Surf Taco Week 2 Boys Soccer Team of the Week: Colts Neck
Only two boys soccer teams in the Shore Conference had to wait longer to open up the 2023 season than Colts Neck, which watched other teams play for four straight days before finally taking the field.
Once their season finally started, the Cougars have been one of the Shore's most entertaining outfits.
In its first two games of the season, Colts Neck exploded for nine goals and banked two victories over quality opponents, which gives the Cougars credentials to be the Surf Taco Week 2 Team of the Week.
The season opened on Sept. 11 with a dominant 3-0 win over a Lacey side that is two years removed from a Shore Conference Class B South title and boasts one of the Shore's top scorers in Matteo Pasqualichio (eight goals, four assists). In addition to serving as the season-opener, it was also a Shore Conference Tournament group play game.
In addition to keeping Pasqualichio quiet, Colts Neck orchestrated a dangerous attack that produced three goals -- two of which came off the right foot of junior Kyle Moore. Sophomore Jonah Chiang scored his first varsity goal for the second Colts Neck score -- a clean finish after Chiang dribbled through a cluster of Lacey defenders.
Moore continued his torrid start in Colts Neck's wild, 6-5, victory over Ocean on Sept. 14. The Spartans entered the game ranked No. 12 in the Shore Sports Network Shore 16, but had no answer for Moore, who scored five goals -- including four in the first half. Moore's younger brother, freshman Sean Moore, scored the other Cougars goal to help Colts Neck close out a win in a game in which it never trailed despite the close call.
The Moore brothers are shaping up to be a dynamic duo at the top of the formation for a team that starts just one senior in Ben Berkovsky and three starters from last year: Kyle Moore, Berkovsky and junior midfielder Sam Gershon.
Even with all the youth and inexperience on the roster, Colts Neck has the early form of a team with a chance to defend its 2022 Class B North division championship and to make a run in the Shore Conference Tournament four years after making it to the conference semifinals.
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