Class A North

Class A North returns as the toughest, deepest division in all the Shore Conference. Manalapan returns at least three all-Shore caliber players, is the clear-favorite to win another Shore Conference Tournament, and still, it wouldn't be all that surprising if they finished third in the division. CBA and Howell are good enough to beat the Braves, which the Rebels did twice this year, but no one was tougher than the Shore's top team in the big game. One of the other five teams will make a run at the those three teams, but it's hard to envision more than five A North teams making the state playoffs with all the talent at the top.


1. Manalapan

It's hard to find anything wrong with this team, at least not with its play on the field. On top of being the most talented team in the Shore, they are also the most confident and most relentless. They play physical and routinely get under the skin of the opponent, and often times the officials. But when Erik Ilisije was healthy last year, they were essentially unbeatable before losing to West Orange in the Group IV final. Problem is, Ilisije is gone this year and the team struggled when he missed nearly two full games with a head injury. The good news is center midfielder Adam Rice is healthy this year, which he wasn't when Ilisije went down. Brandon Russo and Jeff Weitz will play in the back, while Jake Grinkevich returns as one of the Shore's best in goal as a junior. But even with perhaps th best goalie around, the strength of the team is their duo of strikers, George Quuintano and Caner Semen. Quintano drove opposing stoppers nuts in postseason play and Semen was a reliable finisher when teams were able to limit Quintano. With an experienced defense, a tremendous keeper and the most dangerous forward combo in the Shore, Manalapan is the team to beat.

Big Three: Quintano (Sr.), Grinkevich (Jr.), Rice (Sr.).

2. Howell

There is a lot back, but there is a lot to replace. This is still a top three team in the Shore, which says a lot about last year's team. It's easy to forget just how good the Rebels were last year. They lost two games all season, both to Manalapan, which they also beat twice. At the end of the season, Howell might was probably a top five public school team in the state. This year, Howell will be good again, with perhaps the best scorer in the conference back in Kyle Bethel. They will depend on the emergence of Cody Calafiore as one of the best midfielders in the Shore, but the key to the season is replacing Calafiore's brother, Paul, and Mike Krol, who were two of the best defensive players in the Shore Conference. Billy Kappock and Matt Salvatore are going down to the wire for the sweeper job, while junior Brian McDonough should be even better in his second year in the net. He may have to do more work while the Rebels break in their new defensive players, but things should come together for Howell. Maybe even in time for the postseason.

Big Three: Bethel (Sr., For.), Calafiore (Jr.), Kappock(Sr.).

3. CBA

What looked like a rare rebuilding year last season, nearly turned out to be a championship season at CBA. Halfway through their A North schedule, the Colts looked like they might miss both the SCT and State Tournament, but the light bulb went on and CBA went 11-2-1 over a 14-game stretch before losing 1-0 to Pingry in the Non-Public A finals. Coach Dan Keane moved Jim Lannon from the midfield to sweeper with the team 2-5-1 and from that point on, no team was tougher to score on in the Shore Conference. Lannon is back at sweeper this year, and Andrew Liapis also returns for the Colts, giving them a scoring prescence at the front of the attack. Chris Mergenthaler will be the main cog in the middle, giving CBA serious talent at every level. The key will be replacing keeper Scott Micallef, which looked taken care of with Garren Smith. But Smith transfered to Lawrenceville Prep, and now Keane has to look toward other options in goal. Steve Alessio is the likely game-one starter, and with Manalapan in town, he'll earn his stripes right away with a good showing. Regardless of the talent level, they are still CBA, hence the top-five ranking.

Big Three: Lannon (Sr., D), A. Liapis (Sr., F), Mergenthaler (Sr., M).

