2026 Boys Soccer Shore Conference Tournament Semifinal Preview, Predictions

2026 Shore Conference Tournament Semifinals

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026

At Memorial Field, Summerfield Elementary School, Neptune

 

No. 9 Christian Brothers Academy (14-4-1)  vs. No. 12 Colts Neck (11-6), 4 p.m.

Coming off a hat trick vs. Asbury Park on Sept. 28, Colts Neck senior Sean Moore was one goal away from breaking the all-time Shore Conference goals record, and he wanted his record-breaking goal to come in his team’s next game: a road showdown with CBA. The host team had other ideas, as the Colts held Moore and his team without a goal and scored twice in the last 15 minutes to beat the Cougars, 2-0.

Moore went on to score his record-breaking goal two days later and now has 104 goals and 46 assists for his career, and 24 and 16 this season. He has been a force during the Shore Conference Tournament, posting seven goals and four assists in three games to lead the Cougars to their third straight trip to the SCT semifinals.

The Cougars are out to avenge an earlier loss to CBA just as CBA avenged a September loss to Manalapan in Monday’s SCT quarterfinal. Wednesday will mark the fourth straight rematch for CBA in the SCT: the Colts beat both Red Bank and Middletown South for a second time this season before going back to the location of the 4-3, overtime loss to Manalapan and flipped the script with a 1-0 win that not only registered as a win but was a statement of a clean sheet against a high-pressure attack.

Just as it did for Manalapan’s potent attack, CBA’s defense had an answer for Moore in the regular-season win over Colts Neck, but could be facing a different look from the Cougars. Since Moore broke the goals record, he has played more in the middle of the formation than usual as the central attacking midfielder. That has opened the game up for other scoring contributors, which could force CBA into some dilemmas. Of course, Colts Neck will have to be on its game to deal with CBA’s possession and band of forwards led by senior Justin Arias, who scored two goals vs. Colts Neck earlier this season.

CBA hopes to break a brief, two-year dry spell without an SCT championship, which began with a loss to Colts Neck in the 2024 championship game. Colts Neck, meanwhile, can become the first public school team to reach three straight SCT finals since Toms River North from 2003 to 2005 and will follow the lead of an all-time leading scorer who has scored in each of Colts Neck’s last two semifinal games. Moore makes it three years in a row with a goal, but is it enough for a young Cougars team to overcome CBA? Perhaps, but CBA enters with the edge in depth, balance, and defense.

The Pick: CBA, 3-2

 

No. 3 Manasquan (13-2-1) vs. No. 10 Toms River East (15-1), 6:30 p.m.

While game one of Wednesday’s double-header features two teams that have both played in the past two semifinals (CBA has played in the last seven), game two will feature two programs that have waited a while to return. Manasquan last reached the SCT semifinals in 2019, when the Warriors went on a shootout hot streak that carried them all the way to the Shore Conference Tournament final, when the penalty-kick magic finally ran out in a loss to Freehold Township. That Manasquan team was seeded No. 15 while this one is the best seed remaining in one of the more wide-open Shore Conference Tournaments in recent memory.

Toms River East’s wait between semifinal appearances is a full decade-and-change longer than Manasquan’s. The Raiders last played in the semifinals in 2008, following a trip to the championship game two years earlier that ended in a loss to Manalapan. Toms River East has played in four SCT championship games without winning one, and this year’s group has reason to believe it will be the one to finally break through.

And believe they do. At 15-1, Toms River East is tied for the most wins in the conference and has reeled off 10 straight wins since suffering their first and only loss of the season. During the SCT, Toms River East has been successful in taking its opponents out of their game with high pressure and by keeping the ball on the sidelines. Yes, the Brady Gillen throw-ins are lethal, but Sam Los, Ayden Salazar, and Jack Gillen lead a deep group on the attack that can score in the run of play as well.

Manasquan has not made it easy to score in open play or otherwise, and Freehold Township could not do so in 100 minutes after scoring 23 goals in its previous five games. The Warriors have been especially tough on their home pitch, and while getting them away from their home field should help Toms River East, Manasquan has also been effective in just about every setting as long as the field is not grass. Manasquan owns road wins over Ocean, Wall, Middletown South and Shore and is 6-0 with three shutouts and three goals allowed in its road turf games this season.

The two teams in semifinal No. 2 share some similarities, with Manasquan boasting an athletic, physical roster that doesn’t really have a soft spot. Junior Noah Matuch has left some goals on the table this season, but he creates more chances than the average striker with his speed, size, and loud right foot. Senior Luke Byrne is having a terrific season, and the list of supporting scorers and well-rounded defenders goes deeper than that of most teams. Both teams have their strengths to lead on in the game, but Manasquan just doesn’t have a glaring weakness, and the Warriors, not unlike Toms River East, have proven they like the big-game atmosphere, no matter the venue. Like almost every game in the final three rounds of the tournament, this is a pick ’em, and we’ve got to pick somebody.

The Pick: Manasquan, 2-1

 

SCT Quarterfinal Picks Record: 1-3

SCT Overall Picks Record: 17-3