Up Off the Mat: Matawan Boys Soccer Tops RBC, Continues Hot Start
ABERDEEN TWP. — One of Nicco Romero’s earliest memories of varsity soccer was his Matawan boys soccer team going scoreless in seven of its first eight games of the season and opening the 2024 season with nine straight losses.
Two years later, Romero is a senior captain for a Huskies team that has yet to lose through five games in 2026 and their most consequential win of the new season came on Wednesday.
Wearing the captain’s band for the first time, Romero scored two goals and facilitated another while leading Matawan to a 3-1 win over Red Bank Catholic in a showdown between two Shore Conference Class B Central division teams that entered the match without a loss in 2026.
“It feels good to lead a team that’s so passionate about playing,” Romero said. “It feels good to be winning. It’s the first time since 2019 since we started 2-0 and I can’t wait to see what we do with this team and how we finish out the season.”
Romero’s captain status was the result of a pair of injury-related absences of two of his senior teammates, striker Ryan Hart and central defender Anthony Atardi. Romero wore the band for the game and took control of the action early in creating Matawan’s first goal in the 11th minute.
“It’s tough missing those guys, they are both great leaders and great players,” Romero said. “Last season, there was a big drop-off when we had substitutes coming on and off. This season, it seems like, the level stays up there. It’s been great to see we have have been a well-rounded team.”
In the 11th, Romero played a combination with senior Kevin Soares to produce a clear path to the goal and was tripped from behind inside the penalty box. After the referee awarded the penalty kick, Romero stepped to the penalty spot and drove a shot to the lower left of the goal for a 1-0 Huskies lead.
Matawan maintained its 1-0 through the remainder of the half and added to it in the 50th minute. Romero beat a defender up the right flank and centered the ball to senior Petros Mahrous, who moved it along to Gjino on the left side of the 18-yard box. Gjino ripped a low strike inside the near post for a 2-0 Huskies lead.
Red Bank Catholic cut its deficit in half when senior Colin Gaines headed in a corner kick by junior Leo Asfendis in the 64th minute. Matawan held off RBC’s push to equalize and Romero supplied an insurance goal by taking a throw-in from sophomore Freddie Ronda, beating multiple defenders into the right side of the box and skipping a shot into the far left side of the goal.
Final: Matawan 3, RBC 1
Nicco Romero scored 2 goals and was involved in the sequence that started the other. Matawan improves to 4-0-1 by handing RBC its first loss of 2026. pic.twitter.com/LC8vUaExbf
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) September 16, 2026
“We have a very well-rounded midfield and attack,” Romero said. “We have a couple talented sophomores stepping up and our seniors are obviously key as well. Two years ago, when I was a sophomore, we started with seven games scoring zero goals. It’s a big jump to see how many goals we’re scoring now.”
Both Matawan and RBC were coming off positive results vs. out-of-division opponents with winning pedigree and sought to carry the momentum into Wednesday’s pivotal division game. Matawan earned a 1-1 draw vs. Wall on Monday while Red Bank Catholic took down Long Branch, 3-2, on Saturday.
Through five games this season, Romero leads Matawan in both goals (eight) and assists (three) and Wednesday was his fourth brace in five games. He did not score in the 1-1 draw vs. Wall but he did assist a goal by Gjino, who has scored three goals after he scored again vs. RBC.
Matawan’s hot start to 2026 comes a year after the Huskies went 7-14 with a junior-heavy team and finished fourth in the Class B North division with a 3-3 record. This season — the third under current head coach Will Carl — the Huskies moved into Class B Central, giving them an easier division schedule that offers an opportunity for Matawan to win its first division championship since sharing the 2016 Class A Central title with Raritan. At 3-0 within the division, the Huskies still have remaining Class B Central match-ups with Neptune (4-2, 3-0), Monmouth Regional (4-1, 2-1) and Keyport (0-6, 0-4).
Beyond the division, Matawan will have more opportunities to make a statement, especially in the Shore Conference Tournament group stage. The Huskies are part of one of the most balanced pods in the SCT group stage and will play Freehold Township, Southern Regional, Holmdel and Jackson in hopes of earning on the three tournament berths available within the group. A year ago, Matawan failed to qualify for the SCT, but gave tournament favorite Christian Brothers Academy a scare during the group stage before ultimately losing to the Colts, 5-3, with CBA scored three unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes.
“Obviously, playing the lighter teams is going to be better for us if we’re getting better results,” Romero said. “We do have some tough games on our scheduled, though. The Wall game was a really good game. We have Jackson coming up this weekend and we’re hoping to keep our winning streak going, which will be a good challenge.”
