2023 Shore Sports Network Boys Soccer All-Shore Team: 1st Team

Shore Sports Network All-Shore Team

Teams selected by Shore Sports Network Soccer Editor Matt Manley based on stats, coaches input, first and second-hand accounts. For the coaches' choices, click here.

First Team

Forwards

Nick Turturro, Jr., Howell

2023 Stats: 15 goals, 7 assists

During his sophomore season in 2022, Turturro broke out with 12 goals for a loaded Howell team that reached the Shore Conference Tournament championship game for the first time in 15 years. This fall, the Rebels junior once again led Howell to the SCT final, Shore Conference Class A North public division championship and No. 2 ranking in the Shore Conference. This year, the Rebels took it a step further by making it to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV championship game after losing on penalty kicks in last year’s semifinal round.

The four 2022 All-Shore players that graduated in the spring of 2023 made for a high degree of difficulty, but Turturro living up to expectations was a tone-setter for Howell. He scored nine goals in Howell’s eight tournament games and 11 in 11 if you count the group stage of the Shore Conference Tournament. Of his four two-goal games, three of them were either in the SCT or Central Group IV Playoffs and during the latter, Turturro recorded either a goal or an assist in all four of Howell’s state-tournament games. With one more year left in his high-school career, Turturro will have a reasonable chance at 50 career goals and – more importantly – to push Howell over the hump in the program’s pursuit of its first Shore Conference Tournament title since 2007 and first Central Group IV title since 1988.

Dylan Millevoi, Sr., Christian Brothers Academy

2023 Stats: 13 goals, 3 assists

One year after tying for the team lead with 11 goals, Millevoi led the Shore’s No. 1 team in goals for the second straight year with a career-high 13, while also claiming the Colts team lead in total scoring with 29 points. Millevoi started the season in style, scoring the game-winning goal in the final two minutes to give CBA a 1-0 win over Marlboro – the opening statement for a Colts team that went on to win a third straight Shore Conference Tournament title and reach the Non-Public A championship game for the eighth time in the last nine tournaments. Prior to this season, CBA had never won three consecutive SCT championships.

The opening-day goal was not the last time Millevoi burned Marlboro and it wasn’t even the most backbreaking goal the Colts senior scored against the Mustangs in 2023. Millevoi had his biggest moment of 2023 in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, during which CBA fell behind the Mustangs, 1-0, early in the second half. CBA leveled the game on a crafty finish by Millevoi 10 minutes after Marlboro jumped in front and in the 13th minute of overtime, Millevoi headed in the golden goal to complete his second and final multi-goal game of the season. That game marked the only time CBA trailed during the postseason until its state-final loss to Seton Hall and without Millevoi’s heroics, the 2023 season would not have been nearly as decorated for the Colts.

Joey Kurak, Sr., Manchester

2023 Stats: 28 goals, 6 assists

Not only did Kurak lead the Shore Conference in scoring in his final season; he also broke the single-season goal-scoring record at Manchester, scoring 28 of the Hawks’ 47 goals during the fall. Kurak’s record-setting season was not a stat-padding effort on a sub-par team, either. The Hawks star scored at least one goal in 16 of his team’s 20 games during an 11-9 season in which Manchester won a share of the Shore Conference Class B South championship for the first time since 2002.

The only teams that held Kurak without at least one goal or assist for an entire game were Lacey, Howell and Holmdel. Howell and Holmdel were both top-five-ranked teams that committed attention to Kurak and one those games by a single goal, while Lacey hammered Manchester, 5-0, in divisional play only to fall victim to two goals by Kurak in a 2-0 Manchester win over the Lions in the Shore Conference Coaches Cup semifinals. Kurak scored one of his two hat tricks in a divisional win over Point Pleasant Boro that effectively put Manchester on track to win its share of the Class B South championship.

