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SSI 2024 Boys Soccer All-Shore Team: First Team

Matt Manley|December 6, 2024|Last Updated December 12, 2024

2024 Shore Sports Insider Boys Soccer All-Shore Team

Shore Sports Insider All-Shore Teams are selected by Soccer Editor Matt Manley based on stats, input from coaches, first-hand accounts, and team success. 

 

First Team

Aidan Donnelly, Sr., Forward, Southern

2024 Stats: 30 goals, 4 assists

Without the NJSIAA Tournament, Donnelly posted a senior season worthy of All-Shore First-Team consideration and certainly good enough to land on one of the Shore Sports Insider All-Shore Teams. By the end of the state tournament, Donnelly had completed the best individual season of any player in the conference. The senior striker’s 9 goals in 6 wins led Southern to its first ever NJSIAA Group IV championship, capped by two goals in a 2-0 Group IV championship game win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood. The second of those two goals gave Donnelly a Shore-Conference-leading 30 goals on the season.

Read more about Donnelly’s season in his Shore Sports Insider Player of the Year profile.

 

Kyle Moore, Sr., Forward, Colts Neck

2024 Stats: 24 goals, 14 assists

Moore was not even the highest goal-scorer in his family this season, but when Colts Neck needed a clutch goal, it was older brother Kyle who stepped up and delivered. Colts Neck won six games by a one-goal margin and Kyle Moore scored the winning goals in five of them. During his team’s first ever run to the Shore Conference Tournament championship, the elder Moore scored the game-winning goal in each of the last four rounds of the tournament – including second-half tie-breaking goals against Manasquan, Ocean and Christian Brothers Academy in the final three rounds.

On top of being Colts Neck’s version of captain clutch, Moore will graduate as program record-holder. With a goal vs. Freehold Boro in the first round of the NJSIAA Tournament, Moore became the Cougars’ all-time leader in both goals scored (55) and total scoring (145), with Moore capping his career with an assist in a season-ending loss to Long Branch. The state tournament loss was a stunning end to the season for Colts Neck because of how special it was up to that point. In his final season, Kyle Moore was a huge reason for a historic season for the Colts Neck boys soccer program.

 

Sean Moore, Sr., Forward, Colts Neck

2024 Stats: 29 goals, 13 assists

In all likelihood, Kyle Moore’s name will be at the top of Colts Neck’s scoring leaders until September of 2025. That is because his younger brother has been scoring at a breakneck pace for the last two seasons and has two years of high school still remaining. Through those first two years – both of which netted him All-Shore selections – Moore has already racked up 50 goals and 23 assists after finishing first in the Shore Conference in total scoring (71 points) and second in goals scored. With five more goals, Sean will pass his older brother for career goals and he is 23 points shy of taking over as the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Sean Moore had his share of multi-goal efforts, with eight games of at least two goals. That did not lead the conference – Donnelly accomplished the feat 10 times – but Moore’s strength was his ability to score almost every time he took the field. The sophomore standout scored in 18 of Colts Neck’s 22 games, which included hat tricks against Raritan and Freehold Township. The latter of those games began a dominant run for Sean Moore during Colts Neck’s march to its first ever Shore Conference Tournament, during which the younger Moore scored seven goals in five games, with at least one goal in all five Cougars wins. Colts Neck will miss Kyle Moore and four other senior starters, but the Cougars will remain a contender in the SCT and in the Group III Tournament during the remainder of Sean Moore’s high-school career.

 

Nick Turturro, Sr., Forward, Howell

2024 Stats: 11 goals, 8 assists

After a First-Team All-Shore campaign as a junior for the No. 2 team in the final 2023 Shore Conference rankings, Turturro was a preseason favorite for the Shore Conference Player of the Year Award. Part of that was Howell’s lofty expectations stemming from the return of Turturro, fellow 2023 All-Shore First-Teamer Tye Maser and seven other players with starting experience. Unfortunately for Turturro and his team, Howell was decimated by injuries from the start of the season and could not overcome that hard luck.

While Howell could not get past the injuries during its pursuit of an elusive tournament championship, Turturro managed to piece together a First-Team All-Shore season despite suffering injuries to both his head and ankle. Howell won the Class A North public division title with a 4-2 division record and Howell went 4-0 against A North teams when Turturro played the entire game (he was injured for the 3-1 loss to CBA and was knocked out of a 2-1 loss at Manasquan in the first half). He scored two goals twice, including in a 4-2 win over Holmdel in his first game after missing two weeks with a sprained ankle. It was not the season Turturro or his team had in mind, but Howell’s senior leader showed his toughness, competitive fire and skill throughout his third and final varsity season.

 

Ethan Lustig, Jr., Forward/Midfield, Manalapan

2024 Stats: 20 goals, 13 assists

With a share of its first division championship since 2014, Manalapan boasted what might have been its best team in a decade and a breakout performance from its group of juniors was at the heart of the Braves’ resurgence. Within that junior group, no player had a more productive season than Lustig, who causes havoc for opposing defenses from out on the right wing of Manalapan’s formation. He was one of six players in the Shore Conference to both reach 20 goals and at least 50 points, finishing sixth in the conference in each category.

