By Bob Badders - Senior Staff Writer

     HOWELL - The loss and the tie during the regular season are now both distant memories, as is the loss in the Shore Conference Tournament final just two weeks ago. Manalapan's boys soccer team had not been able to get past arch rival Howell this season, but that changed in a very big way on Friday.
     Senior forward George Quintano scored in the 33rd minute and the Braves' defense and goalkeeper Jake Grinkevich turned in another marvelous effort for a 1-0 victory over the Rebels in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV championship game.
     "It's definitely a great feeling," Quintano said. "We already lost A-North and the Shore Conference Tournament to them so we really wanted to get this title. "We feel like we won the most important one. Our season's still going."
     An offensive powerhouse during the regular season, Manalapan turned to its defense and standout junior keeper to earn its second straight Central Jersey Group IV title. The Braves have not allowed a goal during the state tournament, and have won their last three games by a skin-of-their-teeth margin of 1-0.
     "Our four and five guys in the back are doing their jobs and doing them perfectly," Grinkevich said. "Today, Howell went from two to three to four to five guys up top but our defense still kept it at zero."
     Early on, Grinkevich was forced to make what turned out to be hist best save of the game off a shot by Eric O'Neill. Kyle Bethel sent a crossing pass into the box and O'Neill was able to get a quick touch on the ball deep inside the box to the right. Grinkevich, however, came out and made an acrobatic kick save to keep the game scoreless.
     "It gets us going when Jake makes that big save, and especially in these big games that one goal is going to be the difference," said Braves senior midfielder Adam Rice.
     Soon after Grinkevich's crucial save, Quintano scored to give the Braves the lead and change the entire complexion of the game. The senior took a pass from Rice and put a shot on goal, which was blocked in front. The rebound came right back to Quintano and he was able to get a touch on ball to sneak it past Howell goalkeeper Brian McDonough and a defender. It was Quintano's 26th goal of the season, which is a big number considering he plays in the toughest division of the Shore Conference.
     "To get pressure on them early and to be able to get that first goal really did change the game," Rice said. "They had to push up and force more to get the equalizer and that played into our hands more so than if we had to get a goal back if they had scored first."
     "Once we got that first goal I was going to make sure we kept it at zero," Grinkevich said.
     From there, Manalapan was able to control the midfield and work the counter attack game with the always-dangerous Quintano lurking up top ready to make run after run. Once the Braves began to pack the box late in the game, Howell was hard-pressed to get shots through. Even when they did, Grinkevich was there to make the save. The Braves keeper was also great in the air on Howell's nine corner kicks, plucking the ball away from the heads of the Rebels' players.
     "Most of the time against Howell we've been bringing numbers from behind the ball, but coach (John Natoli) switched up the game plan a little and put two forwards up top and moved (midfielder) Caner (Semen) into a higher position to get more pressure," Rice said. "It gave me a lot more responsibility in the middle of the field but once we had them under pressure it was easier to make them more predictable and dictate the game in the middle."
     It was not a surprise that the Central Jersey Group IV title came down to the Braves and Rebels. The two teams played one another four times this season, and have met a total of 11 times in the past three seasons. Winning a sectional title is always a great accomplishment, but doing it against your biggest rival certainly makes it more special.
     "We have a lot of respect form them so to take a victory from them in the championship on their home field is a really awesome feeling," Rice said.
     The Rebels, meanwhile, knew it would be tough to beat the Braves in a fourth game. Even though Howell was able to win the Shore Conference Tournament, which it lost to Manalapan last season, Friday's loss still cuts deep.
     "I was a little worried because it's hard to beat a team so many times," Bethel said. "This one is tough because I thought we would go far in states. It came down to us having chances that we couldn't finish."
     On Tuesday at 7 p.m., the Braves will play Washington Township, the South Jersey Group IV champion, in a Group IV semifinal game at Neptune's Memorial Field. Last season, the Braves defeated Eastern in the semifinal round before falling to West Orange in the Group IV final.
     "We're two wins away at this point and there's nothing else to look for than that overall Group IV title," Rice said.

Box Score

Manalapan 1, Howell 0

Manalapan (19-3-3) 1 0 - 1
Howell (21-3-1)       0 0 - 0

Scoring: Quintano 33'.
Saves: (M) Grinkevich 6; (H) McDonough 3.
Shots: Howell 12-11.

E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com