Boys Soccer NJSIAA South Group 3 Preview: Absegami at Toms River East

Boys Soccer NJSIAA Sectional Finals

South Jersey Group III Championship

Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026

No. 3 Absegami at No. 1 Toms River East, 5 p.m.

 

Absegami (19-3)

Head Coach: Alexis Mendoza
Last Sectional Championship: None
Last Sectional Final Appearance: 2012 (South Group IV)

Road to the Final

First Round: Defeated No. 14 Deptford, 4-3. Senior Adrian Custodio scored two goals and the Braves dodged a first-round upset thanks to a three-goal second half. Junior Owen Torres also contributed a goal and an assist in the win.

Quarterfinals: Defeated No. 5 Ocean City, 4-2. For the second straight game, Absegami scored three goals in the second half, this time to a erase a 2-1 halftime deficit and upend Ocean City. Custodio, senior Mario Gomez, Torres and freshman Mayron Moreira all scored and freshman Eliam Santos dealt out two assists.

Semifinals: Defeated No. 7 Mainland, 1-0. Santos ran down a through-ball from Custodio, blew past a defender and slipped the winning goal inside the near post in the 76th minute to send Absegami to its first sectional final in 14 years.

 

Players to Watch

Adrian Custodio, Sr., Forward (18 goals, 4 assists)

Eliam Santos, Fr., Forward (12 goals, 14 assists)

Owen Torres, Jr., Midfield (13 goals, 3 assists)

Marvin Martinez, Sr., Midfield (13 goals, 7 assists)

Steven Deviney, Sr., Midfield (4 goals, 24 assists)

Mayron Moreira, Fr., Forward (12 goals, 6 assists)

Nelson Pereira-Hernandez, Sr., Defense

Homer Figueroa-Avilez, Sr., Defense (1 goal, 3 assists)

Josh Jerome, Jr., Goalkeeper (7 shutouts, 25 goals allowed)

 

 

Toms River East (18-4)

Head Coach: Mike Konopka
Last Sectional Championship: 1985 (South Group IV)
Last Sectional Final Appearance: 2011 (South Group IV)

Road to the Final

First Round: Defeated No. 16 Cherry Hill West, 3-0. Junior Brady Gillen scored two goals off passes from sophomore brother, Jack Gillen, and the Raiders won their state-tournament opener via shutout. Senior Sam Los opened the scoring at the midway point of the first half and Brady Gillen added one more goal before halftime.

Quarterfinals: Defeated No. 8 Timber Creek, 2-0. Brady and Jack Gillen each scored a first-half goal and sophomore goalkeeper Connor Minelli posted another shutout to push Toms River East into the sectional semifinal round for the third straight year.

Semifinals: Defeated No. 5 Shawnee, 3-1. Senior Ayden Salazar got Toms River East on the board before halftime and Jack Gillen scored two goals 37 seconds apart in the final five minutes to ice the semifinal win. Brady Gillen’s assist on Jack Gillen’s first goal was his 16th of the season, tying a single-season program record. Shawnee’s goal with 52 seconds left is the only goal the Raiders have conceded in the state tournament.

 

Players to Watch

Brady Gillen, Jr., Defense (6 goals, 16 assists)

Jack Gillen, So., Forward (14 goals, 11 assists)

Ayden Salazar, Sr., Forward (14 goals, 5 assists)

Sam Los, Sr., Midfield (10 goals, 6 assists)

Brennen Hutton, Jr., Midfield (8 goals, 6 assists)

Malcolm Smith, Sr., Midfield (5 goals, 5 assists)

Vincenzo Nasuta, Jr., Midfield (1 goal, 7 assists)

Jose Sanchez, Jr., Defense (1 goal, 1 assist)

Niko Pedalino, So., Midfield, (3 goals, 3 assists)

Nick DiMeola, Sr., Defense

Up until this season, the two roadblocks Toms River East routinely faced in recent years were positioned in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals and the NJSIAA sectional semifinals. Last season started with the expressed goal of reaching the sectional finals but ended with a home loss to Delsea in penalty kicks, leaving the Raiders one game short of a chance to play for a championship.

This season, Toms River East has set its hopes even higher and to this point, those elevated expectations have yielded elevated results. The Raiders marched into 2026 looking to reach the semifinals of the Shore Conference Tournament and to win a Group III state championship and as Saturday night approaches, Toms River East’s goals are within reach.

“The last few years, their goal has been to make it to the South Group Three semis or finals,” Toms River East coach Mike Konopka said. “This year, that sign with our list of goals says, ‘Group 3 Championship.’ They raised the bar and they have performed all year.”

It took a penalty shootout for Manasquan to knock Toms River East out of the Shore Conference Tournament final in the semifinal round and the Raiders spent the next two weeks ironing out the wrinkles that cost them a chance to play for the program’s first Shore Conference Tournament title. Those efforts have worked, as Toms River East opened the NJSIAA Tournament with 239 scoreless minutes before Shawnee scored a window-dressing goal on Wednesday to cut a 3-0 deficit to 3-1 with under a minute to play.

“We’re playing some of our best soccer at the moment,” Konopka said. “The last couple games, we have really clicking. They have been working hard and they have earned it. They have earned this opportunity and they know what it has taken to get here, so I’m really proud of them.”

In outscoring opponents, 8-1, through the first three rounds of the state playoffs, Toms River East has followed the lead of brothers Brady and Jack Gillen. The junior Brady is the team’s leader in the back and has racked up a single-season program record 16 assists thanks, in large part, to his powerful long throw-in. Jack, meanwhile, has had a breakout sophomore season as Toms River East’s leading scorer. The brothers have combined for six goals (three each) and three assists across the first three rounds, with each posting a two-goal game in the process.

To win the program’s first sectional championship since 1985, Toms River East will have to get through a team looking for its first ever title. Absegami has won 19 games for the first time since going 19-3-1 in 2012, which was also the last year in which the Braves reached a sectional championship game. Absegami has racked up 91 goals on the season with five players scoring at least 12 goals, including a pair of freshmen in Eliam Santos and Mayron Moreira. A softer schedule early in the year has something to do with those robust numbers, but Absegami’s dangerous attack has translated to success as the schedule difficulty has increased over the course of the year.

With the two Gillens, juniors Brennen Hutton, Vincenzo Nasuta, Jose Sanchez and James Schimenek and sophomores Niko Pedalino, Connor Minelli and Mike Peck, Toms River East’s window of championship contention is in no danger of shutting, but this year’s group also understands how it feels to come close to winning a title, which has already happened once this year. For the seniors – Ayden Salazar, Sam Los, Malcolm Smith, Nick DiMeola and injured midfielder Evan Capetta – the urgency is heightened and their play has reflected it.

Absegami has the skill to break through against Toms River East’s defense, but keeping the Raiders off the board will be a challenge for the attack-minded Braves. This game feels like the first to three wins and a two-goal lead will not be all that safe.

The Pick: Toms River East, 3-2