Boys Soccer – Vote: Week 1 Player of the Week
At the end of each week, eight Shore Conference soccer players will be nominated for the Player of the Week Online Award. Senior Editor Matt Manley will select a Player of the Week from each of the six Shore Conference divisions and two wild cards that can come from any of the divisions. The Shore Sports Network readers will then have two days to vote for their choice for Player of the Week, with the winner announced at the completion of the voting period.
Here are the nominees from the first week of the season. Continue scrolling to the bottom of the page to vote.
Class A North Player of the Week
Dominic Bellomo, CBA
CBA trailed Peddie 2-0 in the second half on Saturday and rallied to win the game thanks to a breakout performance by Bellomo. The CBA junior scored the first two goals of his varsity career as part of the comeback, including the golden goal in overtime. Bellomo was also active in a 2-0 win over Howell on Tuesday despite not breaking into the scoring column.
Honorable Mention: Charlie Daly, CBA; Shane Keenan, CBA; Jake Brower, Freehold Boro; Matt Finocchiaro, Freehold Twp.
Class A Central Player of the Week
Anthony Arena, Holmdel
The big story in Holmdel camp was the return of standout senior Justin McStay from the academy ranks, but Arena sent out a reminder this week that bringing him back for his junior year is equally exciting for the Hornets. Arena recorded hat tricks in consecutive games against Red Bank and Woodbridge as part of No. 1 Holmdel’s 3-0 start.
Honorable Mention: Marcelo Colonna, Matawan; Justin McStay, Holmdel; Cyrus Darvish, Holmdel; Luke DiStefano, Rumson-Fair Haven; Sawyer Barth, Shore; Taylor Souza, Shore
Class A South Player of the Week
Joe Schlageter, Jackson Memorial
Despite sporting a roster low on seniors, the Jaguars are off to an impressive 2-0 start with wins over turnaround hopefuls Brick Memorial and Freehold Boro. Schlageter and teammate Dan Russo were at the heart of the scoring attack in the two games, with Schlageter assisting one of Russo’s two goals against Brick Memorial and then scoring two of his own in a 4-1 win over Freehold.
Honorable Mention: Dan Russo, Jackson Memorial; Jack Butz, Toms River North; Alex Poll, Toms River North; Riley DeFeis, Toms River North; Santino Celebre, Toms River East
Class B North Player of the Week
John Volpe, Wall
Volpe has moved into a more prominent role as a junior this season and has made his presence felt early on. He scored the golden goal Friday in a 2-1 win over Middletown South and followed it up with another goal on Saturday in a 2-0 win over St. Rose.
Honorable Mention: Santieno Harding, Ocean; Renan Azevedo, Long Branch; Joel Burgos, Monmouth; Liam McGregor, Midd North; Matt Drake, Manasquan; Tagg Ancrum, Wall; Brian Waltsak, Monmouth
Class B Central Player of the Week
Ethan Riozzi-Bodine, St. Rose
The Purple Roses opened their season with an important B Central win over Point Beach in which they scored five goals, with Riozzi-Bodine providing three of them.
Honorable Mention: Davensky JoinVilmar, Asbury Park; Jean Osner Pierre, Asbury Park; Jonathan Caputo, St. Rose; Ademola Odunlami, Ranney; Stevenson Jean Baptiste, Asbury Park
Class B South Player of the Week
Dom Dos Santos, Pinelands
The Wildcats have picked up where they left off during a landmark 2016 season with two wins in two games. Dos Santos was the star of a 6-0 win over Lakewood on opening day, scoring two goals and assisting another.
Honorable Mention: Anthony Diaz, Pinelands; Junior Bravo, Lakewood; Riley Fahnholz, Jackson Liberty; Kieran Sundermann; Leo Schnappauf, Point Boro; Kristian Talas, Lakewood; Sean Yurgel, Jackson Liberty; Creed Nas, Pinelands; Ricky Norman, Barnegat; Ryan Flaherty, Barnegat
Wild Cards
Santieno Harding, Ocean
Harding was a one-man attack for Ocean against Long Branch on Thursday, scoring both of the Spartans’ goals in a 2-1 overtime win. Harding scored on a free kick in the second minute of the second half and headed in the game-winning in the fifth minute of overtime.
Marcelo Colonna, Matawan
The Huskies bounced back from an opening-day loss to No. 1 Holmdel by taking down Shore in overtime behind a two-goal performance by Colonna. The sophomore capped his breakout game with the golden goal in overtime.
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