Boys Soccer – SSN Top 10, Sept. 14

Although a couple of top-five teams stumbled during the first week of the regular season, the preseason top 10 held up pretty well over the season’s first nine days. No. 1 looks like a legitimate championship favorite, No. 3 lost only to No. 1, and the fringe Top 10 teams have all played excellent soccer out of the gate.

Normally, there is a list of teams below the top 10 that are close to knocking down the door, but, outside of perhaps sub-.500 Colts Neck (1-2), there really isn’t a team that has been that close to any of these 10 teams to this point. While calling the top 10 completely stable over the first nine days of the season would be a bit of an exaggeration, the amount of turnover in the first week is actually pretty minimal.

1. Manalapan (3-0-0, 2-0-0) Last Week: 1

The Braves left little doubt about their standing as the Shore Conference’s top team by picking apart CBA in a 3-0 win on Saturday. With seven goals in the team’s first three games, senior Ryan Hammer has been the obvious standout so far, but the Braves have not missed a beat in the back, where they took the biggest hit to graduation.

2. Freehold Township (2-0-0, 2-0-0) Last Week: 4

Junior Mike Maltese came into this year without a varsity goal and in two games this season thus far, he already has four. Freehold Township does not have a standout goal-scorer from a year ago, but the Patriots have a roster of players capable of contributing in a lot of ways, just as Maltese has in wins over Middletown South and Freehold.

3. Toms River South (2-0-0, 1-0-0) Last Week: 8

The largest move up the Top 10 rankings belongs to Toms River South, which opened its season with an impressive win at Holmdel followed by a 2-0 win over a Brick side that surprised Ocean in its opener. The Indians have looked very solid in the back and in goal, so if Cameron Geerinck and Ryan Shiffer can continue to score like they have, Toms River South should continue to hang around the top five.

4. Christian Brothers Academy (2-1-0, 2-1-0) Last Week: 3

There’s no shame in losing at Manalapan, so the Colts fall only one spot and are passed by only two teams this week. Manalapan has been a tough matchup for the Colts over the last two years, but getting the Braves on their home field later in the year will likely help their cause. Convincing wins over Howell and Middletown North are enough to keep CBA in the mix this week.

5. Long Branch (3-0-0, 0-0-0) Last Week: 9

The Green Wave coasted during its first two games of the season before facing a little bit of adversity against Monmouth on Saturday. In the end, however, Long Branch rode two late goals from Guilherme DeNovaes to win the game and move to 3-0 with a plus-11 goal differential, with De Novaes accounting for eight of the team’s 12 goals.

6. Brick Memorial (3-0-0, 1-0-0) Last Week: 10

Through a week-plus of action, the Mustangs are third in the Shore Conference in goal differential and tied for second with Manalapan in goals per game, trailing only Long Branch. Brick Memorial also has a couple of quality wins outside of Class A South over Howell and Colts Neck.

7. Toms River North (2-1-0, 1-0-0) Last Week: Not ranked

This week’s only new entrant into the top 10, the Mariners got whacked by Kearny on opening day, 4-0, before recovering for two dramatic wins over preseason No. 2 Wall and Lacey. Toms River North lost a lot of scoring from last year, but senior Ryan Cheslock has shown an ability to be dangerous up top after spending the early part of his high school career as a defensive player.

8. Wall (2-1-0, 1-0-0) Last Week: 2

The Crimson Knights are still off to a decent start, but a road loss to Toms River North drops them from No. 2 to No. 8, with Toms River North taking the spot ahead of them. Since allowing four goals to the Mariners in its opener, Wall has cleaned things up by shutting out Colts Neck and St. Rose.

9. Red Bank (2-0-0, 1-0-0) Last Week: 6

The Bucs did not do anything to deserve falling three spots, but they have not yet had the chance to make a real statement about how good they are. One-goal wins over Rumson-Fair Haven and Neptune are plenty to keep Red Bank in the top 10, but the upcoming week that includes games against Wall, Ocean and Red Bank Catholic has the potential to push Red Bank into the top five.

10. Central (2-0-0, 1-0-0) Last Week: 7

Like Red Bank, Central falls despite doing exactly what was expected of them during the first week. While Red Bank will have plenty of chances to climb the rankings with a loaded B North schedule, it might be harder for Central to do so with its B South schedule. On the flip side, if Toms River East – which Central beat 3-0 – goes on a nice run, the Golden Eagles would certainly benefit.

Dropped Out

Holmdel (1-2-0, 1-0-0) Last Week: 5 – The Hornets are the only preseason top 10 team to lose twice so far and with two non-divisional losses already, Holmdel will have a hard time getting back into the top five before tournament time.