Group of teenage soccer players and coaches posing on a night field, with a trophy in the center.

East Mode: Toms River East Boys Soccer Ends 41-Year Title Drought

Matt Manley|November 14, 2026|Last Updated November 14, 2026

TOMS RIVER — The goal Toms River East conceded in Saturday’s NJSIAA South Jersey Group III championship game against Absegami was the kind of goal that can swing the momentum for the next 40 minutes of a game. In this particular case, Absegami struck a blow in the title game that had the potential to be the goal that defined a historic season for the Braves.

Instead, Toms River East made sure one mistake to cap one substandard half of soccer would not undo all the work the Raiders have collectively put in over the season and several preceding ones toward winning the program’s first sectional title in more than four decades.

After conceding an equalizer in the final 30 seconds of a shaky first half, top-seeded Toms River East brought its A-game in the second and turned away third-seeded Absegami, 3-1, to capture its first sectional championship since 1985.

“We had some tough moments the last couple of years losing before the championship game,” Toms River East coach Mike Konopka said. “Those losses, they build character. I can’t be more proud of the boys. They set this goal and for 15, 16 and 17-year-old kids to have such a lofty goal and to do the things you need to do to accomplish the goal — all the ups and downs of a season — I’m almost speechless. They faced a lot of adversity and still found a way to accomplish their goal.”

 

Junior Brady Gillen and sophomores Jack Gillen and Nico Pedalino each produced a goal and an assist in the win, with Pedalino getting the scoring started in the first half, Jack Gillen delivering the go-ahead goal and Brady Gillen providing the exclamation point in Toms River East’s first tournament championship win in 41 years.

Brady and Jack’s father, Ted Gillen, was a senior on the last sectional championship team at Toms River East and was also the head coach of the Raiders before stepping down after the 2011 season to become an administrator in Toms River. Ted Gillen, who played in Major League Soccer and with the U.S. National Team, is currently the Supervisor of Athletics for the entire Toms River School District.

“We had this expectation coming into the year, as you can see on our sign,” Brady Gillen said, referencing the lawn sign with stated team goals that has become a tradition at Toms River East. “To get it passed down from another member of the Gillen family is great. My dad is really happy for us and he has been with us this whole season. For me and Jack, he has been coaching us ever since we put a ball on our feet and we came out and we did it, man. It’s a great feeling.”

Toms River East absorbed an early flurry from Absegami, which took the first six shots of the game. The tide began to shift in the 25th and after Absegami goalkeeper Josh Jerome made a double-save to turn the Raiders away in the 27th minute, Pedalino broke through two minutes later.

 

Brady Gillen initiated the goal with a long throw-in that bounced in the box after two opposing players took one another out. Pedalino beat his man to the ball and slammed it past Jerome for a 1-0 Toms River East leadThe Raiders were on the verge of heading to halftime with a 1-0 lead when Braves senior Adrian Custodio broke loose at the goal, then missed a one-on-one chance against Toms River East sophomore goalkeeper Connor Minelli with a shot that skipped wide of the right post. veJust when it appeared the Raiders would escape the half with the lead, Absegami earned a free kick from 30 yards out and Custodio made up for his breakway miss by heading in senior Steven Deviney service into the box.

The assist was the 25 of the season for Stiveny and the goal breathed new life into Absegami, which outshot Toms River East, 8-3, in the first half.

“They are dynamic and dangerous,” Konopka said of Absegami. “I watched their first-round game against Deptford. They were down, 3-1, and they scored three goals in seven-and-a-half minutes to win the game in regulation. Even at five minutes left, I was holding my breath.”

 

“It’s kind of like Ted Lasso: goldfish memory,” Brady Gillen said. “We just have to put it behind, keep playing, keep the ball out of the back of our net, which we have been doing all year.”

Any momentum Absegami might have gained from the tying goal disolved during the 10-minute halftime, during which Toms River East coach Mike Konopka motivated his team by evoking last year’s season-ending loss at home to Delsea on penalty kicks in the South Jersey Group IV semifinals. Toms River East lost in the semifinal round in each of the last two state tournaments.

“It really wasn’t a tactic change at halftime,” Konopka said. “It was more of a gut check. I reminded them: ‘Boys, remember last year? It was the same moment. Delsea was walking off, celebrating on our field. Remember how that felt.’ And they did.”

“It gave us more hunger,” Jack Gillen said. “We knew that this could be the last game for the seniors. They really gave it all they had and we just didn’t want to go out like that and came out hot.”

 

Toms River East limited Absegami’s second-half chances by controlling the ball and just past the midway point of the half, the Raiders turned that possession into the go-ahead goal. Pedalino gathered the ball on the left side of the field and passed it through a collection of defenders into the middle of the 18-yard box. Jack Gillen was in position for the pass and after settling the ball, he blasted a shot to the upper left corner of the goal to give Toms River East a 2-1 lead in the 60th minute.

“The ball came in weird,” Jack Gillen said. “It was kind of unexpected, but I just took a touch passed the defender and I knew I had a good look so I just took it.”

Just under five minutes later, Jack Gillen served a corner kick to the near-right post and Brady Gillen elevated over a defeder to head in the insurance goal for a 3-1 lead.

 

The Gillen brothers were a force throughout the South Jersey portion of the Group III Tournament, with each scoring four goals in the four games and the two combining for five assists — two for Brady and three for Jack. With his 17th assist of the season Saturday, Brady Gillen set a new program assist record for a single season.

“Me and my brother have a good connection,” Jack Gillen said. “We get along really well, especially on the field.”

“Ever since we were young together, basically since he could walk, we have been competing in everything,” Brady Gillen said of the relationship with his brother. “We would never want to lose to each other. Being around him every day, I have always known he was going to come out and compete, give us his best and give us all of his effort.”

Pedalino, meanwhile, gave Toms River East a second sophomore to make an impact along with Jack Gillen as the Raiders look to not only finish off a state-championship run in 2027, but also set themselves up for more championships in the years to come.

“Me and Nico have been playing together since we were five on TRFC,” Jack Gillen said. “We have always had a good connection and have always been playing together, so it’s cool for us to both score in this type of game.”

While the underclassmen carried the scoring, Toms River East’s seniors set the tone throughout the season. Midfielder Sam Los and striker Ayden Salazar are also among the top scorers on the team, while Nick DiMeola and Drew Pereira have been key contributors on the back line, and Malcolm Smith is an emotional leader who set the tone for this season by stating the team’s goals to Konopka.

The Raiders have also drawn inspiration from senior midfielder Evan Capetta, who was one of the team’s top players in 2025 but has missed nearly all of the 2026 season due to injury.

“This is a special senior group,” Konopka said. “Malcolm Smith came into my classroom in June and said, ‘We are going to win a state championship.’ He was the first one to say it out loud and that’s been the expectation every since. All those guys have shown tremendous leadership and losing Evan, guys didn’t let it become an excuse. They could have hung their heads, but everyone was ready to battle through adversity.”

Toms River East fulfilled the loftiest goal on its list of goals with Saturday’s win and now, the Raiders will go for the icing on the cake: an overall Group III championship. The 1985 team went on to win the overall Group IV title and if this year’s team is to fully replicate that run, it will have to beat Central Jersey champion Northern Burlington on the road Wednesday in the sectional semifinals.

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