in Mid Jersey league play, the Hustlers rolled through the playoffs defeating Fords, 15-0, and Millstone, 18-2, before meeting Toms River in a rematch of last fall's semifinal game. With the victories, the team improved to 28-1-1 this season and travels to Neptune this weekend to participate in the May Madness ISA qualifier with a national berth to Myrtle Beach at stake.