Two soccer players hug at the goal on a green turf field, celebrating a moment together.

Not in the Cards: Manasquan Sectional Title Bid Ends on Penalties

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

MANASQUAN — On the way to winning its first-ever Shore Conference Tournament championship, the Manasquan boys soccer team won two penalty-kick shootouts on the way to the championship game. So, when the Warriors went to a shootout Saturday with the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II championship hanging in the balance against a Bordentown team that had yet to experience penalty kicks this season, Manasquan felt confident facing the challenge at hand.

In this case, however, experience did not help Manasquan.

With a chance to achieve another first for the program, Manasquan fell a goal short of its first-ever sectional championship in a 2-1 loss to Bordentown that ended with the Scotties topping the Warriors, 3-2, in a penalty shootout thanks to three saves by junior goalkeeper Liam Mellor on five Manasquan shots.

“We have tasted what it’s like to win a trophy: best feeling in the world,” Manasquan second-year coach Zack Savacool said. “Now we know what it’s like to lose one: worst feeling in the world. Polar opposites.”

The action during the shootout began before Manasquan junior Renzo Lucarelli even took the first shot. First, Warriors senior Maceo Manno was issued a red card for asking for the ball “too forcefully,” according to Savacool’s account of the official’s explanation. In the 99th minute, Manno was issued a yellow card for delaying the game, and his second yellow before he was set to take Manasquan’s first shot forced him off the field. Lucarelli — who was already selected as a shooter — moved into the first shooter position, and junior Jack Walther took Manno’s place.

 

When asked if Manno’s dismissal threw off his team, Savacool acknowledged it did.

“Absolutely. There is a reason why (Manno) takes the PK’s first,” Savacool said. “He is the best we have at it. He puts it in both sides, and he hits the side netting every time.”

After Manno’s red card and before Lucarelli officially kicked off the shootout, Manasquan goalkeeper Quinn Petrulla was also given a yellow card. Bordentown coach Mike Brennan pointed out to the official that Petrulla had removed a piece of paper taped to Mellor’s water bottle with a scouting report on Manasquan’s shooters — a legal tactic.

The intel on the water bottle proved invaluable for Mellor, who made 11 saves during the 100 minutes of play before the shootout. The junior goalkeeper conceded to Lucarelli, then made saves on back-to-back attempts with confident dives to his right. All the while, Bordentown’s shooters cashed in on three of their four attempts, with Petrulla’s only save coming after senior Marco Carlini was forced to re-kick after he made his shot before the referee blew the whistle to indicate the start of play.

Senior Adam Rodricks broke up Mellor’s hot streak by converting Manasquan’s fourth attempt to tie the count at 2-2. Still, Everett Hosszu-Barrett answered by drilling his kick to the right side of the goal before Mellor deflected the final Manasquan shot wide of the left post.

“I feel like penalties have always been one of my strengths,” Mellor said. “I just focused on the ball and never took my eyes off it. Other than that, I just try to stay relaxed and just let my instincts take over. The pressure is always on the shooter, so I just try to be as laid back as I can and just have fun with it.”

Manasquan struck first on a 25-yard rocket by junior Noah Matuch 10 minutes into the second half. Senior Myles Carstens fed the ball to Matuch in the middle of the field, and after creating some additional space for himself, Matuch unleashed a shot past the dive of Mellor.

 

The Manasquan lead lasted all of 37 seconds. It disappeared due to a long throw-in by senior Joe Hartz that carried Petrulla into the goal and dropped in when it slipped out of the grasp of the Warriors’ keeper, who was attempting to navigate a sea of players from both teams.

“The guy launches the ball in the box, and he can loft it, he can throw it flat, so he is a serious weapon,” Savacool said of Hartz. “If they can put the ball in the box so many times, eventually you’re going to make a mistake.”

“I knew we would get it back,” Mellor said. “We have done that before, and once we scored that goal, I liked our chances.”

Petrulla made two key saves at the end of each half, the first of which was a punch save on a 55-yard free kick by his counterpart, Mellor, in the final minute of the first half. In the final two minutes of regulation, Petrulla saved a close-range attempt by sophomore Cullen Hosszu-Barrett.

“There’s no fault in the way the boys played today,” Savacool said. “They put their best foot forward. They worked incredibly hard. Credit to Bordentown for being hard to break down.”

 

The last of Mellor’s saves during the run of play was a leaping snag of a curling left-footed shot by Manasquan senior Luke Byrne, who aimed for the upper 90, but was denied in the 18th minute of overtime.

Manasquan’s season ends with the Warriors still searching for their first-ever NJSIAA sectional championship. They entered Saturday with a 10-0-1 record on their home field, and their final 18-3-2 record set a single-season program record for wins and included Manasquan Boys Soccer’ first tournament championship — the aforementioned Shore Conference Tournament championship. Byrne, Petrulla, Manno, Carstens, Rodricks, and defenders John Visceglia and Alex Lapitzski are all set to graduate in the spring, while Matuch, Lucarelli, Walther, junior center back Travis Levy, and junior midfielder Parker Basaman are all due back in 2027, when Savacool’s team will restart their quest for Manasquan’s first NJSIAA trophy in boys soccer.

“There were a million great moments and a million great memories with these seniors, for them and for me,” Savacool said. “As far as the success of the team, the best team in school history is pretty good. Shore Conference champions for the first time ever is pretty good. This is something the boys will think about forever, and the boys coming up know what that feeling is. They also know what this feeling is, so they know the work that is required to make sure that first (championship) here.”

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