It was Marlboro High School’s turn to rule the Shore Conference in 2009. Starting with Manalapan High School’s victory in the 2006 Shore Conference Tournament, the Freehold Regional High School District has owned the title. Howell (2007) and Freehold Township (2008) followed as conference champions, and last year coach Dave Santos’ Marlboro Mustangs captured their first conference tournament title.
It was a historic season for Marlboro boys soccer: the Mustangs also captured the Shore Conference A North Division title and finished with a record of 18-3-1.
With nine starters having graduated from that team, including Vinny Amato and keeper Greg Belanger, the Mustangs are very thin on experience in 2010.
According to Santos, 2010 is most likely a rebuilding year for the Mustangs. Captain Dan Weisberger, a midfielder, and Jake Katz, a midfielder, are the only returning starters.
Weisberger, a senior, is a three-year starter who was an All-Monmouth County selection last fall. Katz, a junior midfielder, started most of 2009 before an injury kept him out of the postseason.
The midfield is bolstered by the addition of senior Dan Tedesco, who sat out 2009 as a transfer from Christian Brothers Academy. Tedesco is one of the Mustangs’ tricaptains.
This trio and senior Domnico DeFalco make the midfield Marlboro’s strength.
Santos is hoping that forward Chris Battaglia (a starter in 2009) and Amando Moreno, a sophomore, can give the team scoring up front to take the pressure off Weisberger and company.
The Marlboro defense, which allowed one goal or none in 18 of its 22 matches a year ago, is completely new. Tri-captain Greg Kaye, Neal Thakkar, Josh Usalowicz and Andrew Llerena make up the new defensive line, and Wojciech Kochan, who was the junior varsity starter, is starting in goal.
Crucial for the Mustangs, according to Santos, is the defense overcoming its inexperience.
Having reached the state tournament for the last nine years, this Marlboro team does not want to be the one that snaps that streak. Look for the Mustangs to improve as the season progresses.
Another team with a facelift is the Freehold High School Colonials, last year’s surprise team. Led by a very good group of seniors, Coach John Lachacz’s Colonials won the Shore Conference B North Division title (the program’s first title in 12 years) and went all the way to the Central Jersey Group III state sectional title game.
The Colonials (18-4) were hit hard by graduation, losing senior stars Alex Castruita and Anthony Pira. That duo combined for 25 goals and 16 assists.
But the Colonials do have All-FRHSD midfielder Ryan Sullivan back (8G, 6A) and talented sweeper Jason Lundy, who is a sophomore.
Juniors Rob Soto (midfield) and defender Hector Perez made considerable contributions last year and are being counted on this year to play an even bigger role.
Seniors Justin Battaglini (midfield), Daniel Hinojosa (midfield), Evan Maguire (defender), Michael Mizrahi (midfield), Christian Ng (defense), Mario Palillero (defense) and William Smith (defense) will be looked to for leadership this fall.
Juniors Arnell Adal (forward), Brody Indursky (defense), Daniel Marketta (forward), Patrick Mullin (forward), Adan Pacheco (midfield) and Anthony Vazzana (keeper) give Lachacz a lot of depth.
Sophomores who could contribute are Ryan Bailey (forward), Brandon Hanat (keeper), Gregory Johnson (midfield), Elias Mejia (midfield) and Nicholas Polio (forward).
Coach Todd Briggs’ Freehold Township Patriots got off to a slow start in 2009 and that took them out of the A North race early, but they rallied to qualify for the Shore Conference Tournament and for the NJSIAA state tournament.
The Patriots have a nice mix of talent and experience that can make them a force in A North this fall.
Junior Phil Horan, who was in goal when the Patriots won the conference tournament in 2008, is one of the top goalies in the Shore Conference, and he is back. So is 6-4 midfielder Matt Jeffrey, a senior. He became more of an offensive force in the second half of the 2009 season when he took advantage of his height, scoring five goals and assisting on two others. He helped spark Freehold Township’s turnaround in the second half of the campaign.
In forwards Steve Hennessy and Kingsley Innocent, the Patriots have players with speed who can create gaps in defenses.
