In predicted order of finish

Pinelands

Head Coach: Nino Scotto di Carlo, second season
2017 Record: 17-5-1 (12-1-1, first in Class B South)
Returners: Kieran Sundermann (Sr., Forward), Dominic Dos Santos (Sr., Forward), Anthony Diaz (Sr., Midfield), Frank Aguilar (Sr., Defense), Aniello Lubrano (Sr., Midfield), Luke Mathis (Sr., Defense), Anthony Aguilar (Jr., Midfield), Logan Johnson (Jr., Goalkeeper), Alex Dimm (Jr., Defense), Creed Nass (Jr., Forward), Johnny Hart (So., Midfield), Matt Albanese (Jr., Defense), Tyler Piazza (Jr., Defense)
Key Losses: Caden Sundermann (Defense)
Newcomers: Jack Doyle (Jr., Midfield), Carter Mathis (So.), Gavin Harris (So., Goalkeeper)

Pinelands senior Kieran Sundermann. (Photo by Paula Lopez)
Pinelands senior Kieran Sundermann. (Photo by Paula Lopez)
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Last season saw Pinelands enjoy one of its best seasons in the history of the boys soccer program and with a loaded senior class coming back this year, the Wildcats are looking to bring home a postseason championship. After winning the Class B South championship for the first time in 28 year, Pinelands hit the proverbial wall in the postseason, dropping a 4-0 decision at Jackson Memorial in the Shore Conference Tournament round of 16. The recovered by winning consecutive home games in the South Jersey Group III Tournament, but fell to Mainland in the sectional semifinals.

The loss to Jackson Memorial began a stretch in which the Wildcats allowed 20 goals in their final six games, so patching up the defense in front of returning goalkeeper Logan Johnson will be a priority. Center back Caden Sundermann is the only starter to graduate from last year’s team and senior Frank Aguilar will move from the midfield to the back line to cover the loss. Scoring, on the other hand, should be no problem thanks to the return of Kieran Sundermann, Dominic Dos Santos, Anthony Diaz and Aniello Lubrano, who combined for 46 goals and 36 assists as juniors in 2018.

Pinelands will have a chance at revenge when the Wildcats travel to Jackson Memorial for the season-opener and will also challenge themselves with a trip to Holmdel later in the season. The Shore Conference looks to be a top-heavy field this season and if the Wildcats can keep the ball out of their own net, they should be among those teams at the top.

 

Point Pleasant Boro

Head Coach: Pete Casalino, 14th season
2017 Record: 11-5-5 (8-3-3, second in Class B South)
Returners: Alex Herrman (Sr., Midfield), Liam Kirinovic (Sr., Midfield), Cormac McCabe (Sr., Midfield), Mariano Maradiegue (Jr., Defense), Christian D’Amato (Jr., Forward), Steve Redler (Jr., Goalkeeper), Will Flaherty (Jr., Defense)
Key Losses: Matt Moran (Defense), Jake Brzyski (Forward), Will Otto (Defense), Jacob Kirinovic (Midfield)
Newcomers: Spencer Robinson (Sr., Forward), Luke Severio (Jr., Defense), Alex Drucquer (Jr., Midfield), Troy Schnappauf (Jr., Midfield), James Latendorf (Jr., Midfield), Danny Gallagher (So., Forward)

Photo by Steve Meyer.
Photo by Steve Meyer.
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Point Boro’s run of five straight seasons with at least a share of a division title came to an end last year when Pinelands outlasted the Panthers for the Class B south title. They still managed to finish second despite replacing a good deal of players from the previous year while also battling some key injuries to the players who did return. Among those injured players was Liam Kirinovic, who is looking to return to the form he showed in 2016, when he scored nine goals as a sophomore.

Kirinovic returns to the midfield with classmates Alex Herrman and Cormac McCabe, while junior Christian D’Amato is back up top after scoring five goals as a sophomore – the most of any returning Point Boro player last year. Juniors Mariano Maradiegue and Will Flaherty will lead the back line in front of returning goalkeeper Steven Redler, who posted 10 shutouts as a sophomore in 2017. If that core can have a little more luck with its health, the Panthers will be good enough to challenge a very talented Pinelands side and perhaps start a new division title streak.

