Boys Soccer – VOTE: Week 5 Player of the Week
We're back again for the Week 5 Player of the Week competition, with a new batch of candidates (and some repeat candidates).
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 reflecting the fourth week of the season. Read about their accomplishments from the past week and vote for the player who should be recognized as overall Player of the Week.
Vote once every hour at the bottom of this post until the poll closes at 10 p.m. on Thursday.
Class A North Player of the Week
Eduardo Ribiero, Long Branch
Long Branch went 3-0 last week with seven goals scored and Ribiero played a part in six of them. The senior scored a goal in each of the wins, including the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Southern on Oct. 4. Ribiero followed that up with a goal and an assist in a 3-2, come-from-behind win over Middletown North before closing out his week with a goal and two assists in a win over a ranked Rumson-Fair Haven side.
Class A North Honorable Mention: Jimmy Bruno, Manalapan; Dylan Cupo, CBA; Tim Bertscha, Freehold Twp.; Travis Soto, Middletown North; Dylan Millevoi, CBA; Chris Jensen, Middletown North; Dimitry Corba, CBA; Herman Colbert, Freehold Twp.
Class A Central Player of the Week
J.C. Gutierrez, Shore
Shore continued its late-season surge last week with three overtime wins. After Nick DiNapoli delivered the golden goal to upset Holmdel, Gutierrez came through with the golden goal in a 1-0 overtime victory over Red Bank on Thursday. Gutierrez then assisted the winning overtime goal by freshman Jadyn DeRosa in Saturday’s win over Spotswood.
Class A Central Honorable Mention: Andy Sanchez, Monmouth; Nick DiNapoli, Shore; Aidan Tisony, Ocean; Brendan Worobel, Holmdel
Class A South Player of the Week
Steven Bado, Jackson Memorial
The 2021 season has been a forgettable one for Jackson Memorial but the Jaguars got straightened out last week with a win over Brick and a draw vs. Toms River South. Bado broke out with a hat trick in the 7-2 win over Brick, then struck first with a goal in the 1-1 draw with the Indians.
Class A South Honorable Mention: Kenny Caruso, Toms River South; Danny Lindov, Toms River South; Maksim Bydyk, Jackson Memorial; Noah Raimonde, Toms River East; A.J. Emnace, Toms River North; David Kroon, Central; Gianni Smith, Central; Kajus Matazinskas, Toms River East; Mattia Assante, Toms River North
Class B North Player of the Week
Jairo Chira, Colts Neck
Colts Neck needed a win to dig out of a four-game rut and got it in a big way on Saturday. Chira was the star of the show in a 4-2 win over Middletown South, racking up his first career hat trick in the win while the Cougars deal with the absence of standout striker David Tuschmann due to injury.
Class B North Honorable Mention: Mike Cafiero, Manasquan; Johnny Troiano, St. John Vianney; Matt Skolnick, St. John Vianney
Class B Central Player of the Week
Luke Zylinski, Point Beach
The Garnet Gulls turned in a big week with a Shore Conference Tournament berth riding on every game. After a tough 1-0 loss to St. Rose, Point Beach bounced back with big wins over Ranney and Manasquan and Zylinski played like the senior leader that he is. Zylinski delivered a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win over Ranney, then scored another goal in the 3-1 win over Manasquan.
Class B Central Honorable Mention: Luke Hamill, St. Rose; Tommy Boyan, Ranney; Jacob Bardsley, Point Beach; Edwin Prudente, Keyport; Josh Boyan, Point Beach; Elvis Gonzalez, Mater Dei Prep
Class B South Player of the Week
Kody Besser, Lacey
Besser is nursing an eye injury that impacts his ability to see well enough to play on the back line so instead, he has just become a goal-scorer. The senior standout scored in each of Lacey’s three wins last week over Lakewood, Jackson Liberty and Brick Memorial and also assisted the other goal in the 2-0 win over Lakewood that clinched a share of the Class B South title. Two days later, Besser scored one of the two goals in a 2-0 win over Jackson Liberty that clinched the Lions their first outright Class B South title since 2010.
Class B South Honorable Mention: Stephen DeMilio, Pinelands; James Cahill, Pinelands; Charles Latendorf, Point Boro
Wild Cards
Travis Soto, Middletown North
Middletown North was eliminated from the Shore Conference Tournament field with a tough loss to Southern on Monday, but that game meant something because Middletown North won two close games last week. After a crushing 3-2 loss to Long Branch, the Lions bounced back with wins over Raritan and Red Bank, with Soto playing a huge role in both. The sophomore scored two goals in the 4-3 win over Raritan and scored the first of two Lions goals in Saturday’s 2-1, overtime win over the Bucs.
Luke Hamill, St. Rose
St. Rose nailed down a Shore Conference Tournament spot last week with wins over Point Beach and Asbury Park and Hamill came up big in both. He scored the lone goal in the 1-0 win over the Garnet Gulls, then went off for two goals and an assist in a 7-0 rout of Asbury Park.
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