Week 7 Player of the Week Winner: Nico Skeete, Matawan

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Week 7 Surf Taco Player of the Week

Niko Skeete, Matawan

As the No. 14 seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III section, Matawan was not on the list of teams likely to win a sectional championship. Despite that, the Huskies upset division rival and Class B North division champion Colts Neck, followed by Class B South co-champion Jackson Liberty to earn a spot in the sectional semifinals.

Senior Aaron Kalish played the role of golden-goal hero at Jackson Liberty on Monday, but for the Huskies to get to that round, they needed Skeete to deliver two huge goals in a 4-2 win at third-seeded Colts Neck – a team that beat Matawan, 5-0, during the regular season. All six goals scored in that first-round showdown at Colts Neck came in the first half, with Skeete scoring the go-ahead goal to make it 3-2 in the 25th minute and adding the last goal of the game 10 minutes later.

Matawan sophomore Nico Skeete. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

Skeete wound up leading Matawan with seven goals during his sophomore season, leading the Huskies to an 8-9-1 finish. Matawan's run in the NJSIAA Tournament ended in the sectional semifinals, when the Huskies dropped a 1-0, overtime nail-biter at No. 10 Allentown in which Matawan played a man down from the midway point of the first half through the final whistle.

Skeete won the penultimate Player of the Week vote of 2022 by gathering 22 percent of the votes cast, which bested runner-up Tim Bertscha of Freehold Township by less than three percent and third-place Jim Cappucci of Jackson Liberty by under four percent.

For winning the latest Player of the Week award, Skeete will receive a $25 gift card from Surf Taco. The last Player of the Week contest of 2022 will begin after the NJSIAA Group semifinal round on Wednesday.