Shore Conference Girls Soccer Preseason Top 10

The 2025-2026 school year is underway, and that means fall sports are back. Just like the last couple of seasons, girls soccer looks to be another competitive year with a strong mix of talent across the conference. A solid number of teams are in contention for the Shore Conference Tournament title, making it one of the most wide-open and exciting races we have seen in recent memory. Girls soccer continues to be one of the most competitive sports in the Shore, with more legitimate contenders than most other girls sports.

With so much parity, expect the Shore Sports Insider Top 10 rankings to see plenty of movement from week to week.  Now, as the season officially kicks off today, here are the Week 1 Shore Sports Insider Girls Soccer Top 10 Rankings:

 

1. Manalapan – The Braves return every player from last year’s squad that made it to the Central Jersey Group 4 final. Unfortunately, Manalapan fell short to Monroe, losing in a shootout. As a sophomore and first-year starter, Aryanna Lake only allowed two goals during regulation time throughout Manalapan’s sectional run. A strong defense led by Constantina Papadakis, Devan Rosenzweig and Callie Butash  returns to help a more experienced Lake in goal. The Braves’ offense is led by senior Daniella Butash and junior Kayla Sasso who combined for 27 goals and 15 assists last season. Playing in Class A North, possibly the hardest division in New Jersey, Manalapan will be well prepared by the time the Shore Conference Tournament and state tournament begin.

2. Middletown South – After being moved to Central Jersey Group 3 following the Covid-shortened season, Middletown South returned to North Jersey 2, Group 3 and lost to top-seeded Chatham in the sectional final. The Eagles have the talent to challenge for the No. 1 spot, but have some positions to figure out on the backline. All-Shore defender Riley Bent graduated and is playing at Drew this season, and Maria DeGregorio, who has been a staple of the backline since her freshman year, is out this season with an injury. Middletown South also lost Nicolette Prince to a season-ending injury. Prince provided some flexibility with her ability to play midfield and defense. Forward Bea Tinoco returns healthy after missing several games last season right when the Shore Conference Tournament was starting. The Rutgers commit has 59 career goals and only needs four more to tie the school record. Sophomore Riley Kapler made the SSI All-Freshmen team last year and will control the midfield for the Eagles.

3. Central – Central is another team that reached a sectional final last season and brings back the majority of their squad this fall. Many thought Central would go through a rebuild last year after heavy graduation losses, but that did not happen. Central reached the South Jersey Group 4 final for the second straight season, but fell to Eastern in a shootout. The Golden Eagles are led by All-Shore defender Emma Christensen and All-Shore midfielder Leah DiCillo. Christensen has been the anchor of their defense since she was a freshman. Opposing teams struggle to crack the middle of the box with Christensen patrolling the area. Also on defense, junior Emma Boturia uses her speed on the outside that makes it hard for opposing teams to attack down the line. DiCillo took over the midfield role that was left open after Emma Harmon graduated and finished with 13 goals and 9 assists. After graduating goalkeeper Erika Kangas in 2024, Central had a big void to fill last season. Freshman Addison Frulio stepped into the starting role and excelled in the position. Central will be one of the favorites for the Shore Conference Tournament and South Jersey Group 4 with a year under Frulio’s belt.

 

4. Red Bank Catholic – Last season the Caseys had their third head coach in the last three years. Brian Blue won 11 games in his first season in charge of RBC, and with all but three players returning, the Caseys can be one of the most dangerous teams in the Shore Conference. RBC will have a couple new faces on the backline with two of the three players who graduated playing defense. Junior Samantha Mierzwiak became a starter on the defense as a freshman and will be one of the leaders on the field this season for RBC. The Caseys expect sophomores Alexis Sinatra and Grace Pauwels to control the midfield against their opponents and get the ball to their forwards. Maryland commit Paige Foye led RBC with 16 goals last, but 12 of them came in the month of September. RBC will need to find a way to keep her going late in the year if they want to make a deep run. 

5. Wall – Wall has graduated the majority of the players who went to back-to-back Group 2 finals. Last year the Knights missed out on a three-peat in Central Jersey Group 2 when they lost to eventual Group 2 champion Point Boro in a shootout. Wall graduated three of its top four scorers from last season, only returning junior Megan Farrell, who scored 13 goals last season. The Knights will look to get senior Madison Miller, who battled injuries last season, back to double digits in goal scoring to help Farrell. Miller’s ability to use her speed and get up the line will cause problems for opposing defenses. Wall has big shoes to fill with the graduation of Samantha Brett, who had 15 goals and 6 assists last season from the midfield. Junior Kelsey Hallock had six assists last year and showed signs of being the playmaker Brett was last season and will look to expand on that role. Freshman Gemma Brett, Samantha’s younger sister, will look to make an impact in the midfield as well. Wall will have Grace Holobinko lead the defense with Hannah Leete. Both seniors have the big-game experience to keep the backline organized and prevent opposing forwards from getting into the box.