 

Lakewood

Head Coach: Gene Drumright, 18th season
2017 Record: 10-9 (8-6, fourth in Class B South)
Returners: Gio Hernandez (Sr., Midfield/Defense), Junior Bravo (Sr., Defense/Midfield), Moises Galvan (Sr., Goalkeeper), Kristian Talas (Sr., Forward), Brian Morales (Sr., Midfield), Jersey Salazar (Jr., Midfield), Augustin Lopez (Jr., Defense), Nathaniel Zuniga (Jr., Midfield)
Key Losses: Apolinar Grande (Midfield), Japhet Compollo (Defense), Jonathan Toichihuitl (Forward/Midfield)
Newcomers: Josh Lemus (Sr., Forward), Eric Vazquez (Sr., Defense), David Olivares (So., Defense), Marco Alvarado (So., Midfield), Jorge Araiza (Sr., Midfield/Defense) – Transfer from Brick

Photo by Steve Meyer.
Photo by Steve Meyer.
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After surging into the Shore Conference Tournament two years ago, Lakewood is eyeing a third straight winning season and perhaps the best one since winning the B South title in 2006. The Piners return two All-Division fullbacks in Gio Hernandez and Junior Bravo, both of whom are threats bring the ball forward out of the back. Hernandez, Bravo and fellow fullback Augustin Lopez can play aggressively thanks to the experience of senior goalkeeper Moises Galvan, who is entering his fourth year as a starter.

Second-leading scorer Japhet Compollo is among Lakewoo’d key losses, but senior striker Kristian Talas returns after scoring a team-best seven goals in his first season with the team. Talas, junior Nate Zuniga and senior Brian Morales will key the Lakewood attack and Jorge Araiza – back at Lakewood after spending last season at Brick – will link the midfield and the back line. With the heavy senior presence, particularly in the back, Lakewood has the look of a team that could make some noise in B South and push for a top 10 spot in the Shore over the course of the season.

 

Barnegat

Head Coach: Mike McCullion, 11th season
2017 Record: 10-11 (7-7, fifth in Class B South)
Returners: Ricky Norman (Sr., Forward), Matt White (Jr., Forward), Kenny Frank (So., Defense), Eugene Fleming (Sr., Defense), Scott Doty (Sr., Midfield), Carlos Morena (Sr., Defense), Liam Lynch-Bell (Sr., Midfield), Aiden Tai (Sr., Forward), Aaron Santora-Douglas (Sr., Forward), Sean Toner (Jr., Defense), Justin Gomez (Jr., Defense/Forward), Grady Edwards (Jr., Midfield), Alex Cernansky (Jr., Defense), Alex Zuniga (Jr., Midfield), Anthony Irizarry (Sr., Midfield)
Key Losses: Ryan Flaherty (Forward), Corey Branz (Midfield), Jimmy Pari (Midfield), Chad Fraser (Defense), Tyler Langan (Goalkeeper)
Newcomers: Maurice Vargas (So., Forward), Dominick Guiro (Sr., Goalkeeper), Casey Gill (Sr., Goalkeeper)

It was a banner year for the Bengals in 2017, when Barnegat reached the Shore Conference Tournament for the first time in program history and won a first-round game in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group II bracket. They also had an All-Shore forward in Ryan Flaherty, who graduated as the program’s all-time leading scorer while setting single-season marks for goals (21) and assists (14). Replacing Flaherty will be nearly impossible, but the Bengals do return some scoring from last year’s high-powered attack.

Ricky Norman missed much of his sophomore year with a knee injury and came back better than ever as a junior, posting 17 goals to finish just outside the top 10 goal-scorers in the conference. Junior Matt White also reached double-figures in goals scored with 11 tallies as a sophomore. Norman and White will be one of the top scoring duos returning this season, impressive for a team that graduated a 20-goal scorer. Sophomore Kenny Frank came on at the end of last season and will lead the defense, which will try to catch up with the dangerous scoring attack led by Norman and White. The goals should continue to flow for Barnegat this year and if the Bengals can protect their net, they can build on last year’s success.