When Lustig scored a goal, there was a good chance he was not done. His four hat tricks matched Donnelly for the most in the Shore Conference despite scoring 10 fewer goals than Donnelly. He also finished tied for fourth in the conference in assists and in three of his four hat tricks, he also set up a teammate’s goal – including a three-goal, two-assist game against Trenton in the first round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Playoffs. Lustig leads an impressive Class of 2026 that is slated to return for Manalapan next fall, when the Braves will have a chance to make a run at the No. 1 ranking in the conference.

 

Christian Caso, Sr., Forward/Midfield, Toms River North

2024 Stats: 10 goals, 5 assists

Toms River North senior Cristian Caso. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com) - TRN vs TRS-5

Toms River North senior Cristian Caso. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com)

Toms River North did not bring back a long list of starters from 2023, but the Mariners had a capable scorer in Caso and a tradition of reloading for another deep postseason run. It turned out both of those things were enough to carry the Mariners to an outright Class A South championship for the second straight season – the fifth straight season in which Toms River North won at least a share of the division title as well. The Mariners also navigated their way to a fifth NJSIAA sectional final in six years.

Caso was not the team’s leading scorer – that distinction belonged to bruising forward Josh Brazier (14 goals) – but the senior striker was a creative player on the attack and the No. 1 concern for Toms River North’s opponents. Caso scored two goals twice – once against a solid Middletown South defense and later against Cherry Hill East in a 5-1 Mariners rout in the South Jersey Group IV quarterfinals. His biggest goal of the season came in the regular season: a spectacular volley late in the second half to down No. 1 Southern, 1-0, and clinch Toms River North a piece of the Class A South title for a sixth straight season.

 

Stepan Kapranov, Sr., Midfield, Holmdel

2024 Stats: 14 goals, 11 assists

After winning the 2023 Shore Conference Player of the Year Award and leading Holmdel to its second straight NJSIAA sectional title as a junior, Kapranov had a tough act to follow in his senior year as part of a Hornets squad that was unproven in more areas than it was experienced. With defenses selling out to stop him, Kapranov played in the middle of the field and put up All-Shore numbers nonetheless. He finished tied for 12th at the Shore in total scoring and tied for eighth in assists, which both ranked first among players from the traditionally-loaded Class A North division of the Shore Conference.

Kapranov scored in Holmdel’s biggest wins of the season, including a golden goal in a 1-0 win over Central Jersey Group III champion Long Branch and an equalizer in a 3-2, overtime win over No. 7 Manasquan. He also posted a total of four goals and two assists in Holmdel’s three tournament wins between the Shore Conference and NJSIAA Group II Tournaments and including group-stage play of the SCT, Kapranov was responsible for 11 goals and six assists in nine games with direct tournament implications. Kapranov now heads to Columbia University to continue his soccer career after putting up 53 goals and 29 assists in his three decorated seasons at Holmdel.

 

Tanner Grozinski, Jr., Midfield/Forward, Lacey

2024 Stats: 23 goals, 18 assists

With the most assists and fifth-most goals of any player in the Shore Conference this season, Grozinski had one of the most productive individual campaigns of any player in the Shore Conference. With Lacey playing in the Class B South division, however, gaudy stats alone would not be sufficient in awarding a First-Team spot to Grozinski. The junior had to show up when it counted and he most certainly did, particularly in the second half of the season.

Lacey suffered a collection of early losses that cost the Lions a chance at a Class B South division championship, but as the Lions got their lineup healthy, they became a threat to the rest of the conference. Grozinski played in the midfield during the first part of the season, then shifted up top to dazzling results. His three hat tricks – which included a four-goal game vs. Jackson Liberty and a five-goal game vs. Point Beach – came after the calendar turned to October. One of those hat tricks came against a Central team that features a First-Team defender on its back-line (see below) and that performance was part of a standout tournament showing by the Lacey junior. Grozinski five goals and four assists during the Shore Conference Tournament, leading Lacey to its first SCT semifinal in 13 years. Grozinski also added a goal in Lacey’s state-tournament win over Delsea, giving him six goals in six postseason games for a Lions team that will head into 2025 with plenty of late-season success to build on and a wealth of returning talent with which to do it.

 

Ryan Fernandez, Sr., Defense, Ocean

2024 Stats: 6 goals

Fernandez was at the heart of an Ocean team that surged to its highest end-of-season Shore Conference ranking since 2018, with the Spartans finishing No. 5 in the conference. Ocean’s defense allowed 22 goals in 20 games in 2024, with Fernandez playing a versatile version of center back with a sophomore goalkeeper behind him in Matt Makower.