6. Trinity Hall – Trinity Hall made it to its first South Jersey Non-Public A final two years ago, and last year reached the semifinal round until Immaculata ended their run. With only three seniors on the roster last year, the Monarchs are poised to return to the sectional final. Returning in goal is Emily Venezia, who missed last season due to injury. Venezia posted 20 shutouts in her first two years as a starter and looks to improve on that number with All-Shore defender Grace Greene in front of her on the back line. Ryan Raynor will be a playmaker in the midfield, looking to build on her 4-goal, 6-assist season last year. The Monarchs return leading scorer Kailyn Fitzgerald, who had 6 goals last season. Trinity Hall is in its fifth different division in five years in the Shore Conference after moving into Class A Central this year.

7. Howell – Every year Howell graduates a group of impactful seniors, and for the last three years the Rebels still made it to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinal round. This year is no different with six seniors graduating. Even with the Rebels losing a portion of their starting lineup, they still return players with experience. Senior Leila Shaw will be back in goal and has been in several playoff games between her two years at Manalapan and last year at Howell. Last year the defense had several injuries that caused coach Miguel Arroyo to shuffle his formation around. Senior Layla Barbosa will be the leader on the back line, returning from an injury last year. Senior BellaRose Marino and sophomore Kylie Keating stepped in last year when Barbosa and Gabby Snowden went down with season-ending injuries. Junior Makenzie Memmolo will be the Rebels’ focal point on offense after scoring 25 goals in her first two seasons. Howell will need a player to step up in the midfield with the graduation of Allison Nase.

8. Point Boro – The defending Group 2 champions lost a lot of talent to graduation. SSI Player of the Year Abby Hannemann had a conference-high 28 assists last year and added 8 goals. The Panthers also graduated a 4-year starter in goalie Ava Bjorndahl and centerback Gabby Mellett. Along with Molly Heras, who played holding midfield, the Panthers had 51 shutouts in that four-year span. Junior Stella Stevenson will have big shoes to fill in goal this season. Point Boro does bring back weapons on offense with leading scorer Elise Viggiano returning to be the leader on the field. Viggiano had 19 goals last season and sophomore Maddie Renna had 12 goals. Renna showed she can control the midfield and added 11 assists to go with her 12 goals. Point Boro is another team that graduates a handful of players every year and is always competing at the end of the year for a division title and a Central Jersey Group 2 crown.

9. Toms River South – Toms River South went from a 7-win team to 13 wins last season with an upset win over Middletown South on the final day of the SCT Group games. The Indians will look for more consistency in the level of play this fall. TRS graduated 12 players from last season, but it played with one of the deepest rotations in the Shore Conference. The Indians had nine players score two or more goals last year, with the team leader scoring seven. As a freshman, Daniella Gordon had 7 goals and 4 assists and showed she can be very dangerous up front. With her and playmaking junior Ava Knight, the Indians have a dangerous 1-2 punch. The defense will look different with All-Shore defender Carly Helmstetter and starting defender Kat Wilkins graduating. 

10. Freehold Township – The last time the Patriots started the season outside the top five was in 2021. Last year’s senior class were freshmen that year, and Freehold Township started one of the most dominant public school runs in recent history. The Patriots graduated 12 players from their Shore Conference Tournament championship team. One of the positions that need to be replaced is in goal. Ashley Moore was a 4-year starter for the Patriots who won them two Group 4 titles and a SCT title. Freehold Township also lost leading scorer Gaby Parker, who graduated as the all-time goal scorer at Freehold Township after finishing last year with 26. The Patriots do bring back some experience on the backline with seniors Christina Celano and Gianna Neron leading the team. Senior Reese Metcalfe is the only returning player to score more than one goal last season, finishing with 5. Freehold Township brings in two freshmen who should make a big impact this season. Morgan Notaro will be starting at forward and Adele Moy will be starting in the midfield. Moy is the younger sister of Ainsley Moy, who has the all-time assist record at Freehold Township.

 

Bubble:

Jackson, Rumson-Fair Haven, Manasquan