Soccer player in white jersey (#5) celebrates while sprinting on the field; fans watch from bleachers behind a banner.

Broken Record: Colts Neck’s Moore Sets Shore All-Time Scoring Mark

Matt Manley|October 9, 2026|Last Updated October 9, 2026

MIDDLETOWN — No player in the history of Shore Conference boys soccer has scored more goals than Colts Neck senior Sean Moore, and yet, when he had a chance to break yet another longstanding record Thursday at Middletown South, he did so by doing something he had never done before.

For the first time as a high school player, Moore scored on a direct kick Tuesday for a goal that set a new Shore Conference scoring record, tied the game in the final 10 minutes of regulation and set the stage for a controversial golden goal that gave Colts Neck a 2-1 win over Middletown South in a rematch of two 2025 championship games between the teams.

According to Moore, none of the 95 goals he scored as a Colts Neck varsity soccer player prior to Thursday were on direct kicks, so when he lined up a free kick from 25 yards out in the 72nd minute, it was an unfamiliar experience for a player who has been scoring goals since the day he set foot on a varsity pitch as a freshman. Minutes earlier, Moore took a direct kick from 30 yards out and watched Middletow South goalkeeper Liam McGrath save it without much fanfare.

“Two years ago, we had my brother, Kyle, who was great on free kicks,” Moore said. “Last year, we had (Ben) Kazani, so it hasn’t really been my role. This year, I definitely thought I would take more, and I finally got one.”

Five yards closer and with under 10 minutes to play, Moore processed his unsuccessful 30-yard attempt and calculated the necessary adjustments for his second chance at a direct kick, which he won by drawing a foul seven yards from the top of the 18-yard box. He surveyed the scene in front of the goal, picked out a spot in the top-left corner, and nailed a shot that tucked into the upper reaches of the goal for the game-tying score and the record-breaking point.

 

“I definitely put more power into it,” Moore said. “I had to curl the ball, but I didn’t put enough power into the first one I shot, so I had to put more power behind it.”

The goal in the 72nd minute gave Moore 234 career points, which passes the previous all-time Shore Conference boys soccer record of 232, set by 1985 Manchester Township High School graduate Mark Wilson.

While Moore’s equalizer broke a record, his golden goal broke Middletown South’s spirit with a non-call that left the Eagles apoplectic. Middletown South survived two near-misses by Moore in the first overtime period, and near the midway point of the second overtime period, the Eagles held strong again.

With just five minutes of overtime left, sophomore Adrian Kruglyansky slipped a pass through the Middletown South back line that made it to Moore, who appeared to be offside by approximately two yards on video posted by Shore Sports Insider. The officials allowed play to continue; Moore shot the ball into the far-right corner of the goal and celebrated the game-winning goal as Middletown South’s defenders pleaded their offside case to the nearest official.

“I saw Adrian get the ball and the defender run towards Adrian, so I just made that run behind the defender and finished it one time,” Moore said.

When asked if he was offside, Moore initially said he thought he was, but after describing the goal, he talked himself into it.

“I just ran to the corner. I was onside, so I knew that was it.”

 

Moore left Middletown South High School as the new all-time leading scorer in Shore Conference boys soccer with 97 career goals and 42 assists for a total of 236 total points. He has 17 goals and 12 assists in the current season, and his two goals on Thursday came after Colts Neck coach Art Collier changed his position for the second half.

Normally a striker, Moore moved to an attacking central midfield role for the second half while classmate Pedro Navroski moved to striker, which was the first time Colts Neck made that move this season.

“Pedro usually plays the ten, and it was hard getting me the ball today with two men on me, so I figured if I dropped to the ten, it would create more space for me and for Pedro,” Moore said. “If I beat two defenders in the middle, Pedro is going to be one-on-one, and I’ll take that all day. I feel like I’m dangerous at the ten because of my speed. One touch and I’m beating that defender, and Pedro knows how to make a run as a striker, so I just have to find him in space.”

After Moore broke the Shore Conference all-time goals record on Oct. 2 at Southern Regional, he and his coach hoped that the conclusion of his chase for that record would take the focus off scoring goals toward the record and put it on scoring team goals in pursuit of a championship. Since that game, Colts Neck is 1-1, and Moore has two goals to go with two assists that he recorded in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at Toms River North.

Colts Neck’s championship chase this season is fueled by the disappointment of losing two championship games to Middletown South a season ago. The Eagles won their first-ever Shore Conference Tournament title by beating Colts Neck on penalties in the final, then routed the Cougars, 4-0, in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III championship game in Colts Neck.

While Thursday’s result did not make up for the two championship defeats, beating Middletown South was cathartic for Moore and his fellow returning varsity contributors.

“Knowing how we felt when they were celebrating last year after they beat us, we just put everything into today’s game,” Moore said. “We wanted to be the team to end up celebrating at the end of it.”

As for the reigning champions, the Eagles let a 1-0 lead slip away and have now lost four straight matches to fall to 4-8 heading toward the Shore Conference Tournament seeding meeting on Sunday. As a group winner during the group stage, Middletown South is guaranteed a first-round bye and no worse than the No. 8 seed, but the Eagles will have to overcome their current slide and the rash of injuries that has fed it. Middletown South has been without multiple starters, including 2025 First-Team All-Shore forward Connor Saul.

For the first 70-plus minutes, Middletown South was on track for an uplifting win thanks to the defensive effort of senior Brody Illingworth against Moore and Novroski, plus a head-ball goal by senior Matt Hegel in the 30th minute that gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Instead, it was Colts Neck that bounced back from its Tuesday loss at Toms River North by winning another road match to improve to 8-5. While the focus is fully on ending his career with a championship, Moore has one more individual accolade to reach: becoming the first-ever Shore Conference boys soccer player to score 100 career goals. The Cougars will open their Shore Conference Tournament journey on Wednesday at home against an opponent to be determined on Sunday.

 

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