Josiah Stepney, Jr., Middletown North

2023 Stats: 16 goals, 8 assists

While Stepney was Middletown North’s most dangerous attacker by the end of his sophomore season in 2022, he was still searching for the consistency required of a top scorer and All-Shore performer. In 2023, Stepney stepped up and became what his team expected him to become, and then some. He was one of only seven players in the Shore Conference to record 40 or more points (two points for a goal, one for an assist) and the only player from the ultra-competitive Class A North to reach the mark. He also led all A North players with 16 goals, edging Turturro for the division lead.

Stepney’s scoring prowess helped Middletown North follow up last year’s run to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinal with an even better overall season at 12-6. Stepney scored in division wins over Manalapan and Middletown South and also assisted the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Marlboro. He also scored one of the 12 goals allowed all season by Toms River North, scored on Toms River East junior and top Ocean County goalkeeper Bobby Calvo in a 1-0, SCT quarterfinal win and put up two goals in a first-round win over Westampton Tech in the Central Group III Playoffs. With Stepney due back in 2024, Middletown North will have a chance to build upon two straight trips to the SCT semifinals while taking aim at moving up the pecking order Class A North and in Group III.

Midfield

Stepan Kapranov, Jr., Holmdel

2023 Stats: 21 goals, 12 assists

Kapranov burst onto the N.J. soccer scene in 2022 as the Shore Conference’s most dynamic newcomer, earning a spot on the All-Shore First Team and leading Holmdel to its first NJSIAA Central Group II championship in four years. The junior-season follow-up saw Kapranov score even more despite moving from striker to center midfield – a move that worked out nicely for his team. Kapranov was one of five players in the Shore Conference to score at least 20 goals and his 54 points were tied for second in the conference behind Kurak. Holmdel, meanwhile, won its second straight Central Group II championship.

Kapranov set an early tone to his season by scoring a total of eight goals in consecutive games – including a five-goal outburst in a head-to-head battle with Kurak that ended with Holmdel defeating Manchester, 7-2. The Hornets had to settle for participating in the Shore Conference Coaches Cup and steamrolled their way to a title thanks to Kapranov’s dominant performance: five goals and five assists in four games, with at least one goal in each win. That carried over to the NJSIAA Tournament, during which Kapranov assisted the game-winning goal by Frankie Brusco in the sectional final vs. Manasquan and scored two magnificent goals in a 4-2 loss to Delran in the Group II semifinals.

You can read more about Kapranov's season in his 2023 Shore Sports Network Player of the Year profile.

Lawrence Mancino, Sr., Christian Brothers Academy

2023 Stats: 6 goals, 7 assists

Along with Dylan Millevoi, Mancino was one of two seniors on this year��s CBA team in the starting XI on three consecutive Shore Conference Tournament championships team – a feat that no other CBA team prior to this year could claim. In his first two seasons of high school soccer, Mancino played his natural outside back position and was especially dangerous a season ago, when he scored four goals and assisted four others while playing out of the back. This season, CBA coach Tom Mulligan tasked Mancino with moving up to midfield in order to get his best player more involved in the game.

Mancino responded by controlling the game in the air in match after match while also carrying on the lineage of CBA’s adept defensive center midfielders. His scoring did increase overall, with Mancino scoring regular-season goals against Group II runner-up Delran and Shore Sports Network No. 4 Middletown North. Mancino went more than a month without a goal, but broke the drought in the most dramatic fashion possible: with a golden-goal header to give CBA a 1-0 win over Pingry in the South Jersey Non-Public A championship game. With that win, Mancino earned he and his teammates a spot in the Non-Public A final for a third straight year, cementing a CBA legacy of playing for championships throughout his three-year varsity career.

David Weiner, Sr., Holmdel

2023 Stats: 8 goals, 10 assists

Like his teammate, Kapranov, Weiner is a First-Team All-Shore selection for a second straight season and the two Holmdel standouts are the only players to repeat the honor in 2023. Weiner also played in the Holmdel midfield and while his scoring ability and offensive creativity were often instrumental in setting the course for Holmdel, Weiner’s leadership, work-rate and versatility were equally important for Holmdel throughout the season. When the Hornets needed help on the back line during the NJSIAA Tournament, Weiner slid to center back and stabilized the Hornets defense during their run to the Central Group II title.

