They are the same age and have the same face. Considering they are twin brothers, that’s kind of how it should be.
They also play the same sport, but that’s where things start to differentiate for Anthony and Nick Genovesi. They are at opposite ends of the field for Ewing High’s soccer team, as Anthony scores goals as a forward and Nick tries to prevent them as a goalkeeper.
It’s a nice situation for Blue Devils coach Dave Angebranndt, since the brothers have built-in training partners when away from the team.
“They work tirelessly at it,” Angebranndt said. “They’ve been playing together since they can remember. They have each other to work out, they go in the front yard, the backyard, they go to the local field. One’s working on his shot, one’s working on defense. I don’t know the last time you had a brother duo like that, at least at Ewing. It’s definitely a good thing to have.”
As of Oct. 18, Nick had 126 saves and five shutouts to help Ewing to a state tournament berth and 7-10 record. He stood 41 saves shy of 500 for his career, having made 150 as a sophomore and 183 as a junior. Anthony led the team with nine goals, giving him 20 for his career after collecting nine goals and nine assists last season and two goals as a sophomore.
“It’s good because he usually shoots on me and we both get training,” Nick said. “Sometimes it gets heated.”
Anthony agreed, saying “I think it’s benefitted us both and helped us improve where we need to. There’s some trash talking, but not that much. But it does get competitive, that’s for sure.”
Angebranndt feels they give each other just enough grief to keep things light during practice.
“They definitely talk crap to each other,” the coach said. “Anthony just wants to shoot all the time and Nick will talk crap to him telling him he can’t score on him. Anthony Nick will talk crap to Nick because Nick does something wrong. They go back and forth with each other. It’s a typical brother relationship and I think it allows the environment to be a little more loose because they’re watching two brothers yell at each other. It’s not tense all the time.”
The coach recalled a time in practice when they were working set pieces. He concluded the session, much to the despair of Anthony begging for one more chance to score on his brother.
“And then Nick was like ‘C’mon if he scores on me I’ll do this, if he doesn’t score on me, he’ll do that,’” Angebranndt said. “So he shot a ball and Nick saved it and they all went crazy because Anthony was talking crap to him. So it’s good fun, but at the same time they know when to pull the switch to be serious.”
The two have played soccer since kindergarten, starting in Ewing rec and moving on to the Ewing Force travel team. Nick was always in goal and Anthony always up front.
“I think I started playing in the field but we needed a goalie so I just said I’ll try it out,” Nick said. “I liked it so I just kept playing.”
Just what did he like?
“I like keeping my team in the game as much as I can,” he said. “Being a leader in the back and just holding it down for my team so we could win.”
Anthony’s aspirations were entirely different, except for the winning.
“I always had a desire to score goals and take chances in the attacking third,” he said. “I just love playing up there and taking on players; scoring goals to help my team win.”
The two are part of a huge senior class, which played on JV as freshmen before moving up to varsity as sophomores. The twins have become leaders “looked up to by their teammates” according to Angebranndt.
In describing their personalities, the coach feels they share similar tendencies and personality traits, noting that they “can be goofy” and kind of play off each other. He added that Anthony is more outspoken, despite the fact Nick needs to be vocal in setting up the defense in front of him.
“Nick’s come out of his shell recently,” Angebranndt said. “”We’ve been trying to get him to be a little more vocal from the net and I think he’s been doing that this year.”
He seems to be improving on that, according to Anthony. Despite the fact he plays as far as possible away from Nick, the forward quipped “He’ll still find a way to yell at me even when I’m up top.”
Angebranndt praised Nick’s reliability, pointing out that in eight of the Devils first 17 games he had 10 or more saves.
“He gets beaten on in there but he comes out there day in and day out and works and pushes the guys to be the best that they can be,” the coach said. “Nick is that leader in the back and that works its way up the field. The role of a goalkeeper is similar to the role of a catcher. You’re the second coach on the field, you see everything from a different perspective than everybody else. He has leadership qualities, gets guys to work and mark up when they have to.”
As someone who has spent his career shooting on his brother, Anthony can provide an accurate assessment of his skills.
“I’d say his strong points are making saves out of the air, making diving saves,” the forward said. “And he’s good at telling people what to do.”
As for Anthony’s attributes, he possesses the hunger up front that every goal scorer needs. He wants the ball coming to him and likes to pull the trigger.
“He has a determination factor when he gets close to that final third as he gets to attacking,” Angebranndt said. “As a goal scorer, once you get to that final third you have this different vision. He’s great with the ball at his feet, sometimes too good because he tries to keep it at his feet too long.
“But when you have somebody who’s as good with the ball at his feet and can control the ball at his feet and shoot the ball as well as he can, it’s a factor that goal scorers have. It’s what makes Messi and Renaldo so good, they have the “It” factor to put the ball in the net. He’s got the mindset of a goal scorer. Not everybody
Nick feels his brother has the right skills to take on defenders.
“He’s good with the ball at his feet,” the goalie said. “He’s pretty technical. He can dribble and his shot is pretty good.”
Both brothers are good enough to be drawing interest from Division III college programs. Nick is looking toward majoring in sports management, while Anthony is an artist who is looking into graphic design.
They both agree that it’s time to part ways and play soccer on different teams for the first time. Where they end up will depend on more than just soccer.
“At the end of the day it’s what makes them happy and where they’re gonns have the most success,” Angebranndt said. “You gotta like the school, like the environment and the area.”
Wherever they end up, rest assured they will be providing each other with brotherly support from afar… along with some brotherly trash talking.
Twins Nick (left) and Anthony Genovesi both play on the Ewing High School boys’ soccer team. (Photo by Rich Fisher.) ,