The defense was the priority, but Fernandez was as adept at involving himself in the attack as any central defender in the conference. His six goals were second among Shore Conference defenders, he scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Rumson-Fair Haven that sent Ocean to the Shore Conference Tournament finals and, although he was not credited with a goal, he knocked the ball off a Colts Neck defender and in to give his team an early lead against the eventual Shore Conference Tournament champions in the SCT semifinals. Ocean was a blend of talented underclassmen and accomplished seniors and replacing Fernandez will be among the toughest challenges for a talented Ocean roster in 2025.

 

Devont King-Reilly, Sr., Defense, Central

2024 Stats: 1 goal

Central senior Devont King-Reilly. (Photo Tom Smith | tspimages.com) - Central Jackson Mem Soccer

Central senior Devont King-Reilly. (Photo Tom Smith | tspimages.com)

In most cases, perusing a list of stat leaders is a difficult way to find the top defenders in soccer. Sometimes, you just have to see a player in person to know and those coaches who saw King-Reilly in action knew they were watching a force in the back. Central’s senior center back and defensive captain displayed unmatched range and physical presence for a Golden Eagles team that counted on him to lead an otherwise young defense in front of a first-year starter in goal – junior Kaden Stout.

King-Reilly’s accolades include the No. 2 ranking on the Class A South Coaches’ All-Division team and the No. 2 ranking on the Coaches’ All-County Team – making him the top defender in Ocean County, according to the coaches of the county. His battles with Donnelly at Southern were some of the most intense of the season, with Donnelly getting the better of him with a golden goal in the first meeting, followed by King-Reilly leading a shutout effort vs. the Rams in the Shore Conference Tournament.

 

Griffin Linstra, Sr., Defense, Manasquan

2024 Stats: 1 goal, 4 assists

Manasquan senior Griffin Linstra clears the ball away against Howell senior Kam Brown. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com) - Manasquan vs Howell

Manasquan senior Griffin Linstra clears the ball away against Howell senior Kam Brown. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com)

A four-year varsity standout in two sports, Linstra has been a culture-booster for Manasquan boys soccer and boys basketball for three-and-a-half years he has graced the pitch and the hardwood. He has been a starting center back for the Warriors since day one of his high-school career and this season, he led a senior-dominated group that improved its goal-prevention from a year ago despite moving into the grueling Class A North division. Linstra also picked his spots on the attack: his lone goal came in a win over Central Group III champion Long Branch and among his assists was a flick that set up a goal against Wall – a team coached by his father, Garry.

After reaching the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II final in 2023, Manasquan made it to the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals and the CJ II semifinals this season, falling to SCT champion Colts Neck, 3-2, in the SCT and to three-time sectional champion Robbinsville on penalties to end the season after a scoreless 100 minutes. Linstra and his Manasquan team went down with one of their grittiest performances of the season and the Warriors will miss Linstra’s leadership as much as anything when this deep, talented senior class graduates in the spring.

 

Ryan Barnao, Sr., Defense, Middletown North

2024 Stats: 7 goals, 3 assists

Middletown North senior Ryan Barnao. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com) - Midd North vs Manalapan-3

Middletown North senior Ryan Barnao. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com)

A high-scoring season from a defender can sometimes be born of circumstance or luck, but Barnao has spent his entire career at Middletown North proving he can double as both a lock-down defender and an opportunistic offensive player. That balance was even more difficult for Barnao to strike this season, when he was the lone returning starter on the defense – including in goal – and lost his junior defensive sidekick at center back (Christos Dounis) to injury early in the season.

While hearing every possible hat for Middletown North, Barnao led all Shore Conference defenders with seven goals, which included a pair of multi-goal games. One of his goals game in a loss to Marlboro, which was one of only four Shore Conference teams to allowed less than one goal per game over the course of the entire season. Barnao also added an assist in a 4-3 loss to Chatham to end his four-year career, which included 20 goals as a true defender and back-to-back All-Shore First-Team selections.

 

Justin Appel, Sr., Goalkeeper, Colts Neck

2024 Stats: 8 shutouts, 20 goals allowed

Colts Neck was already solid in goal with returning senior Dan Ravelo returning, but when Justin Appel decided to play high-school soccer for the first time since his freshman year, the Cougars added one of the state’s more talented keepers to complement their the highest-scoring attack in the Shore Conference. Appel’s 20 goals allowed came in 19 games in goal and his eight shutouts ranked him tied for third in the conference with Southern’s Ryan Schweigart and behind CBA’s Sean Nadjzinowicz (12) and Makower of Ocean (10).

Appel’s hot streak came in the form of three straight shutouts that spanned a division-championship-clinching, 1-0, win over Middletown South, followed by two Shore Conference Tournament shutouts. The last of those was a clean sheet against No. 3 Manalapan that included a penalty-kick save, keeping one of the Shore’s highest-scoring outfits in the Shore Conference. After Colts Neck surrendered 35 goals in 15 games without Appel last year, the Cougars gave up 20 in 21 total matches this year, turning its suspect goal-prevention unit into one of the Shore’s best during a historic season for the program.

 

Check Out: SSI Boys Soccer All-Shore Second and Third Teams

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