Boca Standouts Tie One On
October 10, 2005
Boca Standouts Tie One On
McGrath – Konopka battle each other in BIG EAST soccer action
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – (October 8, 2005) – Two Jersey Shore Boca standouts Justin McGrath and Chris Konopka, both teammates on the Boca U20 team this summer and both playing college soccer in the BIG EAST Conference, battled each other in a rain soaked, wind swept match on Saturday afternoon as the Seton Hall Pirates took on the Providence Friars in Rhode Island.
Seton Hall entered the game with an overall record of 7-2-1 having scored 11 goals in its last two games. However, it was the Friar offense that generated more scoring opportunities in the first half, out shooting the Pirates, 8-4.
The Friars scored the first goal of the game with 58 seconds remaining in the first half when Matt Otte scored off assists from sophomore Ryan Maduro and senior Eoin Lynch.
The Pirates forced a 1-1 tie in the 76th minute as Seton Hall’s Sacha Kljestan took a free kick and passed into Christian Zisimatos, who trapped the ball and put a shot past Konopka.
Neither team was able to score during the final 14 minutes of regulation or the two 10 minute overtime periods as the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
McGrath posted one shot during the game while Konopka tallied 6 saves including 2 during the second overtime period.
With the tie, Seton Hall improves to 7-2-2 (3-2-2 BE) and moves into sole possession of second place in the Big East Blue Division with 11 points.
Providence also improves to 4-1-6 (2-1-4 BE) and becomes tied for third place in the Big East Blue Division with Notre Dame each having 10 points. The Friars only loss of the year came against Connecticut, the No. 6 team in the nation in a 3-2 overtime game on October 5th.
McGrath, a 2004 graduate of Monsignor Donovan High School, has started in all 11 games for Seton Hall this year.
The silky-smooth sophomore midfielder, who hails from Brick NJ, has scored 2 goals and handed out 3 assists for the season thus far and is tied for 3rd place in overall points for Seton Hall this year.
Konopka, a 2003 Toms River East graduate, has backstopped Providence to national recognition this season as the Friars were ranked the 27th best team Division I men’s soccer team in the nation according to the College Soccer News poll for the week ending October 2nd.
The Toms River native has played all 1,118 minutes between the pipes for Providence this season allowing only 12 goals for a 0.97 goals against average.
Konopka who ranks among the Big East goalkeeping leaders in all categories, has made 55 saves on the year, has a .824 save percentage and has 3 shut-outs to his credit.
McGrath and Konopka, veterans of Jersey Shore Boca Super Y-League teams earlier in their careers, were teammates on the Boca U20 team this past summer that advanced to the semi-finals of the USASA U20 Regional Championship as well as the semi-finals of the MSSL Cup Championship
Jersey Shore Boca, including McGrath and Konopka, has a record fifty-five club standouts who previously played for Boca on either their Men’s, Super Y-League, PDL, Club or Youth teams that are participating in NCAA intercollegiate soccer this fall for their respective institutions.
This is the highest number of Jersey Shore Boca players to ever participate in NCAA intercollegiate soccer during the same season in the club’s 27 year history.
Jersey Shore Boca has been a fixture in the soccer community since 1978 and is one of the most respected soccer clubs on the East Coast.
The Club is celebrating their 27-year anniversary in 2005.
For more information on the Jersey Shore Boca Soccer Club, visit the Club’s official web site at www.jerseyshoreboca.com
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