Boys Soccer NJSIAA Tournament Preview: The Shore in Group 1
Over the last three years, the Shore Regional boys soccer team has given the Shore Conference a presence in the NJSIAA Group I Tournament that the conference did not have while the Blue Devils were playing in Central Jersey Group II. Before Shore returned to the section to win the 2022 Central Jersey Group I title and the overall 2023 Group I championship, Asbury Park’s 2016 championship was the Shore Conference’s lone sectional title since Shore won the 2014 Central Group I crown. Prior to Shore’s 2023 overall victory in Group I, the Shore Conference had not won an overall Group I championship since Colts Neck in 2000.
There are only three other teams in Group I along with Shore this season and while more than one of them could survive the first round, all have found postseason success elusive in recent years. Asbury Park reached back-to-back sectional finals in 2016 and 2017 but its only winning season since 2017 was an 8-5 campaign in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Point Beach, meanwhile, is in search of its first sectional title since 2011 and has made it past the sectional quarterfinals just once since then — a 2022 loss to Shore in the Central Group II semifinals.
New Egypt is in just its second year as a member of the Shore Conference, but has NJSIAA Tournament success in its history. The Warriors won a Central Jersey Group I championship in 2013, which is also the last season that no team from the Shore Conference did not win a sectional championship.
Central Jersey Group I
Shore Teams in the Field: No. 4 Shore, No. 9 Point Pleasant Beach, No. 12 Asbury Park
Top Seed: Manville
Defending Champion: No. 15 David Brearley
Favorite: Shore. After spending a stint playing in Central Jersey Group II, Shore Regional moved back to Group I and has collected a pair of sectional championships and an overall Group I championship in 2023. Last year’s title defense met a surprise end when Brearley – the team Shore beat in the 2023 Group I championship game – upended the Blue Devils in the sectional quarterfinals and Shore is back with an experienced roster and Brearley on the opposite side of the bracket as a No. 15 seed. More than likely, it will be No. 2 Delaware Valley – another team that just dropped to Group I from Group II and is hoping to turn that into the same kind of success.
Dark Horse: Asbury Park. The Blue Bishops have not landed the big win yet this season, but they have been in every game on the scoreboard except a 3-0 loss to Shore Regional in the Shore Conference Coaches Cup quarterfinals. They also have a 0-0 draw vs. Toms River North in SCT group play, which also included losses to Toms River South and St. John Vianney on late game-winning goals. Nine years after winning the Central Jersey Group I championship, Asbury Park has again played itself into position as a sectional contender in Central Group I, although this year, the Blue Bishops will have to make the run on the road and would have to get by Shore to reach the sectional semifinals.
Bracket Breakdown: Teams that play schedules loaded with top seeds from higher groups enter the Group I Tournament with an edge over the more traditional Group I teams, which is what makes both Shore and Delaware Valley difficult opponents in this bracket. Meanwhile, Manville will try to take advantage of playing on its home field, while No. 6 Bound Brook will try to recreate its performance in a win over Group II contender Robbinsville to open the year. The Middlesex County trio of No. 3 Dunellen, No. 5 Middlesex and No. 10 Metuchen are on the next tier of teams contending for a spot in the final.
Then, there is Point Beach. The Garnet Gulls have two difference-making scorers in Brody Powers and Dylan Ryan and have been gearing up for the state tournament since opening day. Point Beach did not enter the Shore Conference Tournament but made noise in the Coaches Cup by knocking off Wall to reach the tournament semifinals. The No. 9 seed is not an easy draw, but Point Beach is ready for a shot at Manville if the Garnet Gulls can get by Roselle Park in round one. Manville knocked Point Beach out in the first round a year ago, so the Garnet Gulls can earn a shot at revenge with a win at Roselle Park on Tuesday.
Prediction: Shore over Delaware Valley. The Blue Devils hit a slump heading into last year’s tournament and could not fight their way out. This year, they again lost in the Shore Coaches’ Cup final for a third straight season, but have since rebounded with a win over Long Branch to make it six wins in the last seven games. All of Shore’s losses this season are to teams have been ranked in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10 (Colts Neck, Middletown South, Freehold Township, Manasquan, Rumson-Fair Haven, Toms River North) and the Blue Devils own noteworthy wins over Ocean, Brick and Point Boro. While other teams in the section have faced their share of challenges as well, none have done so as often and with as much success as Shore has.
South Jersey Group I
Shore Teams in the Field: No. 15 New Egypt
Top Seed: Haddon Twp.
Defending Champion: Haddon Twp.
Favorite: Haddon Twp. In addition to being the No. 1 seed and defending champion, the Hawks are another Group I program with the résumé of a good Group II team. Their only losses are to the top three seeds in South Jersey Group II (No. 1 Lindenwold, No. 2 West Deptford and No. 3 Sterling), No. 2 in Central Jersey Group II (Cinnaminson) and the No. 8 seed in South Jersey Group III (Mainland). Haddon Twp. also has wins over Lindenwold, West Deptford and Sterling, as well as two over Haddonfield and one each over Delran, Collingswood and Haddon Heights. The slate is wiped clean in November, but no team in South Jersey Group I is as tested as the Hawks.
Dark Horse: No. 13 Palmyra. The Panthers are a dark horse by seed only, because their recent tournament performance says they are a title contender. Since 2021, Palmyra has never failed to reach the sectional semifinals, which includes three trips to the sectional finals out of those four seasons. Haddon Township has eliminated Palmyra in three of the last five state tournaments, but the Panthers did win a sectional title in 2023 before losing to Shore Regional in the Group II semifinal. This year’s team has played some hefty competition but has fallen short of the big win to this point, which includes a 3-2 loss to No. 2 Schalick in early October.
New Egypt is the lone team carrying the Shore Conference flag in South Jersey Group I and the Warriors will have a tall task in the form of a road game at Schalick in round one. They have challenged themselves throughout the season with games against, Manalapan, Point Boro, Brick, Long Branch, Shore, Ranney and Asbury Park, and even though all of those were losses, the Warriors gave themselves a chance to figure out how to approach a similar matchup.
Bracket Breakdown: South Jersey Group I is jammed with proud programs, most of which play one another during the season. Schalick, No. 3 Audubon, No. 4 Woodstown, No. 5 Pitman and No. 6 Riverside have all played one another with varying degrees of success and Riverside even has a win over Central Jersey Group II No. 1 seed Bordentown. That familiarity is usually a key ingredient for an unpredictable tournament, especially with a No. 13 seed like Palmyra as part of the picture.
Prediction: Haddon Twp. over Schalick. The intrigue in this bracket will be Palmyra taking on the likes of Woodstown, Pitman and, potentially Haddon Township before the final, plus Riverside trying to break up a Schalick-Audubon collision course for the semifinal. The top-three seeds all look poised to reach the final four, while Palmyra should be a real threat to not only make the semifinal, but give Haddon Twp. a good game.
