CONFERENCE CHAMPS: Wildwood Catholic goes unbeaten in CAL United play to win title

Posted: October 26th 2025

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

The Wildwood Catholic Academy girls soccer team proved it was the class of the Cape-Atlantic United Conference this fall.

The Crusaders won all 10 of their conference games to win the regular-season championship. They capped conference play and clinched the title with a 7-1 win over Atlantic County Institute of Technology on Oct. 15.

As a result, Wildwood Catholic qualified for the CAL Playoff Tournament for the first time. The team lost, 6-0, to Absegami in the first round, snapping an 11-game winning streak to start the season.

Wildwood Catholic, currently 12-2 overall, has been led by dynamic sophomore Dani Daley, who is among the top five scorers in the state with 37 goals. She already has 69 for her career. She has scored at least three goals in a game eight times this season. Daley has also posted 22 assists.

Daley is one of three first-team conference all-stars from Wildwood Catholic. The others are freshman midfielder Madeline Burns (eight goals, 13 assists) and senior defender Maggie Davenport. Senior midfielder Reese Manni (four goals, five assists) was an honorable mention selection. Senior Olive Cray has also been a standout.

Senior Maggie Farrell has contributed offensively with six goals. Senior Lily King has five and junior Yae-Jin Billiris has added four.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Lutz has posted seven shutouts.

Second-year Crusader head coach Bob Mannino made history with his program’s conference championship. He is the first girls soccer coach in South Jersey history to win division or conference titles in three different leagues. He also guided programs to titles in the Olympic Conference with Triton and the Tri-County Conference with Schalick.

(Above photo courtesy Beth Daley)