2025 Girls Soccer Shore Conference Tournament Groups

The Shore Conference Tournament in soccer will be a World-Cup-style event for the third straight year in 2025 and it is now time to reveal the group alignment for next fall’s festivities. Some details about seeding after group play is concluded will be ironed out at the end of the summer, but there are a few more changes to the tournament already in place for the upcoming season.

The most noteworthy change at this point is that every Shore Conference team was given the chance to opt out of the SCT, which was not the case in each of the first two years of the current format. On the girls side of the tournament, six teams opted out of the 2025 tournament: Asbury Park, Donovan Catholic, Keyport, Lakewood, Monmouth Regional, New Egypt.

That leaves a 39-team field that will this year be split into eight groups — down from nine in 2024 and 11 in 2023. Seven of the groups will have five teams and one will have only four, with the top three finishers in each group qualifying for the tournament stage of the Shore Conference Tournament and the remaining teams entered into the Shore Conference Coaches Cup.

With eight groups and three qualifiers from each group, 24 teams will reach the 2025 Shore Conference Tournament. That will make awarding first-round byes a much cleaner process in 2025 compared to last two years. In 2023, one of the 11 group winners was forced to play a first-round game and in 2024, only five of the nine group winners — selected at random — were awarded first-round byes. This coming fall, all eight group winners will earn a first-round bye and the 16 other teams will be paired up for competition in the first round.

Once again, power points over the last two seasons were the basis for organizing the groups. The top eight teams by power points in 2023 and 2024 were drawn at random and assigned to their eight groups. The next eight teams (Nos. 9 through 16) were then drawn at random and assigned to groups, then again for the 17-to-24, 25-to-32 and 33-to-39 ranges of teams.

Without further ado, here are the 2025 Girls Soccer Shore Conference Tournament groups.

Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Red Bank Catholic	Manalapan	Freehold Twp.	Middletown South
Lacey	Jackson Memorial	St. John Vianney	Toms River South
Point Beach	Toms River East	Shore	Colts Neck
St. Rose	Raritan	Southern	Holmdel
	Ranney	Brick	Jackson Liberty
Group 5	Group 6	Group 7	Group 8
Central	Wall	Howell	Point Boro
Manasquan	Brick Memorial	Trinity Hall	Rumson-Fair Haven
Ocean	Marlboro	Middletown North	Toms River North
Red Bank	Manchester	Barnegat	Freehold Boro
Neptune	Pinelands	Long Branch	Matawan

Here is a quick synopsis of each of the eight SCT groups. Keep in mind, while we can project what rosters will look like come September, transfers, injuries and incoming freshmen can impact the landscape.

Group 1

Red Bank Catholic will be the favorites in Group 1, which is the only Group with four teams instead of five. The Caseys were upset by Brick Memorial last season in the final game of the SCT Group play. RBC lost to Point Boro, which made it to the finals, during the tournament in the second round. The Caseys are scheduled to bring back majority of their starting lineup including All-Shore forward Paige Foye, who finished the season with the season with 16 goals. RBC also returns two All-Freshmen players in Lexi Sinatra and Grace Pauwels. The only position at which RBC will have new players next season is on the defensive side of the field. Seniors Tess Beams and Isabelle Melilli graduate after both made All-Shore teams in their high school careers.

Lacey and Point Beach will be the favorites to advance into the SCT as wild cards. Both teams will be in similar situations graduating important pieces. Lacey went undefeated in the group games last year and advanced into the semifinal, where they lost to eventual champion Freehold Township. Lacey will need to replace the scoring they lost with the graduation of Natalie McGovern, Reece Paget and Mackenzie Brotherston who are all playing in Division I next season. Point Beach will need to replace three starting defenders and goalie Mackenzie Highland. Junior Baileigh Johnson and sophomore Katie Kirchner were two of the Garnet Gulls leading scorers, with Johnson scoring 20 goals for the second straight season.

Group 2

The top spot in Group 2 could be a toss-up between Manalapan and Jackson Memorial. Jackson Memorial won Central Jersey Group 3 with a young roster that had only three seniors. One position that they need to replace is in goal, with All-Shore goalkeeper Gianna Berkley graduating. She was a big reason the Jaguars went on the postseason run last year.

After graduating a strong class in 2024, Manalapan regrouped quickly and advanced into the finals of Central Jersey Group 4. The Braves return every player from last season’s roster, which might make them slight favorites to win the group and earn a bye. Junior Daniella Butash and sophomore Kayla Sasso make for a dangerous attack for Manalapan.

Toms River East shocked the Shore Conference with its upset over Manalapan on opening day and should secure its spot in the SCT with a wild card berth. The Raiders had a strong freshman class, but graduated key players, including All-Shore First-Team defender Grace Crowley. If a player can step into the leadership role that Crowley had, the Raiders can pull off an upset or two next season.

Group 3

Freehold Township has won three out of four Shore Conference Tournaments and is the defending champion. It will not be an easy task, but the Patriots are the favorites to win their group. They will need to replace the scoring of Gaby Parker, who finished with 26 of the team’s 51 goals last season. Freehold Township will also need to replace Ashley Moore in goal. She has been the starter since her freshman season and has played a crucial part in the Patriots success over the last four seasons.

