#image_title

Toms River East Adds Class A South Title to Perfect Start in Boys Soccer

Matt Manley|September 25, 2025|Last Updated October 15, 2025

Senior goalkeeper Mike Moore and his Toms River East boys soccer teammates set out this season to prove that they were better than people expected them to be – a group that includes those very players themselves.

On Monday night, in front of a lively crowd that showed up to watch the Raiders take on a crosstown rival, Moore and his team ended a championship drought while extending the longest winning streak in the Shore Conference in 2025.

Toms River East produced a pair of second-half goals Tuesday and Moore helped nail down the third clean sheet of his team’s season in a 2-0 win over Toms River North that sealed the Raiders’ second Shore Conference Class A South championship in four years and first outright division title since 2011.

After another 2-0 win on Thursday – against Barnegat in the Shore Conference Tournament group-stage play – Toms River East is a Shore-best 9-0.

Senior Aiden Reis put his stamp on the division-clinching game by finishing one goal and drawing the foul that led to the other. Reis – the team’s leading scoring with seven goals and three assists – gathered a pass from junior Malcolm Smith running up the right flank and chipped the ball over oncoming Toms River North junior goalkeeper Gavin Stryker to break the scoreless deadlock in the 57th minute.

“We had doubts along the way, especially about who was going to score goals,” Moore said. “Aiden Reis has stepped up big time. It’s good knowing that these guys are going to score goals for me every game.”

Toms River East grew used to 1-0 victories in 2024, when the Raiders won five times by that score and led the Shore Conference in goals allowed per game. Moore was part of that effort, with the junior mostly playing the second halves of games while splitting time in goal with 2025 graduate and All-Shore goalkeeper Bobby Calvo. Moore also played the full 100 minutes in goal during a 0-0 draw against Westfield during the 2024 regular season.

This year, however, Moore and the Raiders defense have not needed to be perfect. Toms River East has scored multiple goals in seven of its eight games, including three or more in six of them. The attack is averaging 3.12 goals per game despite graduating its top three scorers from 2024 and moving one of its top returning scorers – senior Aiden Corapi – to center fullback.

“Coach (Mike Konopka) drilled into us exactly what he wants us to do, and it shows,” Moore said. “If you watch our goals, on almost all of them, it’s a ball down the line, send it back through (the middle) and a tap in at the net. It’s working really well, and I think it’s because everyone is doing their job.”

For the second time this season on Monday, Moore had to protect the zero on his score sheet and did so with a quick-reaction save in the 63rd minute on a point-blank shot by Mariners senior Christian Wagner. That was one of five saves in the game by Moore in his third shutout of the season.

“I just believe in my guys,” Moore said. “We just fight for each other every game and when it’s my time to make a save or get us out of trouble, I want to be there for my team.”

Corapi was a key cog in giving Moore and his defense some breathing room in the final minutes. The senior center back played the ball through the middle of the field and Reis tracked it down before Stryker could get there and was tripped up inside the box.

Junior Samuel Los stepped to the spot and drilled a shot off the bottom of the crossbar and over the end line for a 2-0 Toms River East lead with 3:57 left in the game. Los’s goal was his sixth of the year, which temporarily matched Reis for the team lead before Reis scored again in Wednesday’s win at Barnegat.

Toms River East shared the 2022 Class A South championship with Toms River North, which entered the season with five consecutive Class A South championships on its résumé. Toms River East is the first team other than Toms River North to finish first in A South since Jackson Memorial in 2019.

“We’re so proud of it,” Moore said. “Everything we worked for all summer, all preseason – it has all paid off.”

Winning the Class A South championship is the first of six items on Toms River East’s list of stated goals, which the Raiders players carry with them on a yard sign. The last on that list is to beat both Toms River North and Toms River South – a goal that is now halfway complete after Tuesday’s win. Toms River East is scheduled to play Toms River South in a regular-season meeting on Tuesday at home.

Toms River East carries their 2025 goals on a yard sign. (Photo: Matt Manley) - Toms River East Soccer

Toms River East carries their 2025 goals on a yard sign. (Photo: Matt Manley)

The second and fifth items on that list of goals go hand-in-hand as well. The Raiders are aiming to finish in first place in their Shore Conference Tournament group, which includes perennial championship contender Christian Brothers Academy. Item No. 5 on the list is to go undefeated at home, so when CBA visits Toms River East on Oct. 6 with first place in SCT Group 3 likely on the line, Toms River East can check off one more goal while taking a huge step toward another.

After losing a 1-0 heart-breaker to Moorestown in last year’s NJSIAA South Jersey Group III semifinal, Toms River East also has its sights set on the state tournament down the road. Goal No. 3 is to earn a top-four seed in South Jersey Group III and so far, the Raiders are on track to do that and then some. Toms River East is currently the top seed in the section, with the cutoff for seeding on Oct. 25.

“All these guys wanted to be back here,” Moore said. “It felt like everyone doubted us, and we took it personally. That’s what we’re riding right now.”

If Toms River East can hold onto the No. 1 seed, it will set itself up to accomplish the biggest goal on its list: to make it back to the sectional semifinal and earn a trip to the sectional final.

With a 9-0 record, Moore and his teammates might have to adjust their list and think even bigger. The only other Shore Conference team with a perfect record through Sept. 24 is defending SCT champion Colts Neck.

“I think if you ask any of us, nobody thought we would be undefeated this long,” Moore said. “Being here feels great, and there’s still a lot to play for.”

Related Articles