Road Lessons: CBA Soccer Rallies, Spoils Toms River North Upset Bid

TOMS RIVER — Getting the Christian Brothers Academy soccer team off its wide home pitch and onto a narrower field can have a beneficial impact for an opponent, and for the first 50 minutes of Saturday’s showdown between the Colts — ranked No. 1 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10 — and No. 8 Toms River North in Toms River, it appeared to be the recipe for a noteworthy upset.

Instead, it was a chance for the Shore’s No. 1 team to learn a few things about itself that it might not have otherwise discovered within the spacious confines of Dan Keane Field.

After falling in a two-goal hole on the road, CBA rallied with four goals during a 22-minute span of the second half, with senior Liam Wheeler scoring the go-ahead goal and classmate John Little contributing a goal and two assists that helped secure the Colts a 4-3 win over Toms River North.

CBA has not lost in any fashion to a team from Ocean County since a penalty-kick shootout loss to Toms River South in the 2017 Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, and the last time a team from Ocean County beat the Colts straight up was in the 2003 Shore Conference Tournament semifinals, which Toms River North hosted while knocking off CBA.

Those streaks were in jeopardy Saturday, when Toms River North struck first with a goal by senior Chris Ruggiero in the 13th minute and extended the lead to 2-0 in the fifth minute of the second half on a header by senior Manuele Lubrano. The Colts immediately produced a pair of free kicks after conceding the second goal, but Mariners senior goalkeeper Gavin Stryker saved one of them and the other sailed over the crossbar.

“That first goal was really eye-opening for us,” Wheeler said. “We weren’t really expecting that and the intensity they came out with. We had to focus more and really take it seriously. This wasn’t going to be one of those games we could just roll over somebody. We were going to have to fight for it. At halftime, we said, ‘Something has to change, or we are going to lose.’

 

13th minute, No. 8 Toms River North breaks through for a 1-0 lead on No. 1 CBA. Chris Ruggiero from Michael Greene on the finish. pic.twitter.com/x8AJoCpYwe

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) September 12, 2026

CBA, however, did not relent in its attack, and in the 53rd minute, the Colts finally broke the seal on the Toms River North goal. Senior Alex Alvarez — who entered Saturday on a streak of three straight games with a goal — struck a shot toward the frame that senior Matt Papagni flicked into the goal, chopping Toms River North’s lead in half.

Four-and-a-half minutes later, Little set up fellow senior Justin Arias on the right side of the 18-yard box with a cross from the end line, and Arias drilled his shot inside the near-left post to tie the game, 2-2, in the 57th minute.

In the 64th minute, CBA nearly made it three goals in 12 minutes when Stryker came off his line just before a shot was sent toward the goal, but Mariners defender Luca Symons cleared the ball off the end line to preserve the tie.

The heroic defensive play by Symons only delayed CBA’s tie-breaking celebration, which eventually came in the 70th minute. Little fired a throw-in to Wheeler on the right side of the 18-yard box, and after the senior winger warded off two defenders, he unleashed a deflected shot that made its way into the goal for the go-ahead tally with 10:51 remaining on the game clock.

 

 

Liam Wheeler works for a shot and gives CBA a 3-2 lead in the 70th minute. 3 goals in less than 17 minutes have flipped a 2-0 deficit for the Colts. pic.twitter.com/KZbmr3gZ5r

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) September 12, 2026

“We learned today that John Little’s got quite a big throw,” said Wheeler, who is a standout lacrosse player committed to Villanova. “That’s the first time we saw that. Over time, I started positioning myself for it, and in that moment, it kind of fell right to me. I wasn’t sure where I was at first, then I heard Matt (Papagni), so I had one of two choices: I could turn or get it to him. I thought it would be better to turn and take the shot, and it went in.”

Little got onto the finishing end of a goal in the 75th minute to deliver what was, at the time, an insurance goal, but proved to be the winning goal. He took a pass from senior Chase Kowalczyk, raced by a defender on the left side, and slammed a low shot inside the near post for a 4-2 lead.

 

Toms River North made the final four-plus minutes interesting thanks to a goal by senior Reiley Woodman off a deflected pass into the box by classmate Joey Nagle in the 76th minute.

Ruggiero entered play Saturday coming off a hat trick in Thursday’s win over Brick and staked Toms River North to a 1-0 lead by running onto a pass from sophomore Michael Greene and knocking it to the far-left corner of the goal at exactly 13 minutes into the match. He then started an attack that climaxed with Toms River North’s second goal, with Ruggiero playing the ball to the Woodman on the left side of the goal and Woodman crossing it to Lubrano for a head-ball finish on the far post.

CBA missed the target on four close-range opportunities in the first half following Ruggiero’s goal, and Stryker also made a save on another close-range shot to guide the Mariners to the intermission with a one-goal lead.

Since opening the season with a loss and a draw to LaSalle teams from Pennsylvania (3-1 loss) and Rhode Island (1-1 tie), CBA is 4-0 vs. four Shore Conference opponents, including a pair of wins over ranked teams this week. CBA beat No. 4 Middletown South(opens in new tab), 3-1, on Tuesday, won its Shore Conference Tournament group-play opener vs. Red Bank Regional on Thursday, and concluded the week by outlasting No. 8 Toms River North on Saturday.

“Coming off a very intense game against Middletown South, we learned to keep that same intensity,” Wheeler said. “Just because we beat Middletown South doesn’t mean the season is over. It was a great win, obviously, but we needed to take the next step, and Toms River North came to play today. Whatever team it is, it shouldn’t matter to us: we just need to play our game and keep the same intensity every time we take the field.”