Ryan Morris (forward) proved he can score last year and could become more of a force this year. Seniors Ross Caruso (midfield) and Pat Holliday (defense) are seniors who have experienced winning.
Also returning are junior Durim Fishta (defense/midfield) and sophomore Vincent Puglia (defense).
Nick Bucciero, Christian Composto, Nick Costelloe, Greg Fedak, Marco Franco, Chris Jeffrey, Mike Matusaitis, Corey Morris, Matt Pennington, Pete Tornatore and Tyler Zirkman complete what is a deep team with a mixture of veterans and sophomores.
Could Colts Neck be the team to carry the FRHSD banner this fall? It is not out of the question. Coach Art Collier’s young Cougars displayed a lot of potential last fall and nine starters return to a team that went 9-7-3 and scored some very big wins during the season. Collier said after last fall’s campaign that his team had the depth “to be competitive day in and day out.” He added, “My expectations are very high.”
And they should be with what he has re- turning, led by keeper James Sheehan, an All-Shore pick in 2009, and defender Ross Tetro, an All-FRHSD pick as a sophomore.
The experienced core of the Cougars consists of seniors Alex Brown (defense), Anthony Pistola (defense), Zach Dritsas (forward), Nick Chiappone (midfield), Michael Caruso (forward), Ryan Beaudoin (defense), Adam Geiger (defense) and Lex Smit (midfield).
They are joined by Alex Ramos, a sophomore forward who showed great promise as a freshman. Brian Keusch (defense), Jay Mikula (forward) and Scott Halpern (defense) all played considerable minutes as freshmen and were not overmatched. They are now sophomores with a proven track record.
Brandon Tetro (midfield) is a freshman who could provide help this year.
Senior Michael LaCava is the Cougars’ No. 2 goalie.
The Cougars have moved down to the Shore Conference B North Division, where they will play Freehold, Ocean Township, Long Branch and Red Bank Catholic. Based on what the Cougars did in A North last year, they are serious contenders to bring the B North title home in 2010.
Manalapan and Howell, the standardbearers in recent years, will be looking to regain that prominence this fall.
Despite losing a truckload of starters, Howell remained very competitive in A North last fall and earned a spot in the NJSIAA state tournament.
Now Howell comes back in 2010 with an experienced team that has just about everyone back. Coach Rich Yuro believes last year’s experience has made his team better.
Senior Oscan Onder is one of the best players in the Shore Conference. He led Howell in scoring last year (9G, 3A). He is an irresistible force who could have a very big year, especially if the Rebels can provide him with some support. Yuro described the forward as the team’s most creative player and best finisher.
Onder could get support up front from swift forward Chris Hill, a junior with a lot of potential, and Joe Raccuglia. Midfielder Kyle Dougher heads an experienced unit in that area of the field.
Bobby Callahan and Luke Weber, two quality keepers, will keep Howell in every game.
Yuro said his two biggest concerns are depth (his substitutes are inexperienced sophomores) and finishing scoring opportunities. The inability to finish plagued the Rebels last year and Yuro hopes his players have put that shortcoming behind them.
Manalapan has a number of letter-winners returning, including fourth-year varsity players Bryan Rice (midfield), Edwin Morales (forward/midfield) and Jared Mucha (midfield). They are the team’s tricaptains.
Nick Fleres (defender), Evan Pruden (midfield), John Rogers (midfield), Fred Bosoy (defense) and Alan Cid (goalkeeper) were all starters in 2009, giving Coach John Natoli a lot of experience.
Jake Cohan (midfield), Ryan Nascimento (midfield) and Austin Aimone (defense) were letter-winners last year.
The Braves’ newcomers include Richard Koldziej (defense), Sean Langford (midfield), Jordan Fernandez (keeper), Antonio Durazzo (midfield), Max Schlesinger (defense), Enrique Martinez (midfield), Matthew Samaan (forward), Marco Fernandez (forward) and Tom Persico (midfield).
Natoli said the experience the Braves gained last year in a rebuilding season was very valuable. He expects the team to jell as the 2010 season progresses, with the goal of getting back into the postseason tournaments.