 

Donovan Catholic

Head Coach: Ken Oliver, 18th season
2017 Record: 5-13-2 (3-9-2, tied sixth in Class B South)
Returners: Jonathan Capone (Sr., Midfield), Max Dalton (Sr., Midfield/Forward), Brian Edwards (Sr., Goalkeeper), Alex Garcia (Sr., Forward), Brendan Ion (Jr., Midfield), Matt Kekatos (Sr., Defense), Chad Yannazzone (Sr., Defense/Midfield), Nick Calvetto (Jr., Defense), Chris Fahringer (Jr., Midfield/Forward), Vin Loffredo (Jr., Midfield/Forward), Christian McElroy (Jr., Goalkeeper), Neithan Ramos (Jr., Defense/Midfield), Clay Yannazzone (So., Defense)
Key Losses: E.J. Lucas (Midfield), Anthony Scotto (Forward), Sawyer Conrad (Defense/Midfield), Oliver Nora (Midfield/Forward), Cristiaan Dailey (Defense/Midfield), Nick Maalouf (Midfield)
Newcomers: Ronan Bova (Jr., Midfield/Forward), Anthony DeSilva (Jr., Midfield), Liam Leonard (Jr., Defense), Chris McCurnin (Jr., Defense), Tyler Rempo (Jr., Defense), Randon Shapiro (Jr., Midfield), John Triolo (Jr., Midfield/Defense), Travis Austin (So.), Dean Carskaddan (So., Midfield), Vinny Mendes (So., Forward), Robert Milutin (Fr., Midfield), Preston Kyriakoulis (Fr., Forward)

Photo by Steve Meyer.
Photo by Steve Meyer.
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While Barnegat and Pinelands each hope to piece together a defense to support a proven scoring attack, Donovan Catholic faces the opposite challenge. The Griffins return a quality goalkeeper in Christian McElroy and defenders Matt Kekatos, Chad Yannazzone, Clay Yannazzone and Nick Calvetto from a team that allowed a respectable 33 goals in 20 games last season. On the other hand, the Griffins struggled mightily in the goal-scoring department: only Central and Henry Hudson averaged few goals per game than Donovan Catholic, which managed only 19 goals in 20 games.

Only six of those 19 goals from 2017 return to the lineup, so some new faces will have to step up to handle what the Griffins hope will be a significantly increased scoring load. Junior Vin Loffredo scored a pair of goals last season and will be an important piece in the attack, along with midfielders Brendan Ion, Max Dalton and Jonathan Capone. The Donovan Catholic defense will keep the team in just about every game and if the goal-scoring comes around just a little bit, Donovan Catholic will be back among the group of B South contenders.

 

Lacey

Head Coach: Steve Torre, second season
2017 Record: 12-8-1 (8-5-1, third in Class B South)
Returners: Kip Byrne (Sr., Midfield), Dylan Vitale (Sr., Defense), Dan Bentley (Sr., Defense), Ryan Giles (Sr., Goalkeeper), Dom Palino (Sr., Midfield), Mike Cyphers (Jr., Midfield), Kian Gonzalez (Jr., Defense)
Key Losses: Kevin Miller (Midfield), Reilly Hunt (Forward), Dylan Fielder (Midfield), Luke Moynihan (Defense), Joel Roig (Sr., Forward) – transferred to Barnegat
Newcomers: Sean Moffitt (Jr., Forward), Noah Hamouda (So., Midfield), George-Kyle Hernandez (So., Defense), D.J. Edinger (So., Midfield), Tosh Mrazck (So., Midfield), Kody Besser (Fr., Defense), Bryan Cardoso (Fr., Midfield)

Photo by Steve Meyer.
Photo by Steve Meyer.
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Lacey racked up 12 wins last year behind a dangerous attack that included returning midfielder Kip Byrne, whose 17 assists ranked fourth in the Shore Conference during the 2017 season. Byrne might be required to build on his five goals last year considering the Lions graduated 32 goals between Reilly Hunt (14 goals), Kevin Miller (13) and Dylan Fiedler (five). Replacing that trio could be an overwhelming task this year, but a big year from Byrne would make for a good start.

Dylan Vitale and Dan Bentley are senior leaders on a defense that will look to build upon last year’s experience. Junior Kian Gonzalez is also back from that unit, as is senior goalkeeper Ryan Giles. If that group can cut down on the goals allowed and Byrne has a healthy productive year, Lacey shouldn’t fall too far despite losing all of that scoring.

