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Top of the Class: Holmdel Earns SCT Bye With Convincing Win Over Ranney

Matt Manley|October 4, 2025|Last Updated October 15, 2025

HOLMDEL — Like a lot of his teammates, Dom Poli spent most of his time on the varsity soccer field prior to this 2025 season trying to figure out how to get the ball to one of the stars of the Holmdel boys soccer team and what to do once the Hornets’ stars had the ball.

It was a limited role for each member of Holmdel’s supporting cast when the team was centered around All-Shore First Team scorers Stepan Kapranov and David Weiner — two players that made Holmdel one of the Shore’s most dangerous sides, but seemed to the younger players on the team like entities unto themselves  based on how much better they were than the rest of the team.

Poli makes no bones about it now: Kapranov and Weiner carried the team in 2023 and Kapranov did the heavy lifting as a senior in 2024. Strangely, however, playing without a bona fide high-school star has come easily to the returning group of Hornets and has helped Holmdel to return without a proven all-state player and still not miss a beat.

On Friday, Holmdel — ranked No. 5 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10 — became one of the first three teams to clinch a bye in the Shore Conference Tournament, which the Hornets did with a 4-0 win over a Ranney squad that entered Friday on a nine-game winning streak.

“We have had some very talented players: David Weiner, Frankie Brusco, Step,” Poli said. “We lost them, but I think this year, we are more of a team. It feels amazing to play the way we’re playing as a team. Those guys were great — I’m so happy I had last year — but I’m happy we’re all contributing and everyone feels like they have an important role to play.”

Poli played a key role in Friday’s win with a goal and two assists, while junior Lucas Nobrega led the way with two goals and an assist. Holmdel scored twice in a span of just over five minutes and then Nobrega scored within three minutes on either end of halftime to complete the scoring.

Holmdel is coming out of the most difficult part of its schedule, which included consecutive games against No. 1 Christian Brothers Academy, No. 6 Manalapan and No. 2 Colts Neck — the top three teams in the preseason Shore Sports Insider rankings. The Hornets went 1-2 during the gauntlet with a win over Manalapan and had to keep their collective guard up Friday against a Ranney side that won nine straight matches following an opening-day loss to Gill St.Bernard’s.

“The last couple games, our defense has played great,” Poli said. “When the defense says we need a goal, I feel like we can say, ‘We got you.’ It all comes from playing for each other. We’re never going to find the back of the net when not all of us are playing our A-game.”

In addition to the winning streak, the Panthers boast the Shore Conference leader in goals. Senior Eddie Magherini entered Friday with 17 goals on the season and made his presence felt in the first half with two of Ranney’s near misses on the Holmdel net — all while the game was either scoreless or 1-0.

Magherini stole the ball in the Holmdel defensive third to create a breakaway for himself in the 10th minute, but Holmdel junior goalkeeper Ryan Frigiola smothered Magherini’s attempt to deny Ranney’s best opportunity of the game.

“Coach (Matt Isaacson) told us we couldn’t come into this game sleeping,” Poli said. “Eddie up top is phenomenal. They have 40 goals in 10 games, 9-1, it’s very good on paper. We knew they had some weaknesses on the outside and we took advantage of them.”

The Panthers momentarily appeared to grab a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute when freshman Miles Serrapica kicked in a rebound on a save by Frigiola, but was cited for offsides, negating the goal. Less than one minute later, senior Nate Koenig poked in a long cross from Poli for a 1-0 Holmdel lead in the 23rd minute.

Magherini got his second chance to score his 18th goal when he unleashed a shot past Frigiola that struck the far left post just under the crossbar, just inches away from an equalizer.

Ranney’s three close calls for a goal in the first half turned out to be the Panthers’ last stand. After Holmdel successfully defended a Ranney corner kick in the 28th minute, the Hornets broke out on a counter-attack. Junior Antonio Zambito beat a Ranney defender to the ball on the right flank and played it ahead to Nobrega making a run toward the right post in the middle of the field. Nobrega then cross the ball to the left side of the 18-yard box, where Poli slammed in Holmdel’s second goal.

Nobrega buried a shot from the top of the 18-yard box with 1:09 left in the first half off a pass back from sophomore Dylan Grimaldi. The junior striker then nailed another 18-yard strike in the third minute of the second half, which came off a set-up from Poli.

Friday’s win gave Holmdel it’s first ever finish at the top of a group table in the current format of the Shore Conference Tournament, which began in 2023. In the first year of the World Cup format, Holmdel failed to qualify for the SCT when it finished third in its group, despite the presence of both Weiner and Kapranov. In the first year of the current format, only the top two teams in each group qualified for the tournament stage.

A year ago, with Kapranov still leading the way, Holmdel finished second in its group behind Toms River East.

“I’m pumped up for the tournament and to hopefully see those teams again,” Poli said of the three teams that have beaten Holmdel: Middletown South, CBA and Colts Neck. “Middletown South and Colts Neck were on grass, so hopefully we can get them on turf. Our last three games were very tough and I think if we see them again, I think we can be even more competitive.”

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