Local soccer teams hope to peak in postseason
South Brunswick boys among GMC’s hottest teams
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

FARRAH MAFFAI staff North Brunswick’s Kevin Blanco fights to keep the ball away from JFK’s Lythe Hana during a game in North Brunswick last Thursday.

With the postseason set to begin, this is the time of year when local soccer teams need to be playing their best soccer.

Fortunately for the South Brunswick boys soccer team, they may be doing just that, as evidenced by their effort on Monday, when they nearly knocked off top-ranked and unbeaten East Brunswick just two days after upsetting the GMC’s fourth-ranked team, Sayreville.

The win over Sayreville was a big one for the Vikings as it pushed their record to 7-6-1 on the year. That meant that even with a loss to the Bears on Monday, they would still be in good shape for a state tournament berth with Friday’s deadline approaching.

Teams must have a record of .500 or better by the end of play tomorrow to qualify.

Jilmar Perez and Mike Sexton each scored a goal against Sayreville, while Matt Har made five saves in net for the Vikings. Perez scored unassisted in the seventh minute, while Sexton scored off an assist from Nader Owies just two minutes later.

South Brunswick took advantage of the absence of Sayreville goalie Rob Galante, who was out with a knee injury, and peppered Larry Pokrywa, his replacement, with 10 shots while holding the Bombers to just five.

Head coach Chris Hayston’s squad nearly pulled off a second noteworthy upset Monday against an East Brunswick team that has cruised through the GMC this year to the tune of a 13-0 mark heading into Monday’s game. The Bears, showing why they are the class of the conference, scrambled to tie the game in the 70th minute when Josh Sims found the net.

The game was tied early after Mike Sexton scored for the Vikes and Zach Simi scored for East Brunswick. However, midway through the second half, South Brunswick’s Nana Ampim gave the Vikings a 2-1 lead, and the pressure was on the Bears. They responded, keeping their unbeaten mark intact and clinching a tie that had to feel like a moral victory for both teams.

Matt Hart was strong in net once again for the Vikings, stopping five shots, while his counterpart from East Brunswick, Frank Vetri, made six saves.

With the win over Sayreville and the tie against East Brunswick, the Vikings proved they can play with the best teams in the GMC. They have managed to play .500 ball despite facing a grueling GMC Red Division schedule, which included games against some of the best teams in the conference.

South Brunswick will be anxious to see where it is seeded tonight, when the seeding meeting for the GMC tournament is held at Woodbridge High School.

One thing is for certain — they have emerged as a dangerous team, and one that appears to have picked the perfect time to peak.

As for the South Brunswick girls, they fell to 3-9 Monday with an 8-0 loss to East Brunswick.

Across town, both the North Brunswick boys and girls soccer teams are preparing for their postseason runs. The Raider boys entered the week at 6-3-2 and ranked ninth in the GMC.

They have played very well despite facing a White Division schedule that includes two games each against three of the top 10 teams in the conference.

North Brunswick should get a high seed in the GMCs and will be another dangerous team in both postseason tournaments.

Meanwhile, the North Brunswick girls dropped a thrilling 1-0 game to Monroe on Monday that gave the Falcons the White Division title for the second year in a row. The game was scoreless until Ashley Theinert scored with just 1:30 left to propel Monroe to the win.

Both teams had tremendous goalie play, with Monroe’s Meghan Boyce turning away 13 shots and North Brunswick’s Leigh Elko making 12 saves.

The loss dropped the Raiders to 8-5-1 on the year, but likely made them even hungrier now that the postseason has arrived.

North Brunswick has yet to play its best soccer and may be another team that picks the right time to peak.