Boys Soccer – VOTE: Surf Taco Week 4 Player of the Week
Each week during the 2020 fall season, Shore Sports Network the top performers in each Shore Conference division and the SSN readers have a chance to vote for the overall Surf Taco Player of the Week.
Below are the top players from each of the Shore Conference's six divisions plus two wild cards who are in the running for the award for the fourth week of the season. Read about their accomplishments this week and vote for the player who should be recognized as overall Player of the Week.
Overall Player of the Week winners will be awarded a Surf Taco gift card. Vote once every hour at the bottom of this post until the poll closes at 10 p.m. on Wednesday.
Class A North Player of the Week
Aidan Cardella, Middletown North
For the second straight week, a Middletown North player gets the nod as the A North Player of the Week, this time with its top scorer taking the honor. Cardella came up big in both of the Lions’ wins over rival Middletown South last week, scoring two goals in each 2-1 victory over the Eagles. In the second of the two victories, Cardella scored the tying goal in the 77th minute and the golden goal in overtime to carry Middletown North to a come-from-behind win.
Class A North Honorable Mention: Tyler Haldane, Long Branch; Dylan Cupo, CBA; Sam Tinoco, Middletown North; Brett Sieg, CBA
Class A Central Player of the Week
Chris Fontanazza, Raritan
The Rockets kept climbing in the Class A Central and Shore ranks last week with two convincing wins over Shore Regional, led by Fontanazza. The senior midfielder recorded his first hat trick in a 4-0 win on Monday, then produced two goals and an assist in a 3-0 win over the Blue Devils on Wednesday for the newly-minted No. 10 team in the Shore Sports Network Top 10.
Class A Central Honorable Mention: Sam Coughlin, Rumson-Fair Haven; Ben Milstein, Holmdel; Peter Baillergeau, Ocean; Ethan Wallace, Monmouth; Luke Pentikis, Rumson-Fair Haven
Class A South Player of the Week
Parker Nickelsen, Toms River North
The No. 3 team in the SSN Top 10 went 3-0 last week and outscored three opponents (Central twice and Toms River South once) by a combined total of 16-1. Among Toms River North’s many stars during the week, Nickelsen was the standout with five goals and two assists in the three games. Nickelsen – who scored the golden goal to win the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV title for the Mariners last fall – scored two goals in a 5-0 home win over Central, then posted a hat trick in a 5-1 thrashing of Toms River South.
Class A South Honorable Mention: Kevin Kiernan, Southern; Billy Caruso, Brick Memorial; Zack Meyer, Brick; Jared Brown, Toms River North; A.J. Emnace, Toms River North; Noah Tobias, Jackson Memorial; Sean Palmer, Brick
Class B North Player of the Week
Jarrett Norman, Matawan
The Huskies have played close games throughout the year and while they got a reprieve from walking the tightrope with a 3-0 win over St. John Vianney to start last week, they were back in the overtime grind on Wednesday. Norman was a factor in both wins, scoring one of Matawan’s three goals in the 3-0 win over the Lancers and delivering the golden goal in its 2-1 victory over the neighbors just up Church Street.
Class B North Honorable Mention: Derek Haaf, Colts Neck; Terence Byrnes, Wall; Philip Lyons, Wall; Jake Gershon, Colts Neck; David Tuschmann, Colts Neck; Adam Tlamptia, Red Bank
Class B Central Player of the Week
James Vitale, St. Rose
St. Rose continued to mow through local opponents with a 3-0 week that included wins over Mater Dei Prep, Red Bank Catholic and Point Beach. Matt Kirkpatrick and Morgan Fahy were big parts of the dominant week but it was Vitale who led the way with six goals in three games, including his first career hat trick in a 5-0 win over Red Bank Catholic. Vitale also scored a goal in the win over Mater Dei and finished both in a big 2-0 win over the Garnet Gulls to sweep the regular-season series against a fellow B Central contender.
Class B Central Honorable Mention: Morgan Fahy, St. Rose; Matt Kirkpatrick, St. Rose; Tommy Boyan, Ranney; Deontae Florek, Henry Hudson; Josh Boyan, Point Beach; Jaquan Lunsford, Asbury Park; Dan Palmer, Mater Dei
Class B South Player of the Week
Tim Cappucci, Jackson Liberty
It has been a bit of a rough stretch for Jackson Liberty, which lost top scorer Elton Canka for the season, got beat twice by Pinelands by a score of 4-0 to break up four-game winning streak and just recently got shut down for the moment for precautionary reasons. Before the shutdown, though, Jackson Liberty regained the winning feeling by knocking off Manchester last week, with Tim Cappucci starring. The Senior scored twice in the 3-2 win, including the golden goal in overtime.
Class B South Honorable Mention: Johnny Hart, Pinelands; D.J. Edinger, Lacey; Gavin Harris, Pinelands; Gerard Cerino, Jackson Liberty; Preston Kyriakoulis, Donovan Catholic; Logan Duffy, Manchester
Wild Cards
Preston Kyriakoulis, Donovan Catholic
Donovan Catholic had two games canceled last week, but managed to set up a match against Barnegat on short notice and made the most of it. The Griffins got out to a 2-0 lead, gave it up, then won the game on a golden goal by Kyriakoulis. The junior also scored one of the two Griffins goals during the first half to give him a two-goal game in Donovan Catholic’s second win of the season.
Dylan Cupo, CBA
Cupo got off to an even later start than the rest of his CBA team, which did not play its first game until Oct. 10. Like his Colts squad, Cupo has hit the ground running, evidenced by a three-goal week last week against quality competition. Cupo scored a goal in a 2-0 win over Howell, then came up with two goals in a big 3-0 win over No. 5 Long Branch.