Rubber Match: Middletown South, CBA Battle for Spot in Shore Soccer Final

Boys Soccer Shore Conference Tournament Semifinals

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025

At Memorial Field, Summerfield School, Neptune

 

No. 1 Christian Brothers Academy (13-1-4) vs. No. 4 Middletown South (10-3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Although its run of three straight Shore Conference Tournament championships came to an end last season, CBA has been the standard for Shore Conference boys soccer over the last decade and the Colts are on track to reclaim their status as the Shore’s top team by season’s end.

While the players on Middletown South respect CBA’s talent and accomplishments, the Eagles have been one team that has consistently shown no fear against the Colts over the years. In the past two meetings between the two schools separated by four miles, the game as gone down to the wire with each team earning a result in their favor.

Two years ago, with several of this year’s seniors playing a role, Middletown South stunned CBA, 2-1, to end CBA’s 20-game winning streak vs. the Shore at a time when the Colts had gone unbeaten in 58 of 59 matches vs. Shore Conference opponents dating back to 2019 – a stretch that also included a 2019 tie between the two local rivals.

Middletown South again had a chance to hand the Colts another loss last season when the two sides clashed in Shore Conference Tournament group play. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead into the final minute before CBA pulled even on a penalty kick with 45 seconds to go and won it on a corner kick early in the first overtime.

Last year’s loss will serve as motivation for Middletown South, just as CBA’s loss to Middletown South the year before helped the Colts dig deep and pull out last year’s victory.

“Two years ago to break up their undefeated season and last year, they beat us in the final minutes,” Middletown South senior defender Denery said. “It’s always a good game against CBA, so we’re excited about it.”

So Fresh and So Clean

Middletown South is preparing to play in its first Shore Conference Tournament semifinal in 13 years while pursuing its first trip to the SCT championship game since 2003 – the only appearance Middletown South has ever made in a boys SCT final.

“We have been working towards this every single year I have been here,” Denery said. “From sophomore year losing in the first round, to junior year in the first round, to reaching this far as a senior, it means the world.”

The Eagles are in this position thanks to a goal-prevention unit that has done just that: prevent goals. Middletown South enters Thursday night with a streak of six straight shutouts and since a 4-2 loss to Manasquan on Sept. 12, the Eagles have not allowed more than one goal in any of their 10 games.

Three defenders and goalkeeper Carson Perry were starters a year ago, when CBA rallied to beat the Eagles in overtime. Denery, fellow senior Ryan Kapler and junior Brody Illingworth have been mainstays on the back line for Middletown South, but the Eagles’ penchant for clean sheets comes from more than just their defenders and Perry in net.

“Our motto is ‘Win our (fifty-fifty balls) and win the rest of the game,’” Denery said. “Win every 50, and the other team won’t have the ball. As long as we do that, there is not really any way for a team to beat us. That’s really what high school soccer is all about. Max effort, as long as possible.”

Middletown South also has a collection of attacking players that are experienced playing against CBA’s midfield and back line. Seniors Matteo Gallina, Jack Cohen, Mason Petke and Gian Luca Zito have all been key contributors over the past two seasons, while junior Connor Saul has emerged as one of the Shore’s top scorers this season after cutting his teeth at the varsity level a year ago. Saul leads the team with 11 goals, including all three during the SCT.

“Scoring early has been kind of like a safety net and allowed us to really focus on defending,” Saul said. “We’ve had so many shutouts, so it has been great to give them time to rest and focus. At the end of the day, the team that works the hardest and who wants it the most wins the game. At the end, everyone is tired, so it’s the team that keeps working and puts their body on the line that wins.”

The one common thread between Middletown South’s 2023 team and this year’s group that was not part of the picture in 2024 is senior Luke Strada. After playing in the MLS Next program as a junior, Strada returned to his high school team this season and has helped push Middletown South from a competitive team to a serious contender for a tournament championship.

