The Allentown Charge U13 girls soccer team knotted a 3-3 tie at Freehold on a cold and blustery afternoon.While the play was occasionally sloppy by both teams and the referee, the girls played hard, creating numerous scoring opportunities for Allentown that just didn't find the back of the net. Goals were scored by Allentown's Kassandra Stillwell, Erin Primich and Sarah Mottram. Allentown next takes on the Ocean Township Crush inAllentown for their home opener.

UFA 40 continues to roll up the wins., as they beat visitors Lakewood last weekend by a score of 4-2 with goals by Cullen Cavallaro, Steve Sinai and two by Amaro Pereira, one a delightful lob from 20 yards over the stranded Lakewood goalie. This takes their unbeaten streak to six games, although next week they face a very strong side from East Brunswick, and that record will be put to the test.

The Allentown/Upper Freehold Dragons Junior Lacrosse Club had its opening weekend last Saturday and Sunday, and what a great start it was. Playing games for the first time on their new fields, the weather held up and with amostly blue sky, the Dragons took the field.

On Saturday, the third- and fourthgrade Dragons team was the first to play, facing off against the Hopewell Valley fourth-grade squad. Led by Ryan Hultberg in goal, the Dragons played hard against the older and larger Hopewell team. The Dragons stepped up and fought on every possession, with the defense really engaging in the second half, causing numerous turnovers. The Dragons' effort included some great ground ball work and solid passing, leading to goals by Drew Kosco, Casey O'Neill and Colton Johnson.

Following the early game, the fifthgrade Dragons took on the fifth-grade Hopewell Valley squad. Fromthe start, this was a great game between two evenly matched teams. The Dragons defense held strong, keeping the ball on the other side of the field for most of the half. Goalie Eric Sullivan saved a number of shots in the first half, and with a goal by Christopher Masserini, the Dragons went into halftime in the lead. Defense once again played strong, but Hopewell scored a man-down goal in the second half to tie the game. Strong play by both teams during lastminutes had the game ending in a 1-1 tie.

The sixth- and seventh-grade Dragons matched up against the Hopewell Valley Junior Lacrosse Club as well. GoaliesMatt Reed and Kyle Sulit led their team to the first victory of the season with a great display between the pipes, allowing only three goals on the day. The Dragons won 45 ground balls, dominated the face-offs and scored nine goals to win the game. Goals were scored by Jess Manyoki, Kyle Sulit, Mitch Lamb, Tom O'Shaughnessy, Jacob Golub and Kevin Primich.

On Sunday, the Dragons put forth another great defensive effort as they faced a big, fast and physical seventh- and eighthgrade squad fromthe Central Jersey Junior Lacrosse Club. The younger sixth- and seventh grade Dragons, with only two substitutions on the sideline, showed absolutely no fear and played like champions. Although the scoreboard read 4-0 in favor of Central Jersey when time ran out, it was perhaps the best effort these Dragons have brought to the field since the program began in 2007. At half time the Dragons were trailing by four goals.With a tremendous display of determination and courage, the Dragons kept their opponent scoreless in the second half. It was truly a great day.

The Clifton T. BarkalowPTO, Freehold Township,will hold a 5K race on Saturday, May 31, starting at 10 a.m. at the township's Turkey Swamp Park.

This is the first Blue Jay 5K run/walk and is beingmanaged by the FreeholdArea Running Club (FARC).

The race will feature T-shirts designed by a Barkalow student (a contest was held in the beginning ofApril); refreshments; a scenic, flat course in Turkey Swamp Park; prizes (with extra awards for young runners); and a raffle for all participants. One of the race sponsors, Sportcraft, ofMountOlive inMorris County, has donated 11 of its products- treadmills, elliptical machines, foosball and air hockey tables, and bocce sets - as prizes for the postrace raffle.

Entry fee is $20 beforeMay 21, and $15 for students 18 and under.AfterMay 21, the registration fee is $25 and T-shirts are not guaranteed. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. on race day. Formore information and an application, go to theWeb site http://cliftontbarkalow.freeholdtwp. nj.k12us.com/JCaputo.