St. John Vianney earned a bye last year in the first round of the SCT after defeating Manalapan on the last day of group play. SJV will graduate several starters, but return Freshman of the Year Kennedy Wallace. Every season, the Lancers do a good job of replacing the players who graduate and next season should be no different.

Group 4

Two familiar foes meet again in Group 4 next season. Toms River South defeated Middletown South last season to win the group in what was considered an upset. Middletown South is set to bring back a ton of talent and will be the favorites next fall. Rutgers commit Bea Tinoco missed time at the end of the regular season and the start of the SCT, but when she returned in the state tournament she continued where she left off. The Eagles also return two players who made the All-Freshmen Team this season: Riley Kaper finished with 9 goals and 9 assists and Julianna Fiore posted 10 shutouts in goal.

Toms River South shocked the Shore Conference when the Indians defeated Middletown South in the last SCT group game. TRS had a blend of seniors and underclassmen this year, but will graduate a couple players who have made an impact the last couple of seasons. Last season, the Indians had 17 different goal-scorers and six players had three or more goals. Daniella Gordon, who made the All-Freshmen Team, led the team with 7 goals and will look to build on that next year.

Group 5

Central was another team that graduated a lot of talent in 2024, but had players step into bigger roles this season and flourish. The Golden Eagles did not win their group last year, falling to Rumson in the final game. They won their SCT opening-round game in a shootout against Trinity Hall but lost to Lacey in the second round. With only three seniors on the roster this season, Central fell just short of becoming back-to-back South Jersey Group 4 champions, losing to Eastern in a shootout. Central returns All-Shore midfielder Leah DiCillo, who finished with 13 goals and 9 assists, and All-Freshman selection Cali Fecak.

Manasquan also graduated several starters in 2024, but had a strong season with a young roster. The Warriors went 4-0 in SCT group play but lost in a shootout to Marlboro in the opening round. Manasquan brings back a young team that gained a lot of experience from playing in Class A North last season. They had three freshmen score four or more goals last season and return leading scorer Jordyn Hollawell. Manasquan will need to replace goalkeeper Gia Restivo, who will be graduating.

Ocean will be the favorites to earn the second wild card spot. Last season, the Spartans lost their first two SCT Group games last season, but won 7-3 in the final game to qualify. The Spartans ended up shocking the Shore Conference by beating Toms River East, 1-0, in the opening round with a goal in the final 15 seconds. They followed that with a win in the second round in a shootout. Ocean graduates several key pieces on both sides of the field, but return Mia Fiorentino, who has 25 goals in her first two seasons.

Group 6

Wall was one of the best teams in the Shore Conference last season, but will graduate a good amount of talent. Wall finished second in its SCT group last season due to tie-breaker rules. In the first round, the Crimson Knights matched up against Middletown South in a battle of the top two ranked teams in the Shore. Wall will need to find scoring to replace All-Shore players Sam Brett and Erynn Richey, who had a total of 21 goals and 19 assists last season. Wall does return several key players, including All-Shore forward Megan Farrell, who finished with 13 goals last season. With the talent returning, Wall will be the favorites to win Group 6.

Brick Memorial and Marlboro should be the favorites to win the wild card spots next season. Brick Memorial will go through their third straight season of graduating talented players and will need players who did not see that many minutes last season to step up into bigger roles.  Marlboro returns All-Shore goalie Jordyn Bauer and second-leading scorer Samantha Arntz. Marlboro’s underclassmen saw significant minutes that will help them next year.

Group 7

Trinity Hall qualified for the SCT without winning a game in group play. The Monarchs dropped their first game and tied their next three to get into the SCT. In the SCT, they lost to Central in a shootout after playing 100 minutes to a 0-0 tie. Trinity Hall brings back all but three players and its underclassmen have gained a lot of experience the last two seasons while playing significant minutes. Trinity Hall should also receive a boost next season with goalkeeper Emily Venezia returning from an injury that prematurely ended her 2024 season. With all the experience returning, the Monarchs will be the favorites to win Group 7.

Howell is a team you can never count out. Every season, the Rebels graduate important pieces and every season, someone new steps up. Next season will be no different with the the graduation of six seniors who played important roles in Howell’s back-to-back trips to the SCT final.

The third wild card will be a battle between Middletown North and Barnegat. Barnegat had a young team this season that all saw significant playing time and gained valuable experience. Middletown North had a mix of seniors and underclassmen, but return leading scorer Sofia Chaknis, who finished with 11 goals and 11 assists.

Group 8

The last group looks like a toss-up for the top spot. Point Boro reached the SCT final this past fall and went on to win Group 2, but will also graduate several All-Shore players and Player of the Year Abby Hanneman. The Panthers used a mixture of seniors and underclassmen on the field and do have Maddie Renna returning after making the All-Freshman team. One of the biggest losses for the Panthers is Monmouth commit Ava Bjorndahl, who played four years in goal for Point Boro. The Panthers also need to replace Gabby Mellett, who was one of the best center backs in the Shore Conference.

Rumson also graduates a good portion of its roster. The Bulldogs need to replace three of their top four goal-scorers, who combined for 28 goals. Rumson does return All-Shore forward Jordyn Sullivan, who led the team with 16 goals last season. Junior Ella Curran posted 10 shutouts in goal in her first season as the starter.