For immeasurable value, Weiner also helped deliver key goals in key moments as well. He scored four of his eight goals against Wall, which included a hat trick in a 5-4 regular-season win and a game-winning penalty kick in the 75^th minute of the Hornets Central Group II semifinal win over the Crimson Knights. Weiner also elevated his game against Class A Central rival Rumson-Fair Haven, against whom Weiner tallied one goal and three assists in two games – including one goal and two assists in a man-of-the-match-level performance in the Coaches Cup final.

Tye Maser, Jr., Howell

2023 Stats: 8 goals, 6 assists

Howell graduated four seniors who were recognized as All-Shore players by Shore Sports Network in 2022, which was a significant reason for Howell’s emergence as the No. 2 team in the Shore Conference. A less obvious reason – at least until this season – was Howell’s talented group of sophomores, which took their collective game to the next level as juniors this fall. Maser was a starting outside back on the 2022 team and was tasked with replacing First-Team All-Shore center midfielder J.P. Candella. With a combination of skill and physical play, Maser delivered on solidifying Howell’s new-look midfield as the Rebels repeated as the No. 2 team in the Shore Conference.

Seven of Maser’s eight goals this season came vs. teams that spent multiple weeks in the SSN Shore 16 rankings and the other goal came in a first-round win over Northern Burlington in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament. Maser scored twice in a win over Ocean that sent Howell to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinal, then assisted a goal in the Rebels’ 2-1 win over Toms River North in the semifinal round. In his final game of the year, Maser’s individual effort to win a 50-50 ball, beat a defender and center a pinpoint pass gave Howell an equalizer at Princeton in a game that went off the rails for Howell in the second half against the eventual Group IV champion. With Maser and seven other juniors due back as seniors with significant playing experience as juniors, Howell will be again be a force to be reckoned with in the Shore Conference.

Defense

Christian DeOliveira, Sr., Christian Brothers Academy

2023 Stats: 6 goals, 1 assist

CBA finished the boys soccer season as the No. 1 team in the Shore Conference for the fourth year in a row and in the last two seasons, the Colts’ success was all about the defense. During its run to the 2022 Non-Public A championship, CBA did not allow a goal in four consecutive state-tournament wins and carried that airtight defense into this year as well. With Mancino moving into the midfield of CBA’s formation, that left DeOliveira as the lone returning starter on the CBA back line and all the senior did was lead a defense that finished third in the Shore Conference in goals allowed per game (0.68) while playing one of the state’s more challenging schedules.

As the leader of CBA’s defense, DeOliveira has strong All-Shore credentials. The Colts posted five consecutive postseason shutouts that spanned the final two rounds of the Shore Conference Tournament and all three of CBA’s Tournament victories. The state-tournament wins came with no-margin for error as CBA beat St. Joseph of Metuchen, 1-0, St. Augustine on penalties after a 0-0 draw, and Pingry in overtime, 1-0. DeOliveira was also a major offensive threat with his six goals, one of which came against a Toms River North team that gave up only 12 all year. DeOliveira scored two goals during the Shore Conference Tournament and assisted one of CBA’s two goals in the SCT championship win over Howell.

Luke Montanile, Sr., Toms River North

2023 Stats: 5 goals, 2 assists

Although two years removed from reaching the Shore Conference Tournament final and winning the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV championship, Toms River North had a roster limited in championship experience since so much of that 2021 team was comprised of seniors. Montanile was one of the few exceptions and was the only player on this year’s team to have scored a goal on the 2021 team.

