Central Regional Scoreboard: Soccer, Field Hockey, Tennis, Volleyball

Coming into Wednesday’s game with Lacey, Central Regional coach Kristee Paknis had not been happy with her team.

In a 4-1 win over Jackson Liberty on Monday, the Golden Eagles had started the game with a lackluster effort, giving up a goal early before coming alive late in the second half for the victory.

“You got lucky today,” she told the girls after Monday’s game.

On Wednesday, there was no luck about it; it was all about the effort, and the willpower and heart, especially that of Samantha Jensen.

Jensen had a hat trick and scored the winning goal in the 70th minute, sliding in front of Lacey’s goalkeeper to knock home the rebound of her initial shot, as Central earned a 3-2 victory in Lacey.

The win makes the Golden Eagles 5-0 overall, and 3-0 in Shore Conference Class B South, with two of their toughest opponents under their belts.

“Sam’s goal was all heart,” said John Truhan, Central’s assistant head coach. “She was outstanding today.”

Lacey took a 1-0 in the seventh minute, and carried that lead into the second half. It was then that Jensen took control, tying the game in the 51st minute off a ball sent upfield by Kristina Buhagiar. When Lacey took the lead in the 62nd minute, Jensen answered two minutes later to even the score again, before getting the winning goal. Lizzy Kroon assisted on that goal.

“She (Jensen) put it all out there,” Truhan said.

One of the positives for Central is the Golden Eagles are getting scoring from a number of sources, which makes it difficult for teams to key on just one player. Freshman Amanda Carolan has been outstanding and has a deadly shot from the outside, and Kroon, Gina Cowdrick and Brittni Calleo have all contributed.

They’ll need that team effort when they travel to Barnegat on Friday. The Bengals are undefeated as well and handed Brick a 5-0 loss on Wednesday.

IN FIELD HOCKEY:

Jess Sudia scored a pair of goals and Jessica Hoey added a third as Central remained undefeated with a 3-0 victory over Lacey at Lacey in Shore Conference Class B South. The game was delayed from Tuesday due to rain.

Taylor Keehn had three saves in the shutout.

IN GIRLS TENNIS:

Central improved to 4-2 with a 3-2 victory over Brick in Brick. Hazel Guerrero (second singles) and Daye Ju (third singles) and the first doubles team of Marianne Paulin and Nicole Leicht all won in straight sets. Guerrero did not drop a single game in her victory.

IN BOYS SOCCER:

The Golden Eagles suffered a 5-0 setback at the hands of Lacey on Wednesday in a Shore Conference Class B South matchup in Bayville.

The Lions scored twice in the first half, then went up 3-0 three minutes into the second half to put the game away. Central falls to 2-3, 1-2 in Class B South.

IN GIRLS VOLLEYBALL:

Central fell to 2-4 as unbeaten Manchester beat the Golden Eagles 2-0 in identical 25-17 game scores at Central. Rachel Iozzia had three kills and Sarah Will had three digs.