Boys Soccer – VOTE: Week 6 Player of the Week
The Shore Sports Network Boys Soccer Player of Week takes on a postseason twist this week, with performances from the first two rounds of the Shore Conference Tournament -- as well as some efforts that got teams into the tournament on the right foot -- shaping this week's batch of 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 cutoff Monday and Tuesday through the second round of the SCT. Read about the accomplishments of all the nominees 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 Saturday.
Class A North Player of the Week
Kris Maza, Howell
Howell surged into the Shore Conference Tournament and proved to be a significant threat in the tournament, even as a No. 15 seed. The Rebels won a statement game against Toms River East on the day of the seeding meeting, then routed Manasquan, 4-0, in the opening round. Maza scored a goal in both wins, then scored the equalizer in the round of 16 at No. 2 Freehold Township. Howell once again pushed the Patriots to the wire before losing, 2-1 – this time on a penalty kick in the 67th minute.
Class A North Honorable Mention: Herman Colbert, Freehold Twp.; Chris Osorio-Rodriguez, Howell; Dylan Cupo, CBA; Will Geiger, CBA; Matteo Paolillo, Manalapan; Nick Tango, Marlboro; Jimmy Bruno, Manalapan; Kayk Moreira, Long Branch
Class A Central Player of the Week
Brendan Worobel, Holmdel
Worobel won the Player of the Week during the first week of the season and while we here at Shore Sports Network like to spread the POTW wealth, Worobel’s efforts in the early rounds of the SCT must be celebrated. The senior scored one of two goals in the opening-round win over a tough Jackson Liberty side, then scored both goals in a wild, 2-1 win over previously-unbeaten Lacey. The second of Worobel’s two goals at Lacey – which entered the game 13-0-1 – was a golden goal in overtime after Lacey sent the game into extra time with a goal with one second left in regulation.
Class A Central Honorable Mention: Archeley Eugene, Ocean; Aidan Tisony, Ocean; Nick DiNapoli, Shore; Luke Pentikis, Rumson-Fair Haven; Brendan Worobel, Holmdel; Saeed Torres, Red Bank Catholic; Andrew Torregrossa, Red Bank Catholic
Class A Central Player of the Week
Gianni Smith, Central
Wall kept Smith quiet in Central’s Shore Conference Tournament first-round exit, but the Golden Eagles got back to the SCT for the first time since 2016 thanks, in large part, to the efforts of Smith. The senior forward broke loose for two goals and also dished out an assist in a 4-0 win over Red Bank on Oct. 12 that locked up Central’s first SCT berth in six years.
Class A South Honorable Mention: Ryan Smith, Brick Memorial; Mike Azzerone, Central; Ryan Polakowski, Jackson Memorial; Nick Rincon, Brick; Jared Brown, Toms River North; A.J. Emnace, Toms River North; Mattia Assante, Toms River North
Class B North Player of the Week
Terrence Byrnes, Wall
Wall appears to be hitting its stride now that the postseason is upon us and it’s likely not a coincidence that Byrnes is heating up just as his team is doing the same. Byrnes was having a quiet season considering he returned as Wall’s scoring leader from 2020, but he made noise in the form of two goals and an assist in the 4-1 win over Central on Saturday. In a convincing 3-0 win over Rumson-Fair Haven in Wednesday’s round of 16, Byrnes assisted the first goal of the game by Emmett Aravich, which set the Crimson Knights on their way in the 33rd minute.
Class B North Honorable Mention: Johnny Troiano, St. John Vianney; Ammar Danish, Freehold Boro; Matthew Lynch, Red Bank; Emmett Aravich, Wall; Tharnthong Phua, Freehold Boro
Class B Central Player of the Week
Tommy Boyan, Ranney
Ranney’s stay in the Shore Conference Tournament was a brief one, but Boyan had a strong stretch leading up to the Panthers’ appearance in the SCT. He scored five goals in a two-game stretch vs. Point Beach and Lakewood, scoring twice in the 6-0 win over Point Beach and logging a hat trick in a 3-3 draw against a Piners team that has been playing well of late.
Class B Central Honorable Mention: Jude Bowbliss, Henry Hudson; Kyle Corrigan, St. Rose; Luke Hamill, St. Rose; Jacob Bardsley, Point Beach
Class B South Player of the Week
Ethan Riley, Lacey
Only three players in the history of the Lacey soccer program have scored four goals in a single game. Two of them were coaching in the Shore Conference Tournament on Wednesday and the other is Riley. The Lions junior went off for four goals in a 5-1 win over Henry Hudson on Saturday, joining his current coach Steve Torre and Shore Regional coach Christian Pontier as the only Lacey boys soccer players to put up four goals in a game.
Class B South Honorable Mention: Alexander Granda, Lakewood; John Staino, Pinelands; Flavio Garista, Lakewood; Tom Reilly, Pinelands; Schuyler Jodice, Barnegat; Owen Edwards, Manchester; Bryan Cardoso, Lacey
Wild Cards
Matteo Paolillo, Manalapan
This time of the year is ideal for goalkeepers to shine, not only because every save is magnified but there are also penalty-kick shootouts to navigate. In Paolillo’s case, he did it all, making some big saves in games vs. Shore and Ocean – the latter of which was a Shore Conference Tournament game and the former of which was a 0-0 draw that effectively clinched Manalapan the No. 4 seed in the tournament. In the round of 16 vs. Ocean, Manalapan needed to survive penalty kicks to advance and Paolillo came up with two huge saves in the shootout to ensure the Braves would move on to Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
Herman Colbert, Freehold Township
Colbert continues to step up for an injury-plagued Patriots squad that, nevertheless, keeps finding ways to win. He scored in a win over Middletown South that wrapped up Freehold Township’s Class A North slate and in a SCT battle vs. Howell, Colbert scored the first goal for the Patriots to get them going in what would end up a 2-1 win over the Rebels at the end of a typical slugfest between Class A North rivals.
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