#image_title

Head Games: Manasquan Boys Soccer Knocks Off No. 1 Howell

Matt Manley|September 20, 2024|Last Updated September 21, 2024

MANASQUAN — Thursday marked the start of one of the toughest stretches of games the Manasquan boys soccer program has ever faced and its longtime coach wanted his players in the proper frame of mind to meet the challenge.

Facing Howell — the No. 1 team in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10 — coach Tom McGill wanted to take the game to the Rebels and that aggressive attitude was the foundation for a statement result that the Warriors hope is just the beginning of a season-defining run.

Manasquan scored on a pair of headers early in each half and knocked Howell’s top scorer out of the game during the first half on the way to beating the Rebels, 2-1, to improve to 4-0 to start the 2024 season.

“Howell is a confident team,” McGill said. “If they score one, they are going to try to be a bully and score five on you. We knew we had to push back. If we press them, they’re going to press us and that’s the kind of game we want.”

The Warriors set the tone in the fifth minute by winning a free kick 30 yards from the goal on the left side of the field and turning the opportunity into an early lead. Senior Cristian Gonzalez drilled a low service into the box and senior defender Braden DeAngelis charged in for a back-post header that staked Manasquan to a 1-0 lead 4:40 into the match.

“They (Howell) like to get forward, but we like to get forward too, so we figured we’d give them a taste of their own medicine and press them as much as we could,” McGill said.

Once ahead, Manasquan backed off its pressure of Howell, which allowed the Rebels to possess the ball for the majority of the first half — an unwelcome development, according to McGill. The Rebels nearly turned it into a goal in the 25th minute, when senior Tyler Borenstein delivered a free kick into the box that set up a scramble around the net.

Amid the fray, Howell senior Nick Turturro — the team’s top scorer and a First Team All-Shore selection in 2023 — went for a header in the middle of the box and was kicked in the side of the head by a Manasquan defender. Turturro left the field with blood running down the right side of his face and eventually left the field at Manasquan High School to get stitches. No foul was called on the play and Turturro did not return.

“It gave us more confidence,” said junior Cruz Farkas, who scored the winning goal on Thursday. “Two threats that they have on their team that are really big go off the field, that’s really huge. I thought that made the win possible.”

Even with out Turturro and fellow All-Shore returnee Tye Maser — who sat out the entirety of Thursday’s game due to a hamstring strain, according to Howell coach Rich Yuro — the Rebels responded to a 1-0 halftime deficit by equalizing within the first two minutes of the second half. This time, the officials did call Manasquan for a foul inside the 18-yard box, with Howell earning a penalty kick thanks to a handball inside the penalty area.

Senior John Fiorillo took the penalty kick and buried a left-footed strike to the left side of the goal to even the score, 1-1.

Howell senior Nick Turturro. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com) - Manasquan vs Howell

Howell senior Nick Turturro. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com)

“We got passive,” McGill said. “We usually have two number eights pressing their center midfielders and we were dropping all the way back and just letting the keep (the ball). We responded, so that was good. We can’t sit back — that’s not our modus operandi.”

The game-tying goal prompted Manasquan to return to the high-pressure attack that worked so well in the early part of the first half and the renewed intensity quickly led to a result on the scoreboard. Sophomore Quinn Juska blasted a long pass from the left flank to the right corner, where senior Brandon Kunz ran it down.

Kunz beat a defender along the end-line and crossed the ball to the far left post, where Farkas headed it against the grain for a far-post finish and a 2-1 Manasquan lead in the 51st minute.

“That goal, that penalty, that call made us mad and just aggressive,” Farkas said. “It made us more motivated to get the win.”

Unlike after the first goal, Manasquan maintained its high pressure against Howell for the remainder of the match. The two best chances on the goal the rest of the way both belonged to the Warriors and although they did not cash them in, it kept the opposition on the defensive more than it could afford over the final 29 minutes.

Manasquan’s back line, led by DeAngelis and four-year starter Griffin Linstra and goalkeeper Dylan Morris, entered the game geared up to deal with Turturro and Maser and, even in their absence, relished the chance to combat one of the Shore’s best attacks.

“We were still pushing like we were when (Turturro) was in the game,” DeAngelis said. “It helped us, for sure. It’s unfortunate that he got fouled, but it happens. We just focused on what we had to do.”

Manasquan senior Braden DeAngelis. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com) - Manasquan vs Howell

Manasquan senior Braden DeAngelis. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com)

“I don’t think those guys had any idea who was in the game or who was out of the game,” McGill said of his defense. “They finally figured out Maser wasn’t playing. I don’t think it changed at all (after Turturro’s injury). I think they were going to play exactly the way they did, no matter what.”

Thursday was supposed to be the second game of the week for Manasquan, but Tuesday’s match at No. 8 Marlboro was postponed as a courtesy to Marlboro, whose head coach — Ryan Morris — is currently battling pneumonia. Instead, the Howell match begins a stretch of three games in which Manasquan will also face No. 3 Colts Neck on Saturday in a Shore Conference Tournament group play game and No. 2 Christian Brothers Academy on Wednesday in another Class A North divisional match, with an SCT group match vs. Jackson Liberty slotted in between the two.

“We knew we were moving into this division this season, but it was still a little nerve-wracking with these big teams coming up,” DeAngelis said. “I think we showed today that we’re right there with all of them.”

“A North is the focus,” McGill said. “We are going to get in the Shore Conference Tournament, so our main focus was Howell and trying to get an early leg up in A North and take it from there.”

Related Articles