 

Jackson Liberty

Head Coach: Brett Mallinson, sixth season
2017 Record: 4-11-1 (4-10-0, tied sixth in Class B South)
Returners: Lars Edeen (Sr., Defense), Lukas Talahaj (Sr., Midfield), Riley Fahnholz (Sr., Goalkeeper), Chaz McGee (Jr., Defense), Steven Siragusa (Sr., Defense), Josh Montoute (Sr., Forward)
Key Losses: Trevor Anderson (Midfield), Matt Campbell (Defense), Kevin Garry (Midfield), Sebastian Navarro (Forward), Riley Benbrook (Defense)

Jackson Liberty will continue its effort to chip away at the rest of the division with a defensive-minded squad that has a few offensive threats back in the mix this season. Lukas Talahaj will again be a creator in the midfield and senior Josh Montoute returns up top after scoring six goals last season – good for second on the team. Talahaj and Montoute will drive an attack that must replace seven goals from Matt Campbell, who graduated in June.

The Lions should be adept at protecting the goal thanks to an experienced back line in front of four-year standout Riley Fahnholz in goal. Fahnholz has been an all-division keeper during his career and with senior Lars Edeen, senior Steve Siragus and junior Chaz McGee back on defense, the Lions look to be as stingy as ever this season.

 

Manchester

Head Coach: Troy Madison, first season
2017 Record: 4-15-1 (2-11-1, eighth in Class B South)
Returners: Nick Oliver (Jr., Midfield), Xavier Millan (So., Defense), Colby Peck (Sr., Defense)
Key Losses: Jordan Finkle (Sr., Midfield/Forward), Milan Kleva (Sr., Midfield), Devin Ortiz (Sr., Midfield), Francesco D’Amato (Sr., Midfield), John Constantine (Sr., Defense), Tim Burns (Sr., Defense), Keith Chinery (Sr., Goalkeeper), Tom Gilman (Sr., Defense), Tyler Laycock (Sr., Midfield), Brian Calsetta (Sr., Defense), Kyle Rembach (Sr., Defense/Midfield)
Newcomers: Matt Bryant (Fr., Midfield/Defense), Logan Duffy (Fr., Forward), James Hinkson (Sr., Forward), Dallas Hopkins (So., Defense), Trevor Juralewicz (So., Forward), William Kuhmichel (Jr., Forward), Richard Mariotti (Jr., Goalkeeper), Gerardo Martinez (Sr., Defense), Chris Meyers (So., Defense), Jackson Pagnotta (Fr., Midfield/Forward), Vincent Paolillo (Fr., Midfield), Jeff Panora (Sr., Midfield), Kenneth Paulauskas (Sr., Defense), Alex Peluso (So., Goalkeeper), Ryan Riccio (Sr., Forward), Hunter Rust (Fr., Midfield/Defense), Brandon Sogness (Fr., Midfield), Patrick Wac (Jr., Defense), Blake Weiner (So., Midfield)

Photo by Steve Meyer.
Photo by Steve Meyer.
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The Hawks were hopeful its senior-loaded team could make a significant leap forward last year but it just never quite materialized. With 15 seniors from last year gone via graduation, Manchester will have a young, inexperienced team this season. Junior Nick Oliver, sophomore Xavier Millan and senior Cody Peck gained some experienced at the varsity level last season and Oliver contributed in the scoring column with a goal and two assists. That trio plus incoming freshmen Matt Bryant and Logan Duffy will be some players to follow as the Hawks embark on their latest rebuild.

 

XI to Watch (With 2017 Stats)

Kieran Sundermann, Pinelands (14 goals, 15 assists)

Dominic Dos Santos, Pinelands (14 goals, 9 assists)

Gio Hernandez, Lakewood (1 assist)

Kip Byrne, Lacey (5 goals, 17 assists)

Junior Bravo, Lakewood (1 goal, 2 assists)

Anthony Diaz, Pinelands (13 goals, 6 assists)

Ricky Norman, Barnegat (17 goals, 4 assists)

Liam Kirinovic, Point Boro (1 goal, 1 assist)

Aniello Lubrano, Pinelands (5 goals, 6 assists)

Frank Aguilar, Pinelands (2 goals, 2 assists)

Matt White, Barnegat (11 goals, 6 assists)

 

Goalkeepers to Watch

Riley Fahnholz, Jackson Liberty (4 shutouts)

Moises Galvan, Lakewood (5 shutouts)

Christian McElroy, Donovan Catholic (5 shutouts)

Steve Redler, Point Boro (10 shutouts)

 

Breakout Players to Watch

Christian D’Amato, Point Boro

Vinny Loffredo, Donovan Catholic

Kenny Frank, Barnegat

Sean Moffit, Lacey

Lukas Talahaj, Jackson Liberty

 

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