Sports Shorts

The U9 Girls Old Bridge Hurricanes ended their season on a high note by defeating the Manalapan Blaze, 2-1. The Hurricanes dominated play by out-shooting their opponents 16-2. The shots on goal came by the likes of Meagan Donohue, Isabella D'Acunto, Katie Lombardi, Mackenzie Mahoney, Julia Miccola and Victoria Kamvissis. At the start of the second half and being down by a goal, Sabrina Youssef broke the ice by scoring a goal off her own rebound. The Hurricanes would not be denied the next goal. At the 48-minute mark of the game, Taylor Ianniello dribbled out from the left corner and popped in the game-winning goal. The victory would not have been possible without the stellar defensive play of Taylor Martinez, Gabriella Breyberg and Katie Dunn. The winning goalie was Lucy Tamke.

Cheesequake Baseball Association will host a summer baseball camp for ages 9-15 from July 23 through July 26 (rain date July 27) at the Cheesequake Baseball Complex from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. Registration fee is $135 (includes shirt and hat). This is an instructional camp, taught by professional scouts from the Baseball Warehouse. Go to the Web site www.leaguelineup.com/cqba to obtain an application. For more information, contact Nick Antuofermo at (732) 433-0198.

Mark Margres, Sayreville War Memorial High School, has signed a letter of intent to play football at Bethany College for the 2007-08 academic year.

Margres is 6-2 and weighs 215 pounds. He was a three-year starter as quarterback at his high school. He has received numerous honors such as First Team All-Division, First Team All-Conference, All County, All Area, team MVP, and he was selected for the All-Star Snapple Bowl. He had 907 yards passing and a 69 percent completion.

Margres is the son of Robin and Mark Margres. He has a 4.0 GPA and plans to study biology at Bethany.

The rich tradition of Bethany College football dates to 1893. In the past 30 years, the Swedes have finished 22 seasons ranked in the top 25 NAIA or NAIA-II teams. In the past 15 years, they have won eight conference championships. Bethany College competes in 15 intercollegiate sports in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Since 1902, Bethany has won 136 conference championships.

After a disappointing 1-2-2 start, the Old Bridge Girls Blue Thunder U11 travel soccer team regrouped to go 4-1 in the second half of the season and secure second place in their flight. In what has become a trend for the team, the girls once again demonstrated their gritty character and resilience in bouncing back after some early setbacks. As an unnamed opposing coach has said, "We don't like playing you guys late in the season." This finish will allow the Blue Thunder to be promoted to the prestigious National 1 flight in the Monmouth/Ocean Soccer Association for the upcoming fall. The following girls have made key contributions throughout the season:

Victoria Beake - played solid defense and midfield. Did a nice job with goal and corner kicks. Also demonstrated her versatility by playing a number of solid minutes at "keeper."

Jessica Betines - had a solid year filling in at spots all over the field. Had a key goal in the team's second win over Jackson.

Megan Malone - played hard at forward. Had the key first goal in the team's first win at Jackson.

Nicolette Modica - really came on as a fullback. Played a key role in the resurgence of the "Blue Shirts" defense.

Courtney Durstewitz - did a nice job in midfield. Had some huge assists as well as some huge goals scored (including two against Toms River).

Kelly Kracsun - the team missed her when she was out. Upon her return, she dominated at stopper.

Elizabeth Thoresen - played excellent as both a defender and midfielder. Made a number of key defensive plays in the deciding game against Millstone.

Stephanie Walz - put in an impressive performance as one of the goalies. Also made some nice improvement at forward.

Lexi Grillo - put in a number of good minutes at forward. Came close to scoring a couple of times, but was turned away by good goalie play from the other side.

Amanda Freno - also did a solid job at forward, and also like Lexi, had a couple of good scoring chances that were thwarted by the other team's excellent play.

Ashlyn Malave - made a nice contribution at midfield and forward. Put in a solid performance at midfield in the last win at Millstone.

Christina Diakos - had an excellent second half in the second win against Jackson, and also scored the goal that clinched the win against Toms River.

Alley Maurer - excellent in goal (especially in the last game against Millstone). Scored the huge tying goal in the first Millstone game.

Erin Honan - did a fine job playing multiple positions. Had an especially good game as defender in our last win against Millstone.

Hannah Hallos - really helped to anchor the defense at "sweeper." Also had a big assist against Jackson, and showed that defenders can score with a goal against Colts Neck.

Cassidy Flynn-Rozanski - the team's energizer (she keeps going and going) midfielder. Did a fine job in the midfield all season. Had a huge clear in the Millstone game to preserve the win.

Kaylan Haughney - scored a number of huge goals, including the tying one at Toms River, the winning one against Millstone, and the "back-breaker" against both Jackson and Colts Neck. Really helped solidify the offense.