While the Pirates may be the team to watch this football season, North has a team of its own that is on fire — the North boys’s soccer team, which has a 5-0 record, in what is looking like another very feasible run to the state championships this year.##M:[more]##
While Scott Kelly and Drew Ecclestonare the key returning players, contributions from some of the younger players are also paying off. “I’m very pleased with our goalkeeper, Eric Scala,” a junior, says coach Trevor Warner. “We had a couple of games that were two-goal games, and he made big saves at big times. If he wouldn’t have made those saves, both Steinert and Peddie would have made the score 2-1, and that makes that game an entirely different game.”
Also, Warner says he moved Kevin Nowak, a sophomore, up from defense to midfielder, “and it’s really paid dividends for us.”
The team also defeated Allentown, Robbinsville, and South, 4-0, in what was a traditional show of rivalry between the two teams on September 15. During this game, Nowak scored the game’s first goal 12 minutes into the contest. Mike Jacques scored the second goal heading into halftime, followed up by Kelly’s two goals in the second half.
“We’re getting balanced scoring,” said Warner. “A lot of people are putting the ball in the goal. Conversely, we have a real strong defensive unit to keep the ball out of the goal. Those things, working together, are what you want.”
Still, Warner says he feels the team can get better as the year progresses, and is looking forward to what will be a stretch of tough matches. “We do have some games coming up that are going to be good measuring sticks,” he said, pointing to North Hunterdon on Saturday, October 4, followed by games against Princeton, Hopewell Valley, and Notre Dame. “We have some games to play before we get to that stretch, but that is going to be a really difficult time for us, and we’re going to have to be at our best to really compete with those teams.”
He says North has never defeated Hopewell Valley, but that he sees it as a possibility this year. “I think we’re the better team, but on that day, we’re going to have to make sure it’s obvious, not only to us, but to them as well. Obviously, the score will indicate that in the end, hopefully.”
