Shore Sports Insider 2025 Girls Soccer Freshman of the Year and All-Freshman Team

Every September as the soccer season is about to start, there are incoming freshmen hoping to make varsity for their school. Coaches are looking for new faces to replace the players who have moved on to college. Every year the Shore Conference has a boat load of talent that comes in hoping to make an impact and help their school succeed. Similar to the past few seasons, this year had several freshman play at a high level. Similar to the All-Shore Teams, selecting this team was based on several key factors including impact on team success, statistics, the eye test, and input from opposing coaches.

 

Shore Sports Insider 2025 Freshman of the Year

 

Sydney Tilton, Shore Regional

 

Shore Sports Insider 2025 Freshman of the Year

 

Sydney Tilton, Shore Regional

Making a varsity team as a freshman is a lofty goal for any athlete and earning a starting spot as a freshman shows how hard a player worked in the offseason. A coach can move a player around on the field as a freshman and change their positions until they get comfortable and confident, but there is one position a player cannot hide from being in the spotlight.

Sydney Tilton came into Shore Regional replacing two senior starters who split time in the net and was named the starting goalkeeper from day one. Tilton gained more and more confidence as the season progressed and was a critical piece in the Blue Devils winning the Shore Conference Coaches Cup. From that point on, Shore began their run back to the Group 1 State Championship during which Tilton stacked together big time performances.

“I will never forget the first time I saw her, it was a pick-up type game and I saw girls take shots at her [Tilton] and the ball was getting glued to her hands,” said Shore head coach George Moutis after the Coaches Cup final. “She is a great basketball player, but she can play with her feet. We like to play out of the back, so when we get into trouble we can play the ball back to her and suck the team in. I told her she is a division 1 goalie.”

Entering the Shore Conference Coaches Cup, Shore was 6-6 with their backs against the wall. The Blue Devils finished the season with a 17-7  record as Tilton earned six shutouts during that run. She helped the Blue Devils shutout three teams in the Coaches Cup, including making six saves in the championship game in a 3-0 victory. 

Tilton elevated her play even further once the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs began. In the sectional championship game, she made six saves, ending Point Beach’s three-year streak in which the Garnet Gulls had eliminated Shore from the postseason each year.

“I can’t even explain how big this was for our team, but this is something that I have never experienced with a freshman keeper to rise to the occasion the way Sydney did in my 20 years of coaching Shore soccer,” Moutis said.  “She has taken small steps and progressed after each game, that led her to becoming the awesome keeper that she is.”

In one of Shore’s toughest games of the season, Tilton delivered what may have been her best performance—one that helped her secure the Freshman of the Year award. In the Group 1 state semifinal at Haddon Township, she made nine saves over 100 minutes of play. Tilton remained locked in throughout the back-and-forth battle, keeping the game scoreless with her focus and composure.

Once it went to penalty-kicks, Tilton shined and showed she is going to be one of the top goalkeepers in the Shore Conference over the next three seasons. She made two diving saves in the shootout to help secure the Blue Devils trip to the Group 1 final and earn her eighth shutout of the season. 

“She is so composed for a freshman and for a keeper,” Moutis said. “The one thing that always amazed me about Sydney is her calmness and confidence which plays a huge role when you’re a keeper. That is the toughest position to play on the field. She doesn’t get frazzled and that is key to keeping our team and our defense solid.”

The majority of athletes in high school do not have the chance to play for a state title, never mind make a big impact to help their team get there. Tilton shined as a freshman on Shore Regional’s run to win the Group 1 title, their first since 2021. Being named the Freshman of the Year with the talented group of forwards and midfielders in the class of 2029 puts an explanation point on her season. 

As soccer season wraps up, Tilton is shifting her focus to basketball, her primary sport. The next question is: Can she earn a second Freshman of the Year award? With her work ethic, determination, and athletic ability, it’s likely we’ll see her name among the top contenders come March.

“I do not know how she does it,” said Moutis about her playing two sports at a high level. “She has that talent. She has that god-given talent the way she plays and the confidence. She gets that ball and it’s solid in her hands.”

 

Shore Sports Insider 2025 All-Freshmen Team

 

Goalkeeper:

Sydney Tilton, Shore

 

Honorable Mention:

Casey Miranda, Red Bank

Meghan Rogers, Neptune

 

Defenders:

Ryane Greene, Trinity Hall 

Penny Foye, Red Bank Catholic (1 G, 2 A)

Sofia Rausch, Monmouth

Abby Plantamure, Middletown South (1 G)

 

Honorable Mention:

Ryann Russo, Trinity Hall

Delaney Finnegan, Middletown South

Julia Collins, Point Boro

 

Midfielders:

Mandi Guo, Freehold Boro (8 G, 14 A)

Adele Moy, Freehold Township (5 G, 2 A)

Sienna Kelly, Raritan (17 G, 12 A)

Mary Cate Leidersdorf, Ranney (16 G, 2 A)

Gemma Brett, Wall (9 G, 8 A)

 

 

Honorable Mention:

Charlie Brink, Middletown North

Mia Painchaud, Shore

 

Forwards:

 

Morgan Notaro, Freehold Township (14 G, 3 A)

Emily Coniglio, Marlboro (12 G, 5 A)

Peyton Kulka, Middletown North ( 6 G, 12 A)

Chacity Rotondella, Lacey (9 G, 11 A)

 

Honorable Mention: 

Lily Atkins, Southern

Molly Denver, Red Bank Catholic

Nina Schupak, Toms River East