Boys Soccer Shore Conference Tournament Final Preview: CBA, Manasquan Tuned Up for Rematch

2026 Boys Soccer Shore Conference Tournament Championship

Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

6:30 p.m.

At Memorial Field, Summerfield Elementary School, Neptune

 

No. 3 Manasquan vs. No. 9 Christian Brothers Academy

Teams at a Glance

Manasquan (14-2-1, 4-1-1 in Class A Central)

Head Coach: Zack Savacool
SCT Championships: None
SCT Final Appearances: 1 (2019)

Road to the Final

Round of 16: Manasquan’s attack went off for four goals in the first half on the way to a 5-2 win over No. 14 St. John Vianney. Junior Noah Maduch registered a hat trick and seniors Adam Rodricks and John Visceglia each added a goal in the win.

Quarterfinals: Manasquan’s defense shut down a scorching Freehold Township attack and senior goalkeeper Quinn Petrulla saved two shots during the penalty shootout to seal a 4-3 win on penalties after the scoreless draw.

Semifinals: For the second straight round, Manasquan needed a round of penalties to advance and for the second straight round, the Warriors came through in the most pressure-packed of tournament scenarios. Senior Luke Byrne scored two goals, the second of which gave Manasquan a 2-0 lead in the 44th minute. Toms River East rallied to tie the game by the 58th minute and the game advanced to a shootout, in which Petrulla made the only save of the round on Toms River East’s sixth shot, which nailed down the 5-4 win in the round of kicks.

Projected Starting XI

Quinn Petrulla, Sr., Goalkeeper (7 shutouts; 18 goals allowed)

Alex Lapitzki, Sr., Outside Fullback (1 goal)

Travis Levy, Jr., Center Fullback (1 assist)

Renzo Lucarelli, Jr., Center Fullback (1 goal, 1 assist)

John Visceglia, Sr., Outside Fullback (1 goal, 5 assists)

Jack Walther, Jr., Center Midfield (1 goal, 6 assists)

Adam Rodricks, Sr., Outside Midfield (5 goals)

Myles Carstens, Sr., Center Midfield (3 assists)

Luke Byrne, Sr., Center Midfield (13 goals, 2 assists)

Parker Basaman, Jr., Outside Midfield

Noah Matuch, Jr., Striker (9 goals, 7 assists)

 

Off the Bench

Maceo Manno, Sr., Midfield (5 goals, 2 assists)

Kai Lomas, Sr., Midfield (1 goal, 1 assist)

 

CBA (15-4-1, 5-1-0 in Class A North)

Head Coach: Tom Mulligan
SCT Championships: 13 (1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2021-23)
SCT Final Appearances: 16 (1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021-23, 2024)

Road to the Final

First Round: Junior Roger Macky and senior Cillian Parker each scored a goal to go with an assist while leading a 4-1 CBA win over No. 24 Red Bank Regional. Junior Romeo Guida headed in a cross from Macky for the only goal of the first half and Macky scored off a feed from Parker for CBA’s third goal, which came in the 72nd minute. Parker capped the scoring in the 73rd for CBA, which finally got its second goal in the 62nd minute from junior Brody O’Connor.

Round of 16: Senior Matt Papagni opened the scoring five minutes into the second half and assisted a goal by junior Alex Alvarez nine minutes later to spark a 3-0 win over No. 8 Middletown South that earned CBA a dose of revenge against the team that beat the Colts in the 2025 SCT semifinals. Senior Shane Landau later added the final goal for CBA.

Quarterfinals: Landau scored for the second straight game and his goal in the 22nd minute proved the difference in a 1-0 win over top-seeded Manalapan. CBA withstood a second-half frenzy by the Braves to complete a win over the team that erased a 3-1 deficit to beat the Colts, 4-3, on Sept. 16.

Semifinals: After falling behind, 1-0, CBA drew even with a goal by Macky in the 36th minute after a precision pass from Guida, then took the lead on a second-half finish by senior Liam Wheeler that sealed a 2-1 win over No. 12 Colts Neck. CBA held Colts Neck without a shot in the second half to seal the victory and secure a spot in the championship game for the 17th time in program history.

Projected Starting XI

Brady Lepore, Sr., Goalkeeper (9 shutouts; 23 goals allowed)

Chase Kowalczyk, Sr., Outside Fullback (2 goals, 3 assists)

Hunter Hueth, Sr., Center Fullback (1 goal)

Stephen Cook, Sr., Center Fullback

Landon Valentine, So., Outside Fullback

Romeo Guida, Jr., Midfield (4 goals, 2 assists)

Matt Papagni, Sr., Midfield (3 goals, 5 assists)

Liam Wheeler, Sr., Midfield (4 goals, 4 assists)

Justin Arias, Sr., Left Wing (10 goals, 5 assists)

John Little, Sr., Right Wing (5 goals, 1 assist)

Alexander Alvarez, Jr., Striker (8 goals, 2 assists)

 

Off the Bench

Shane Landau, Sr., Forward (6 goals, 2 assists)

Roger Macky, Jr., Forward/Midfield (4 goals, 5 assists)

Cristian Notaro, Jr., Midfield (1 goal, 1 assist)

Cillian Parker, Sr., Forward (1 goal, 1 assist)

Brody O’Connor, Jr., Forward (3 goals)

For the second time in less than three weeks, CBA and Manasquan will clash with a top spot on the line. On Oct. 6, it was for first place in Shore Conference Tournament Group 1 and a first-round bye in the SCT. On Saturday, it will be for the top spot in the Shore.

