2025 SSI Boys Soccer All-Freshman Honors
2025 Shore Sports Insider Boys Soccer Freshman of the Year
Connor Starr, Goalkeeper, Toms River South
With designs of a second straight Shore Conference Class B South division championship and a return to the forefront of the boys soccer scene in both Ocean County and the NJSIAA Group III Tournament, the Toms River South boys soccer team knew it would rely on a stout defense and senior leadership in 2025.
With those elements in place, coach Mike Conover entrusted two spots in the starting lineup to freshmen, including the most scrutinized position on the field.
In his first year as a high school player, Connor Starr won the starting goalkeeper job for Toms River South and not only did he do the job: he starred (pardon the pun).
Fortified by a stellar defensive back four that included fellow freshman Liam Browne, a pair of seasoned, talented seniors in Nigel Graham and Brody Robillard and a standout junior athlete in Christian Oberti, Starr was the final piece that tied together a dominant unit in the back that made Toms River South one of the hardest teams upon which to score in the entire Shore Conference.
During the 2025 season, Toms River South broke a single-season program record with 14 goals allowed over an entire season, which tied Colts Neck for both the fewest goals allowed and goals-allowed-per-game (0.64) for the season. Starr started all 22 games and accounted for all of those stats as the goalkeeper in the Indians goal-prevention effort.
Starr also finished second in the Shore Conference with 12 shutouts, trailing only Colts Neck keeper Liam Collura. The list of teams Starr blanked includes rival Toms River North, Marlboro, Brick and Ocean City – the last of which was in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III quarterfinals.
Only three teams scored more than one goal on Starr during the season. Brick Memorial beat the Indians, 3-2, in overtime in a key Class B South game in early September and Starr then went 13 straight matches without allowing more than one goal. In those 13 games, Toms River South went 10-1-2 with eight clean sheets to Starr’s credit. That streak then ended with consecutive losses to Point Pleasant Boro and Southern in games that fell between the Shore Conference and NJSIAA Tournaments.
With Starr and Browne on board for three more seasons and Oberti due back for his senior season in 2026, Toms River South has the returning core to remain a strong defensive team, with Starr aiming to author a four-year career as a starting varsity goalkeeper that is off to a brilliant start.
Toms River South freshman goalkeeper Connor Starr during the Toms River South vs Freehold Township Shore Conference Tournament game at Toms River South High School. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)
2025 SSI All-Freshman Team (With 2025 Stats)
Forwards
Tevenerri Verdieu, Neptune (6 goals, 3 assists)
Jayson Oliva, Lakewood (6 goals)
Steven Amato, Pinelands (2 goals, 2 assists)
Dylan Luby-Meier, Henry Hudson (6 goals, 4 assists)
Midfield
Oliver Rhoades, Wall (3 goals, 5 assists)
Michael King, Southern (3 goals, 1 assist)
Brayden Vissagio, Keyport (6 goals, 5 assists)
Miles Serrapica, Ranney (3 goals, 4 assists)
Defense
Leo Shatku, Colts Neck (2 goals, 1 assist)
Tristan DeRosa, Lacey (1 goal, 1 assist)
Liam Browne, Toms River South (2 assists)
Goalkeeper
Connor Starr, Toms River South (12 shutouts)
