Ocean County College Women's Soccer Wins Region 19 Championship
TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Ocean County College women’s soccer team is headed to the NJCAA National Championship tournament for the second straight year, after winning the Region 19 championship.
The Vikings (7-4-1), the second seed, outlasted top-seeded Rowan College of South Jersey at Gloucester through 110 minutes of play, before defeating the Roadrunners 5-4 in a shootout.
Sophomore goalkeeper Holly Applegate, a Toms River South graduate, was dominant, stopping 21 shots on goal, including a couple of stops late in regulation after taking a hit that forced her to leave the field for a short time.
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Applegate, who was named the Defensive MVP, made one of her biggest saves in the shootout. With the teams tied 4-4 after their first five shots, she made a diving save to her right and got her fingertips on the ball to knock away the shot by Rowan’s sixth kicker.
Alexis Scully, also a sophomore from Toms River South, then put her shot to the left just out of reach of the Rowan College keeper to give the Vikings the win. RCSJ Gloucester
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Taylor Lewis, a freshman from Central Regional, was named the Offensive MVP, and the Vikings’ coaches, head coach Breeana Cassidy and assistant coach John Merklin were named Region 19 Coaching Staff of the Year.
Scully and Rory Hagen, a freshman from Southern Regional, were named to the All-Region 19 and All-Garden State Athletic Conference first teams, and Applegate and Lewis were named to the second teams. Brooke Ossimina, a freshman from Jackson Liberty, was named to the All-Garden State Athletic Conference second team.
The Vikings will be headed to Gastonia, North Carolina, for the NJCAA National Championship tournament, which is scheduled to begin Nov. 7.
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