As the seeds indicate, Manasquan won that original meeting in early October by shutting out CBA and punching home two goals in the second half for a 2-0 victory. Manasquan’s small home field frustrated CBA, which could not create its desired space against Manasquan’s athletic, physical formation. On the other end, Manasquan benefitted from an own goal, then scored on a counter-attack with CBA pushed forward in an effort to equalize.

CBA gets a reset on Saturday, as well as a bigger field. The Colts are no stranger to Memorial Field having made it to eight straight Shore Conference Tournament semifinal rounds – the last five of which have been held at Neptune. CBA has also played in all but one championship game since 2021, so while most of this year’s group will be new to the championship experience after falling a game short last year, the program is no stranger to the SCT final. At CBA, playing on Saturday at Neptune is the standard.

Manasquan has a nearly opposite history. The only trip the Warriors have ever made to the championship game was in 2019 and they beat CBA on penalty kicks to get there. That year, Manasquan also won its quarterfinal and semifinal matches via penalty kicks, just as the Warriors did this year by ousting Freehold Township and Toms River East in back-to-back rounds to reach Saturday’s final.

When it comes to the attacks of both teams, Manasquan has two clear top targets in senior Luke Byrne and junior Noah Matuch, who have combined for 22 goals. Senior Adam Rodricks has scored five and no other player from the semifinal starting lineup has scored more than one this season. The Warriors play defensive-minded midfielders and offensively-capable defenders to give themselves a wide range of talents around the field, but the attack starts with Byrne and Matuch bringing the danger.

If Manasquan wants to inject more offense into its formation, senior Maceo Manno is a weapon off the bench. Mannon started the sequence that led to the first of Byrne’s two goals on Wednesday night vs. Toms River East by quickly playing a pass to the far post with his outside boot, which eventually ended with Byrne scoring the goal off a pass slipped across by junior Jack Walther.

CBA also has its goal-scoring leaders, but there is more balance to the group overall. Senior Justin Arias and junior Alex Alvarez have a combined 18 goals to lead the way, but there are also seven other players with at least three goals – including three off the bench in senior Shane Landau (six), junior Roger Macky (four) and junior Brody O’Connor.

That rotation of forwards and wingers give CBA multiple looks to throw at teams, while the midfield and defense remain steadier throughout the game. Seniors Matt Papagni and Liam Wheeler are the attack-minded midfielders and junior Romeo Guida connects the midfield to the back four, even joining the back line like he did on Wednesday, when junior Cristian Notaro supplied quality minutes in the midfield.

In goal, both goalkeepers have been solid throughout the tournament. Manasquan senior Quinn Petrulla has come up clutch in two penalty kick shootouts, even after making a mistake that helped Toms River East tie the game on Wednesday night. Petrulla already has a Shore Conference Coaches’ All-Division selection under his belt and he is again playing like a top keeper at the Shore this season.

Senior Brody Lepore has also been reliable for CBA, which has had years in which it does not let its goalie get touched. This has not been one of those years; while CBA does tend to carry the possession vs. opponents, Lepore has faced more shots than CBA keepers of recent vintage.

 

Prediction

The shift in venue from Manasquan to a neutral site at Neptune is a significant factor that will benefit CBA. The question is, will it benefit the Colts enough to make up the two-goal difference from earlier this month? Manasquan, as much as any team in this tournament, understands its own strengths and embraces its identity. That is often step one in attempting to beat a team and program the quality of CBA.

CBA, on the other hand, has been searching for its identity over the last several years after winning three straight SCT titles by dominating the competition. In its quarterfinal win over Manalapan, the Colts pushed an extra defender back and were content to let Manalapan control the ball for the final 25 minutes – almost unthinkable of a CBA team in SCT play in recent years.

On Saturday, CBA will likely be on the better end of the possession game against a Manasquan team that first focuses on defense and has the size, speed and wherewithal to defend the goal. If Petrulla can avoid the critical mistake that befell him on Wednesday, the Warriors will have a chance to knock off CBA for a second time and win their first ever Shore Conference Tournament championship. On the other side, CBA will have to keep its attacking fully in-sync to navigate the Manasquan defense on the way to a 14^th SCT championship.

The way the two teams are constructed, the game likely comes down to a mistake, but when will that mistake occur? If Manasquan’s two SCT championship runs are any indication, it might come after the clock stops running.

The Pick: CBA, 2-1, on penalty kicks

 

Semifinal Picks Record: 2-0

SCT Picks Record: 19-3