The Hopewell Valley Central High boys soccer team suffered more than just the usual graduation losses this year.
One center-midfielder tore his ACL, another center-mid went to play in Spain and a third player broke his wrist. The result was an 0-3 start.
“It’s taken us a little longer to take shape this year,” coach “Uncle” Ed Gola said. “We’ve moved guys around. In soccer when you’re in any sort of rut everything gets magnified and everything gets harder.”
The main constant from last year is senior striker Michael Muscente, who led the 2023 Bulldogs with 16 goals and was tied for third with five assists. Muscente was always going to be a key to success this season, but his value took on more importance after the personnel losses.
“Very important,” assured Gola.
Muscente’s worth was proven in the Bulldogs first five games. After being held scoreless in the initial three losses, he scored twice in a 3-1 win over Hightstown and added two more in a 4-3 victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro North.
“I think toward the beginning of the season we came in knowing we were gonna lose a couple guys and we were looking for younger guys who would step up,” Muscente said. “In preseason you expect things not to be totally intact but coming off that 3-1 win over Hightstown we were feeling really good. Things started coming together.”
The beauty of Muscente is his versatility. In the win over the Rams, Hopewell’s center back was banged up so Gola limited his minutes. He moved Muscente back and got a workmanlike effort to keep things under control. The coach moved his scoring threat back up to start the second half and he scored two goals within the first minute.
“It was great,” Gola said. “He drew a (penalty kick) right off the kickoff and the second goal was scored at 39:05. It was pretty cool. I said it was like letting the animal out of the cage.”
The fact that Muscente defended and scored in the same game is emblematic of his career.
He began playing Hopewell rec at age 5 and was made an outside forward on the Hopewell travel team. While playing with his NLSA team, they put him at center back in eighth grade. He was moved back up front for his PDA team but last year got moved to center-back, where he still plays.
Meanwhile, Muscente has remained at forward while at Timberlane and HVCHS.
“Wherever they need me,” he said.
That kind of flexibility has allowed Muscente to recognize his opponent’s tactics; be it offensively or defensively.
“Adding that defensive side to my game really helps me understand what’s going through a forward’s head and when I’m on the forward side I know what defenders are thinking,” he said. “I know how to counter them and what I should be doing. When you’re playing forward your back is sometimes against the goal, when you’re playing center-back you’re seeing the entire field. You get to see both sides, that’s really an advantage that’s played a big part in my game.”
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Muscente started on the Bulldogs freshman team and saw some JV time in ninth grade. He made varsity as a sophomore and had six goals and four assists. After losing three players who scored 10 or more goals that season, Hopewell needed a scorer to emerge last year and Michael was happy to take the job.
“I knew someone had to step up and really get the team going,” he said. “I’m a go-getter guy, I have that hunger and things started clicking with the team. We had good chemistry last year, we had really talented players around us and I went out there and did my thing.”
That thing helped Hopewell to a 12-7-2 record and berth in the Central Jersey Group III sectional semifinals, where the ‘Dogs dropped a 1-0 decision to eventual state finalist Robbinsville.
Gola felt Muscente’s goal explosion was a combination of his game improving as well as having talented midfielders distributing the ball. The coach added that Muscente works hard to get into open spaces by constantly moving without the ball.
“I think that’s as important as your actual skill, because if you’re standing in the same spot you’re very easy to mark,” Gola said. “Once he identified himself as a legitimate goal scorer, more teams were starting to pay attention to him. But he’s not a guy that stands and waits for the ball, he’s always moving. It’s difficult to keep track of him all the time.”
Muscente feels that has long been a big part of his game.
“I’ve always been good at making runs off the ball and I think that’s really from my hunger to score goals,” he said. “I’m always looking for the next opportunity. When I’m on top I’m looking for through balls and diagonal runs and for the best opportunity to score whenever I can. You don’t want to be standing in the same place the whole game, you want the defenders moving to create space for your teammates and yourself.”
That is especially important for Muscente, who has begun to draw more man marking assignments from the opposition. Gola feels he counters that with tenacity, speed and a knack for being in the right place at the right time. He has also seen some new midfielders finding their way, such as Manny Thacher, Andy Halko and Henry Seas.
“They’ve played together on club for a number of years,” the coach said. “We’re kind of settling into our spots and we should be able to move the ball better and get it to Michael.”
When Muscente does have the ball on his foot, he swings a pretty good leg to get it on goal.
“He has a solid shot,” Gola said, adding with a laugh. “He’ll tell you his velocity is right up there with Kyle Schwarber’s exit velo on his line drives. Sometimes I wish his launch angle wasn’t so high but that’s a different story.”
When told of his coach’s comments, Muscente said “You gotta love the jokes from Gola!”
“I would say that my shot is definitely one of my strong suits,” he added. “I think that I have a good balance between strength and finesse, along with a good shot selection. With that being said, I think that there’s always room to improve as a striker and I’m constantly working to gain more power on my shot. It’s important to have the ability to be able to shoot from distance on the field and I’m confident I have that in my arsenal.”
Another thing he possesses is that intangible every goal scorer needs – a hunger to put the ball in the back of the net.
“When you’re a striker you’ve gotta want it,” Muscente said. “Your teammates are counting on you scoring goals, they’re gonna feed off your energy and what you do up there. It’s just really important to work hard and put the pressure on the defense and really get the team going.”
His hunger goes beyond the field and into the classroom, where Muscente has forged a 3.8 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society.
“School is my main focus,” he said.
Muscente hopes to continue his schooling and soccer career in college, and has been in talks with The College of New Jersey, Bloomsburg, Immaculata and Ithaca.
Wherever he lands, Muscente should make his coach happy.
“Michael has always been a very coachable kid, a quiet leader who respects the coaching staff,” Gola said. “He comes to practice, works hard. Over time he’s learned the game and the position better up top.
“He’s just enjoyable to work with.”
He’s just not enjoyable for opposing goalkeepers, which merely adds to Gola’s enjoyment.