Back on the Attack

CBA nearly won a fourth straight Shore Conference Tournament championship last year despite lacking a No. 1 goal-scoring threat. By the numbers, the Colts hardly had a secondary goal-scoring threat, instead relying on their considerable depth, athleticism, possession ability and defense to win games in 2024.

Those attributes are still present on some level this season, but scoring has been much less of an issue this season for CBA thanks to the progression of two returning players and the midseason arrival of another.

Senior James Brady has seized the opportunity as CBA’s top target up top, posting 14 goals and six assists heading into Wednesday’s semifinal. He scored a goal and assisted another in each of CBA’s two 3-0 wins during the SCT – one against No. 17 Point Pleasant Boro and the other against No. 9 Toms River East. With three multi-goal games on the season – including one hat trick – Brady has been more of a steady contributor than a bulk scorer.

“I think we have learned we’re not a bunch of individuals who can play soccer; we’re a team,” Brady said. “We’ve been bonding all season and it’s looking better and better.”

The other emergent star offensive player for CBA is sophomore Joe Guastella, who is second on CBA with five goals and first with eight assists. He assisted two goals – including one by Brady – and scored another in the Colts’ 3-2 win over Colts Neck in late September that proved the difference in CBA winning its sixth straight Class A North championship.

After starting the season as a transfer who was not eligible for the first 30 days of the season, junior John Little has carved out a role as a big-goal scorer for CBA. A lacrosse standout who moved back to Monmouth County from Indiana for his junior year, Little’s four goals have all come in Shore Conference Tournament play: two in a 3-2 overtime win at Toms River East that clinched first place in the group, then one each against Point Boro and Toms River East in actual tournament play.

CBA’s defense has not had to carry the team this season, but remains strong thanks to returning defenders Finn McCarthy and Charlie Messano, plus returning starter Devon Cale. McCarthy has controlled the middle of the CBA defensive third, while Messano is back on the outside as a standout marking back who can also create dangerous pushing forward. Cale, meanwhile, was a forward last season and the emergence of Brady and Guastella has allowed him to shift back and make his mark as a defender.

Junior Brady LePore has been a revelation in goal since winning the starting job prior to the season. As is the case in most years, he does not face a lot of shots playing behind a field group that holds the ball for most of the game, but he has come through in several key moments for the Colts.

It all adds up to a CBA team that wants to meet the lofty expectations set by teams of the past, which are responsible for a record 13 Shore Conference Tournament titles.

“As soon as the (2024) season ended, our juniors got together and started preparing for this year,” Brady said. “It’s been one game at a time, really focusing on the next game to make sure we get back to that stage in the Shore Conference final so we can do what we didn’t do last year.”

Prediction

CBA has yet to lose to a Shore Conference opponent this season – a résumé that includes a tie vs. Manalapan and a win over Colts Neck. Its closest call was the overtime win over Toms River East, which the Colts trailed, 2-1, in the second half before a late equalizer and a golden goal. There was also a 5-3 win over Matawan in which CBA needed three goals in the final 21 minutes to turn a 3-2 deficit into a narrow win against a Huskies team that currently stands at 5-12.

Middletown South’s ability to keep teams off the scoreboard will be tested Wednesday night against a team that will challenge the Eagles’ prowess on 50-50 balls and can keep the ball away from them as well. Monday’s win over Marlboro was a good test for Middletown South and after withstanding about 40 minutes of pressure protecting a 1-0 lead, the Eagles closed the game strong.

Historically, CBA does not lose in the semifinals. Since 1990, CBA has not officially lost a semifinal game and has only been eliminated via penalty kicks, which last happened against Manasquan in 2019. That is a daunting trend for Middletown South, but the Eagles are rarely phased when it comes to playing against a CBA team on some kind of long winning streak. The Colts are absolutely the favorite and I have been burned many times picking against CBA late in the SCT, but if there is a team capable of pulling off a stunner, it’s a Middletown South team with a star player in Strada, a standout defender in Denery and a group of players who have a proven track record standing up to the CBA machine.

The Pick: Middletown South, 2-1

 

 

Quarterfinal Picks Record: 3-1

Overall Picks Record: 14-6