Boys Soccer – VOTE: Week 7 Surf Taco Player of the Week

Each week during the remainder of the 2019 season, Shore Sports Network recognizes the top players in the Shore Conference over the past seven days and gives the readers a chance to vote for the top performers.

This week's group is listed based on an extended time frame between Oct. 14 and Oct. 23 to include the last three rounds of the Shore Conference Tournament, as well as the other regular-season games throughout the Shore. The eight candidates this week include standouts from the SCT as well as regular season games in which division titles were on the line.

Read about each of the top performers and vote for your favorite. Vote once per hour through the Monday deadline at 10 p.m. The top vote-getter will win a $25 gift card to Surf Taco.

Tyler Guagenty, Manasquan

The Warriors made it all the way to the SCT championship for the first time in program history and participated in the first ever championship-game shootout in falling to Freehold Township in Wednesday night’s final. It was the third straight round of penalty kicks Manasquan played in and in each of the final two, Guagenty helped the Warriors get there with a beautiful goal. After burying a 28-yarder to open the scoring against CBA in the semifinals, Guagenty nailed a 20-yard volley to give Manasquan a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute against Freehold Township.

Logan Johnson, Pinelands

Last week, Pinelands clinched its third straight Class B South championship with a 2-1 win over Manchester in what was, essentially, a Class B South championship game. Johnson scored what proved to be the game-winner – the fourth goal of the season for the converted goalkeeper. Johnson was the sophomore starter in goal for the 2017 championship team, was replaced by current starter Gavin Harris during the middle of 2018 and emerged as a scoring threat as a senior this year.

Kevin Kiernan, Southern

Southern came up just short of reaching the SCT seminal round for the first time in nearly 30 years and a goal by Kiernan put Southern on the doorstep of the semis. With his team trailing Manasquan, 1-0, with under 30 seconds to go, Kiernan slipped to the front of the goal and knocked in a point-blank shot to tie send the quarterfinal match into overtime. Southern would go on to lose on penalties, 8-7.

Eryck Lazo, Long Branch

Long Branch was eliminated from the Shore Conference Tournament in the round of 16 but still picked up a huge, mid-week win on Oct. 17. Lazo led a 3-1 win over Marlboro by scoring two goals and assisting the other as the Green Wave denied the Mustangs a chance at the outright Class A North championship while keeping open the possibility of a share of the A North title for Long Branch.

Zach Orrico, Freehold Township

Orrico led the way in two of the final three wins for the newly-crowned Shore Conference Tournament champions. In a 2-1 win over Wall in the SCT quarterfinals, Orrico scored the first goal and assisted the game-winner by junior classmate Joe Lardaro. After another classmate, Adam Havens, scored the golden goal to send Freehold Township to the final with a win over Colts Neck, Orrico was an unstoppable force in the championship game, scoring the first goal of the game in the 38th minute and converting the tying penalty kick in the 74th before also converting his kick in the shootout round.

Ben Schnaak, Jackson Memorial

After an All-Shore junior season, Schnaak has fought through a hamstring injury to get back on the field for his team this season. Last week, the senior defender battled the quarterfinal classic against CBA and converted the second of Jackson Memorial’s two penalty kicks in the last five minutes to tie the game. Schnaak’s conversion served as the tying goal with 1:42 left on the clock.

David Tuschmann, Colts Neck

Colts Neck reached the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time in 18 years and Tuschmann scored the goal that sent them there. The sophomore has emerged as the Cougars’ top scoring forward and lived up to that reputation when he headed in a goal late in the second half of Colts Neck’s 1-0 win over No. 16 Toms River South in the SCT quarterfinals.

Chris Vollrath, CBA

Vollrath has been an effective scorer off the bench over the past two seasons and his efforts in the SCT quarterfinals helped CBA advance to the semifinals by surviving penalty kicks at Jackson Memorial. Prior to Jackson tying the game in the final five minutes, CBA scored twice from the 70^th minute on and Vollrath was involved in both. He assisted the game’s first goal by junior Shane Borenius and added one of his own off a rebound to give the Colts a 2-0 lead in the 75th.

Honorable Mention: Joe Weinstein, Manasquan; Dylan Jacobs, Colts Neck; Simon Cardenas, Manasquan; Adam Havens, Freehold Twp.; Ken Franke, Barnegat; Mike Steinberg, Marlboro; Matt White, Barnegat; Mike Cyphers, Lacey; Connor Smith, Raritan; Gianni Smith, Central; Aidan Tisony, Ocean; Dane Bodziak, Toms River East; Zack Meyer, Brick; Shane Kluxen, Toms River South; Mark Walier, Holmdel; Gavin Klamm, Matawan; Marcelo Colonna; Ryan Leonard, Matawan; Owen Edwards, Manchester; Ryan Karr, Red Bank; Erik Christie, Red Bank; Brian Miranda, Ocean; Vasco Pereira, Toms River East; Ryan Kuldanek, Monmouth; Josh Boyan, Point Beach