That standing made him a natural leader for a defense that allowed 12 goals in 19 matches this season and led the Shore Conference with 0.5 goals allowed per game heading into the Mariners’ South Jersey Group IV final at Washington Township. Playing outside back, Montanile also factored into the attack more than most defenders and scored against noteworthy competition. He scored in two of Toms River North’s four losses: once in a 3-2 loss to Southern in which he finished an equalizer late in the first half and later in the final five minutes of a 2-1 loss to Howell in the SCT semifinals. Montanile also scored in key A South wins over Toms River East and Central, helping the Mariners win the Class A North title for the fourth straight year.

Brent Romano, Sr., Howell

2023 Stats: 1 goal, 2 assists

Howell senior Brent Romano (right) battles Toms River North senior Kosta Papanikolas for the ball. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

While Howell’s junior class stole the show on the attack for most of the season, the Rebels would have accomplished a fraction of what they actually did if not for the contributions of the senior class. Like his teammate Tye Maser, Romano was a returning starter from 2022, but returning with heightened responsibilities. With the graduation of SSN All-Shore First-Team center back R.J. Eckelman, Howell needed leadership in the back and Romano delivered.

Howell’s defense allowed more than one goal in a game five times this season – two of them were wins over Manalapan and Manasquan and the other three were against top-five teams in the state: CBA (twice) and Princeton. Senior goalkeeper Patrick Martin emerged as a steady presence in his first season as a starter and Romano’s efforts captaining the defense helped his classmate acclimate. On the offensive side, Romano scored his lone goal in a 2-1 win over Middletown North that clinched Howell its second consecutive Class A North public division championship. Howell will have its best chance to win a tournament championship next season and the efforts of Romano and his fellow seniors have carried the Rebels to the doorstep of a title.

Ryan Barnao, Jr., Middletown North

2023 Stats: 4 goals, 1 assist

Barnao was, at best, a part-time player for much of the season but made his presence felt for the Lions at the most important point of the season. He scored his first two goals of the season in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament to help the Lions dump Monmouth Regional, then scored two more in the next round to carry Middletown North to a 2-1 win over No. 6 Southern Regional. Those were Barnao’s four goals on the season and they all came during the opening rounds of the Lions’ second straight run to the SCT semifinals.

During Barnao’s uninterrupted finish to the season as a starter, Middletown North’s defense allowed only 0.71 goals per game after giving up 1.18 prior. In the regular-season meeting with CBA, Middletown North gave up three goals to the Shore’s No. 1 team, but with Barnao in the back for the rematch in the SCT semifinals, the Lions held the Colts to one goal in a 1-0 loss. While the Lions will be set back more by graduation next year than they were this season, Middletown North will bring back Barnao and Stepney to lead what should be one of the Shore’s most talented teams in 2024.

Goalkeeper

Miles Gallagher, Sr., Christian Brothers Academy

2023 Stats: 11 shutouts, 15 goals allowed

Through the championship game of the Shore Conference Tournament, Gallagher had turned in a solid season that required little of him when it came to actually saving shots on goal – at least compared to the average high school goalkeeper. He was, however, an experienced, vocal leader behind a CBA defensive unit that had allowed only 12 goals prior to the start of the NJSIAA Tournament and had just pitched two shutouts in the final two rounds of the SCT.

In the NJSIAA Tournament, however, Gallagher was CBA’s MVP. The senior goalkeeper stood on his head to keep both St. Augustine and Pingry off the board in consecutive rounds, including making two saves during a 4-2 shootout win over St. Augustine that sent the Colts to the South Non-Public A final. When Rutgers commit Eddie Krupski scored for Seton Hall Prep in the eighth minute of the Non-Public A championship game, it ended a scoreless run of 504 minutes for Gallagher and the CBA defense during the most crucial stretch of the season. Gallagher graduates as a two-time All-Shore goalkeeper and leaves CBA with a First-Team selection to cap a decorated two-year varsity career with the Colts.

Continue to the 2023 Boys Soccer All-Shore Second and Third Teams