Shore Conference Girls Soccer Preseason Top 10

The Shore Conference finished the 2023 season with five sectional champions, culminating with Freehold Township winning the NJSIAA Group 4 state championship for the second season in a row. With the 2024 season about to get underway, there will be several new players looking to make a name for themselves to help their teams produce successful seasons. The Patriots will start the season where they left off as the top team in the Shore, but they have to replace a lot of pieces and will need new players to rise to the occasion to stay in the No. 1 spot.

New players stepping up is the theme this year in the Shore Conference, especially with the teams starting in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10. The conference graduated a ton of talent in June and teams will be looking for new faces to take over. Central Jersey Group 3 champion Brick Memorial and South Jersey Group 4 champions Central both graduated the majority of their scoring.  Wall, which made it to its second straight Group 2 final, has to replace the least amount of starters and will be one of the favorites in the Shore Conference Tournament.

 

 

Shore Sports Insider Girls Soccer Preseason Top 10

 

1. Freehold Township

Most teams would go into a rebuilding mode after graduating five Division 1 players over the last two seasons, but the back-to-back Group 4 champions still return a talented group of players. The Patriots are led by seniors Danielle Howard and Gaby Parker, who combined for 29 goals and 21 assists last season. Freehold Township will look for new players to step into new roles to replace the 45 goals that graduated. The Patriots do have a familiar face returning in goal with Ashley Moore starting for her fourth straight season. Moore has played in 66 games in her first three seasons and has posted 43 shutouts, including back-to-back shutouts in the Group 4 final victories. 

 

 

2. Wall

Wall is one of the few teams in the Top 10 that does not replace a good portion of its starting lineup. The biggest piece the Crimson Knights need to replace to return to their third straight Group 3 final is All-Shore center back Aileen Carr, who was one of the most reliable defenders in the Shore Conference across her four-year career. Junior Maddie Peterson will have big shoes to fill in goal with Saige Santa Cruz and Nelly Bianchi-Nagle having graduated. Wall has a very dangerous attack and returns its top four leading scorers with seniors Samantha Brett and Erin Farrell, junior Madison Miller and sophomore Megan Farrell scoring 38 out of the team’s 54 goals last year.

 

3. Red Bank Catholic

The Caseys are on their third coach over the calendar year with Brian Blue taking over the program. After not finishing the season in typical RBC fashion, they not only will have a fresh start on the sidelines but will have a new look on the field with only three seniors returning. RBC does return an experienced back line with seniors Tess Beams and Isabelle Melilli returning. Senior Cailin Naughton will play midfield this season after playing goalie last year and sophomore Heidi Wierman will be the starting goalie for the Caseys. Sophomores Payton Cox and Samantha Mierzwiak had a big impact last season with Cox scoring nine goals and Mierzwiak taking over a starting position on the defense early in the season. 

 

4. Manalapan

Manalapan had one of the biggest regular-season wins last season when it snapped Freehold Township’s unbeaten streak inside the Shore Conference. Unfortunately, the Braves had an early exit from the Shore Conference Tournament and then were defeated by the Patriots in the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional final. Manalapan has plenty of players to replace, including the two players who accounted for 57 percent of the scoring the last four seasons, Sydney Spilsbury and Vanessa Sarf. Manalapan will also have a new person in goal for the first time in four seasons with Emma Guidotti graduating and Leila Shaw transferring. Senior Savannah DiSabato and juniors Callie and Daniella Butash will take over the leadership roles on the team and will need to build the team’s chemistry early in the season with new players stepping into bigger roles. 

 

5. Middletown South

After losing three out of their first five games, Middletown South went unbeaten over the next 14 games. During that run, they defeated three Top 10 teams to win their first Shore Conference Tournament Title. The Eagles made it to their second straight Central Jersey Group 3 final but lost to Brick Memorial in extra time. Middletown South has a balance of upperclassmen and underclassmen returning this season, but the biggest question is who will replace All-Shore goalkeeper Allie Greco. Middletown South returns their top four goal scorers from last season, including junior Bea Tinoco who has 39 goals in her first two seasons and is on pace to set Middletown South’s all-time scoring record by the time she graduates.

 

6. Central

Central has been one of the best teams in the Shore Conference since head coach Marykate Sullivan took over the program two years ago. Last year they won their first South Jersey Group IV title but have since graduated the majority of that roster. With Arianna Chidiac, Emma Harmon and Samantha Versnel now playing in college, the Golden Eagles will need to replace their top three scorers from last season. Central also graduated Laura Woemer and Lindsay Smith from the back line as well as goalie Erika Kangas, who had a remarkable postseason in both the Shore Conference Tournament and NJSIAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles will look to senior Ava Schmidhauser to increase her offensive production this season. On the defensive side of the field, junior Emma Christensen has been starting since her freshman season and has plenty of experience to help freshman goalkeeper Addison Frulio in the early stages of the schedule. 

 

7. Howell

After losing the first three games of the season to ranked teams, Howell won 10 out of its next 12 games and made it to their second consecutive Shore Conference Tournament final. Howell graduated a few key pieces from last year’s team, one being captain Jade Viera. Senior Allison Nase will take over as the leader of the Rebels’ midfield and Gabrielle Snowden will lead the back line. Manalapan transfer Leila Shaw will replace goalkeeper Madison Smith, who was one of the reasons Howell has turned their program around over the last three seasons. Shaw was a three-year starter at Manalapan. Howell also has a dangerous attack with senior Ashley Smith and sophomore Makenzie Memmolo using their speed and ball skills to cause problems for opposing defenders. 

 

8. Rumson-Fair Haven

Last season Rumson played in 10 games that were decided by one goal and one game decided by penalty kicks. Unfortunately, the game that ended in penalty kicks ended their season as, for the second straight season, the Bulldogs lost to Wall in the Central Jersey Group 2 final. Rumson returns its top two goal scorers from last season with seniors Aubrey Scobl and Stella Saad. Scoble finished with 12 goals and six assists last season and is one of the best playmakers in the Shore Conference. Two players the Bulldogs will need to replace are goalie Katie Walls and defender Kate Hennen. Hennen was a First Team All-Shore defender who is currently playing at Northwestern and Walls was a Second Team All-Shore keeper. 

 

9. Brick Memorial

The Mustangs are another team that graduated a good portion of an offensive group that played such an important role over the last three seasons, which includes winning last season’s NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 3 sectional title. Seniors Maggie Allen and Brooke DeAlmeida are the only two players returning who scored more than one goal last season. Brick Memorial does bring back senior goalkeeper Giselle Lizardi, who was one of the best in the Shore Conference last season. Senior Jordan McCullough will start the season playing holding midfield, moving from the center back position she has played the last three seasons. Junior Reese Keane was an important part of the Mustangs’ defense last year as a sophomore, shutting down some of the best forwards in the Shore Conference. 

 

10. Lacey

Lacey is one of those few teams that brings back the majority of its starting lineup from last season. One position that will have a new face is in goal where junior Ava Schmidt will replace Lorynn Leporino. Schmidt had an excellent freshman season in goal for the Lions when Leporino was sidelined with an injury. The strength of the Lions will be their offense with both leading scorers returning. Seniors Mackenzie Brotherston and Natalie McGovern both scored double-digit goals the last two seasons. Seton Hall commit Reece Paget is the playmaker in the midfield and plays an important role if Lacey wants to return to the South Jersey Group 3 championship, which it won in 2021. 

 

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