Two-Headed Beast: Toms River East Reaches First Shore Conference Semifinal Since 2008

MARLBORO — Monday’s performance by the Toms River East boys soccer team was a layered effort at Marlboro High School in pursuit of a long-awaited Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal victory, but it ultimately came down to timely headers — one at an unlikely spot on the field and another from an unlikely player.

Junior defender Brady Gillen prevented a goal with his head in the early minutes and senior Malcolm Smith headed in the game-winning goal early in the second half to give Toms River East two key head-balls that proved to be the difference in a 2-1 win over Marlboro that sends the 10th-seeded Raiders to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2008.

Gillen’s header to prevent a shot by Marlboro senior Nick Hramyka from hitting the back of the net in the fourth minute made sure Toms River North would not play from behind and Smith’s header of Gillen’s long throw-in broke a tie that lasted 2:57 of the game clock. For the rest of the match, Toms River East disrupted Marlboro’s possession game and by the time the Mustangs could muster a cohesive attack during the final stages of the second half, the Raiders were ready to defend the goal.

“We were pretty down for those two minutes right after giving up the goal,” Smith said. “The second we settled back in, it was a wrap from there. We took back control of the game. We kind of lost in in the last ten minutes of the game, but we stood tall and finished it out.”

In the opening minutes, Marlboro looked ready to jam in a goal to get out on the front foot. Toms River East sophomore goalkeeper Connor Minelli stopped a shot by Marlboro junior Adhvaith Madineni, but that pulled him out of the goal as the ball rolled to Hramyka at the top of the 18-yard box. The senior struck a shot on target toward the upper part of the goal and Gillen elevated for a header that hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced away from the goal.

Gillen’s background in basketball and baseball has fed his special skill of heaving long throw-ins, but those basketball skills also showed on his elevation for the goal-saving header. Gillen is a two-year varsity starter on the Raiders basketball team and was the leading scorer in each of his first two seasons.

“He is a point guard on the basketball court, so he sees everything,” Toms River East coach Mike Konopka said of Gillen. “He not only knows where he is supposed to be, but he knows where the other backs are supposed to be. On a basketball court, you have to process those things quickly because the game is quick. Soccer is quick, but it’s not as quick, so I think that really helps him. Plus, he is just an athlete and a competitor.”

From there, Toms River East grabbed control of the play and turned the swing in momentum into a goal before the midway point of the first half. Junior outside back Jose Sanchez launched a pass up the right flank for senior Ayden Salazar, who touched the ball into the 18-yard box and smashed a shot to the upper-near corner of the goal for a 1-0 Raiders lead in the 18th minute.

“They took it to us for the first ten or fifteen minutes,” Konopka said of Marlboro. “Once we settled in, the intent was always to press them. They are a very good team, well-coached, disciplined and they’re technical. They can move the ball really well. We wanted to try to limit the amount of time they had on the ball and limit the amount of space they had in front of them. We weren’t able to do that for a full eighty minutes, but I think we did it for the majority of the game.”

Minelli finished his first half with a save in the final two minutes and gave way to classmate Mike Peck — the other half of Toms River East’s goalkeeper tandem. Exactly five minutes into the second half, Marlboro capitalized on a ball the slipped from Peck’s grasp, with Hramyka pouncing on it and buring it from 10 yards out on the right side of the 18-yard box for a 1-1 tie.

Within three minutes, Toms River East had its lead back. Gillen bombarded the box throughout the game with his long throw-ins and in the 48th minute, his long throw-in found an unlikely head. Smith, who stands 5-foot-5, elevated over the Marlboro defense to head in the go-ahead goal that put Toms River East ahead for good, 2-1.

“I saw it and I wanted it,” Smith said. “I came in today thinking, ‘If I see it, I’m scoring.’ Being short, you can kind of sneak around (the defender). They don’t usually see me coming, which is the best part. I just duck in and I jump for the ball.

 

“With Brady, we have a corner kick everywhere inside the 50 (yard-line),” Smith said. “It’s amazing, but we still have to get hungry in the box, we still have to win the ball. We have been designing some plays out of it. It’s a lot to deal with.”

Malcolm Smith heads in a Brady Gillen throw-in and Toms River East goes right back in front of Marlboro 2-1. 32 left. https://t.co/UcFrJHkCLp

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) October 19, 2026

“Malcolm has spent a lot of time in my classroom and I’m super proud of him,” Konopka said. “He has come such a long way as a person, as soccer player, as an athlete, as a leader, as a captain. For him to get that goal, I am very, very happy for him. He put a lot of time into the season and he deserves it.”

Over the final 15 minutes, Marlboro mounted a push for the tying goal and its closest call to landing one was a stolen ball in the Toms River East third by junior Phillip Rusznica who then blasted a one-on-one shot against Peck that sailed over the bar.

None of Toms River East’s players were born the last time the Raiders played in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals in October of 2008, but there are some historical connections to that year. The team that beat Toms River East to get to the championship game? Marlboro, on penalty kicks.

Gillen and his sophomore brother, Jack, also have ties to the 2008 team through their father, Ted. After standout playing careers at Toms River East, Penn State University and later for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer, Gillen was the head boys soccer coach at Toms River East and guided the Raiders to the SCT final in 2006 and back to the semifinals in 2008. Gillen is now the supervisor of athletics for the three Toms River public high schools.

This year’s Toms River East squad is hoping to do more than just return to the championship game for the first time in 20 years, which the Raiders can do by beating third-seeded Manasquan Wednesday at Memorial Field in Neptune. The current Raiders are hoping to make history as the first Boys Soccer Shore Conference Tournament championship team ever at Toms River East.

“They have an opportunity to do something special,” Konopka said. “It’s not going to be easy. There are a bunch of great teams in front of us, but I think we can compete with anybody on any given day.”

“With this group this year, we are best friends and that translates onto the field,” Smith said. “I think this is our year. I think we can take it home. I know we are, actually. This is our year.”