Boys soccer season has potential for suc­cess
Manalapan is 3-0
after upset of CBA
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

If the 2003 boys soccer team is anything like previous years in the Freehold District, it will involve postseason play.

Last fall, four teams from the area — Marlboro, Manalapan, Freehold Borough and Colts Neck — all made the NJSIAA Central Jersey sectional tournament. Marlboro provided the highlight with its run to the Central Jersey Group IV championship game for the first time in school history.

Dave Santos’ ’Stangs completed the finest season in school annals going 16-7-1.

The catalysts of that team were seniors Yoni Litwok (24 goals, seven assists), Tommy Zubulake (one goal, 10 assists) and Matt Brand (eight goals, 17 assists) whose leadership will be sorely missed; however, they left behind a legacy of success. Having gotten a taste of what winning is all about, the returning veterans know Marlboro can win.

Santos’ team does not have to rebuild in 2003 with seven starters back, led by the speedy midfielder/forward Damien Woodley and goalie Ravi Gill.

Woodley was honorable mention all-Central Jersey last year when he had five goals and 11 assists. He can create gaps in a defense with his speed, and as he showed last year, is very effective at setting teammates up. He will be looked to score more goals this year while remaining a steady playmaker.

Gill hardly played like a freshman last year. His performance in goal allowed Zubulake and the other defenders to move upfield on attack because of their confidence that Gill could cover up any mistake. He had a school-record eight shutouts and 1.14 goals against average. Marlboro is very secure in goal.

Defenders Ryan Raskin, Ravi Verma and Greg Hirsch, and midfielders Benny Strummeier, