Unrivaled: Manasquan Boys Soccer Drops Wall, Advances to Sectional Semis

MANASQUAN — A year ago, the soccer rivalry between Manasquan and Wall High Schools reached its apex: a 100-minute, scoreless affair that ended with the more decorated Wall program advancing to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II championship with a road win over a Manasquan side faced with the harsh reality that their quest for a first ever tournament championship of any kind would pick up again in 2026.

One year later, the two teams met again in the Central Group II Playoffs and as it turned out, Manasquan did not have to wait until November of 2026 to win that first championship. The Warriors spent 11 days celebrating their Shore Conference Tournament championship victory over Christian Brothers Academy and in their second game since claiming that title, it was time to revisit the rivalry with Wall.

A year after the Crimson Knights ended its season, Manasquan — the No. 1 seed in the Central Jersey Group II section — returned the favor by handling Wall, 3-0, to reach the sectional semifinal round for the fifth straight year.

“We know it’s a big rivalry between the two schools,” Rodricks said. “Last year, it hurt. We were expecting to win. I think we were a little shy last year, but this year we knew we couldn’t take anything for granted. We knew we had to play like the better team, we had to play like how we should play and we would be successful.”

Senior Adam Rodricks assisted the first goal of the game — a blast by junior Noah Matuch in the 13th minute — and later capped the scoring with the lone goal of the second half. Senior Luke Byrne also scored in the second half, while seniors Maceo Manno and John Visceglia each picked up an assist.

The scoring started when Rodricks beat a defender along the right end-line and found Matuch on the near side of the 18-yard box. Matuch turned and struck a left-footed shot from 10 yards out that made it 1-0.

Byrne added to the lead in 20th minute after senior Maceo Manno juked a defender on the right side and fired a pinpoint cross to the back post that Byrne hammered in with his head.

 

Slick move and ball from Maceo Manno to Luke Byrne for the header. Manasquan leads Wall 2-0 in the 20th. https://t.co/kfnHDnWIGR

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) November 7, 2026

On each of Manasquan’s first two goals, the Warriors exploited the right side of the field and found success at both the near and far posts on the crosses sent in by both Rodricks and Manno.

“I feel like this whole season, we haven’t exploited the crosses enough,” Rodricks said. “We have been working on that a lot. Today, the way the field was open, the corners were wider for us to attack.”

Rodricks put the game on ice in the 52nd minute by running onto a ball from senior defender John Visceglia. Wall sophomore goalkeeper Kyle Womack got to it first, but Rodricks touched it past him and rolled a shot into the open net.

Senior goalkeeper Quinn Petrulla saved eight shots to nail down the shutout and emerged from multiple scrums with the ball. Wall — which won its first-round match vs. Governor Livingston on a 50-yard free kick by senior Nick Herrera — was dangerous on free kicks, including a 45-yard blast by Herrera in the first half that sailed less than a foot over the crossbar.

With Saturday’s win, Manasquan improved to 8-0-1 with four goals allowed and five shutouts on its home field this season. The Warriors enjoyed 11 days between their SCT championship win and Wednesday’s first-round win over Raritan and have showed no signs of atrophy while outscoring their two Shore Conference opponents by a combined total of 10-1.

 

Slick move and ball from Maceo Manno to Luke Byrne for the header. Manasquan leads Wall 2-0 in the 20th. https://t.co/kfnHDnWIGR

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) November 7, 2026

“We had a little fun during our practices,” Rodricks said. “We still stayed locked in and there wasn’t too much fooling around, but we just played fun games like 1-v.-1 and 3-v.-3. A bunch of stuff to keep us in-season, but to to also relax a little bit. On the Monday before (Raritan), we picked it up again with some formation stuff and sticking strictly to the game so we know we are ready.”

Next up, Manasquan will take on No. 4 seed Allentown in a showdown of conference champions. The Redbirds won the Colonial Valley Conference Tournament championship by beating Notre Dame in the final on Oct. 31.

“We’re happy with the Shore, but we know the job’s not finished,” Rodricks said. “The best-case scenario is to win Shore, states and groups all in one season.”