Middletown North Lions defend their A North soccer crown BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer After opening up 0-1-1, the Middletown High School North girls soccer team responded by reeling off 10 successive wins to capture the Shore Conference's Class A North championship for the fourth year in a row. The Lions defeated division rivals Colts Neck, Freehold Township, Howell and Manalapan twice each. The Lions avenged its defeat at the hands of Marlboro when Julie Lancos scored with seven ticks on the clock, and they upended Middletown South, 2-1 in double overtime, after battling their crosstown rival to a tie on opening day. The streak ended on Saturday with a 2-0 loss to Wall. Next up for Middletown South is the Shore Conference Tournament, which is set to begin later this week. Seedings were to be announced on Monday. The Lions have also qualified for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV playoffs. Lancos, a four-year veteran who will attend Florida State on a full soccer scholarship, has been a key player from her spot at sweeper. Coach Matt Ritter moves his versatile co-captain up when necessary and Lancos has responded by posting four goals and four assists. Fellow co-captain Julia Camp has been solid as the Lions stopper and the defensive corps also includes junior Danielle Devinsky and freshman Brittany Foster. Middletown North received a boost in goal from Jen Mocanu, a varsity basketball player whom Ritter recruited to guard the net. The Lions have been without junior goalie Kristi Fabiano who is out for the season with an injury. "Our defense gets the job done," the first-year coach said. "We have some excellent players there and they find ways to keep us in games, but they can also move the ball and join the attack." Speaking of the attack, junior midfielder Teghan Percherski has contributed four goals and a like number of assists. Brittni Demizio and freshman Becky Camp also start in the middle, with juniors Caitlyn "Mo" Bragg and Nikki O'Connel providing quality minutes off the bench. Up front junior Jess Davila leads the offense with eight goals and three assists. Fellow junior Claudia Vazquez had a pair of goals and five assists. Bridgett Campbell, Abbie Hansen and Kristin Gray give the Lions plenty of depth. In addition, Ritter has employed versatile Michelle Borghese, a junior newcomer, as a fullback, midfielder or forward as the situation dictates. "We have good veteran leadership since eight of our 11 starters saw significant varsity time last season and that goes a long way," Ritter said. "We also added three very talented freshmen and they've made an impact. Plus girls like Mocanu, Borghese and Bragg are first-year players who have made big contributions." Pending the conference tourney and state playoffs, the Lions have four games remaining, all at home: Jackson was scheduled to visit on Monday, Holmdel on Thursday, Raritan on Oct. 22 and Rumson-Fair Haven on Oct. 24. "We're looking forward to the post-season, but we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves," Ritter said. "We can work on a few things in our remaining games and then we want to make our presence felt in the Shore Tournament. Then we'll worry about the states."