BY VIN RAPOLLA
Staff Writer

After starting their season strong, the Red Bank Catholic girls soccer team sits atop the Shore’s Class A Central division.

But don’t think for a second that the seventh-ranked Caseys are resting on their laurels. They know that they need to play better if they hope to remain atop the standings.

The team holds a current record of 6-2, with just one divisional loss. That came on Monday against a fired up Colts Neck squad. After the Cougars built a 2-0 lead in the first half, the Caseys came back with a vengeance in the second stanza, and cut the lead to 2-1 on a Erin Riggy goal in the 52nd minute.

But that was the only goal the Caseys were able to tally, as the Cougar defense did just enough to preserve the win, and gave the Caseys their second loss of the year and their first in the division.

If nothing else, the loss may have served as a wake-up call for head coach Ken Santos’ Caseys, who can expect several more battles with divisional foes in the second half of the regular season.

“We’re fairly happy with the results so far,” said Santos. “But we’re not very happy with our two losses.”

Although Santos is not complaining about his team’s 6-2 record, he is concerned with his team’s inconsistency. The coach feels his team is capable of better play, which is a concern since they are the team that everyone is shooting for in the division.

“We still have some work to do,” said Santos. “We haven’t played as well as we could have.”

A strong group of returning players gives the Caseys a leg up in the chase for the division crown. Returning for the team are senior defender Jessica Muscianesi, junior midfielder and team leader in points Kaitlyn Grimes, senior forward Erin Rigby, senior midfielder Kim Karponski and senior midfielder Meghan Brennan.

Santos hopes to get his squad to become more of an attacking team, going to the goal with more confidence and frequency. He’d also like to see his team become more secure on defense and cut down on the number of shots on goal it allows.

Again, the team is 6-2, and sitting atop the division. But the coach expects more from his team than what he has seen.

“The team has been pretty consistent, in the sense that they’ve consistently been pretty good,” said Santos. “Unfortunately, in our conference, that’s not good enough. Every team has been ready to play us.”

And that’s not likely to change anytime soon.

Notes ... The Caseys are not the only local girls team sitting atop its division.

The Ocean Spartans are in the driver’s seat in the A North division, going into Tuesday’s showdown with Manalapan at 5-0-1 overall and a perfect 4-0 in divisional play. Thus far, Ocean has been the division’s top team, but with another set of divisional games coming up over the second half of the season, they will need to prove themselves all over again.

The Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs are in a similar spot in the Class B Central race, sitting atop the standings at 5-1 (4-1 in the division) with Shore Regional (5-2, 3-1) breathing down their necks. Rumson got a big win on Monday when it knocked off Point Beach, 4-0, as Alex Gaimo paced the attack with a pair of goals.

Rumson is currently ranked sixth in the Shore and has played like the division’s best team though the first half. But like RBC and Ocean, they need to sustain that dominance for another half of a season.