4. Freehold Twp.

In the A South preview, I outlined Brick as one of the likely sleepers in the Shore because of its stellar junior class. Freehold Township's set of juniors rivals Brick's, only the Pats are coming off a 12-9 playoffs season, whereas the Dragons were 2-12-1. The foundation is there for Freehold Twp. to contend for A North year after year with its program growing deeper and deeper, but you can't forget about the senior prescence they do have. Midfielder Bryan Collins and striker Bryan Foley will be two key cogs on the attack, and Dan Mularz returns to the team as the sweeper after taking last season off, teaming up with defender Logan Smith to protect junior goalie Ben Locke. As far as the aforementioned junior class goes, midfielders Brendan Noesges, Bobby Searby, and Ryan Clark are the headliners. All have superior ball skills and speed, and will give the top teams in A North fits, even if they don't beat them. Coach Todd Briggs says give it a few games, and the Pats will be ready to run with the big boys.

Big Three: Noesges (Jr.), Bobby Searby (Jr.), Bryan Collins (Sr.).

5. Colts Neck

There appears to be a clear-cut top four in A North, and the other half is a little less clear. One thing is for certain: Colts Neck, Marlboro, Middletown North, and Middletown South are all quality teams. The question is, are any of them quality enough to break into that top four? Colts Neck seems like the best bet to do so, with 10 players back that started at one point or another during an injury-plagued 2006. Sean Hiller and Cameron Sorsby are impact players in the midfield, while Joe Baur and Lou Chiappone provide senior experience in the back. Coach Art Collier said he will start up to six seniors, and if they can stay healthy this year, the Cougars should take a step forward in their second year in A North.

Big Three: Sorsby (Sr.), Hiller (Sr.), Baur (Sr.).

6. Marlboro

The Mustangs have a handful of key contributors back from last year's 12-10-1 team, but none of those key contributors carried a major load in the scoring department. Hunter Gorskie returns as a junior in the middle, and much like Cody Calafiore on Howell and Brendan Noesges on Freehold Twp., he could emerge as a top-flight player in the Conference as a junior. Jack Parkin and Michael Stone are two more pieces in the midfield, which will be the Mustangs' strength this year. Coach Dave Santos' group should take a lot from last year's senior-heavy team, but you can't teach experience. That means these Mustangs may have to learn to win the hard way.

Big Three: Gorskie (Jr.), Stone (Sr.), Parkin (Jr.).

7. Middletown South

Only one stat can sum up the Eagles' 1-11-3 season last year: 0-8-3. That was Middletown South's record in overtime games last year. Either Midd. South was extremely unlucky in close games last year, or they were lucky to play that many close games against superior teams. I'm going to lean more towards the former, especially with one of the best keepers in the Shore Conference manning the net. Mike Roura drew rave reviews from coaches around the division for his efforts junior year, but he came up without a win on all but one occasion. Nick Anderson, Robert Dill, and Ahmed Ragab make up an all-senior defense to protect Roara, but the onus is on to offense, headed by midfielder Pete Paulson, to score more goals this year.

Big Three: Roura (Sr.), Paulson (Sr.,), Anderson (Sr.).

8. Middletown North

Just like I said regarding Toms River South in A South preview, this is a team I could be severly underestimating. As a matter of fact, it's one of three teams that I feel very uncomfortable ranking as low as I did. Fred Naoli is a very good coach and his team competed very well in A North last year. However, the Lions relied heavily on sweeper Anthony Vazquez, now playing at St. John's, much like Midd. South relied on Roura. Midd. North does have some experience back, however, which makes it difficult to gauge exactly where they stand in A North. I'm giving the edge to South because they have the second-best keeper in the division, but with Pete Gallagher back in the middle and seven other starters from last year's team joining him, the Lions may be able to make up for Vazquez's departure.

Big Three: Gallagher (Sr.), Anthony Sarcone (Sr.), George Morgan (Sr.).



Fab Five

1. Kyle Bethel - Howell

2. George Quintano - Manalapan

3. Jake Grinkevich - Manalapan

4. Adam Rice - Manalapan

5. Cody Calafiore - Howell

**Wow, that's a hard top five to pick. Noesges, Lannon, Roura, and Gorskie are all wothy and would probably make the cut in any other division. When I say people say A North is deep, this is what they mean.**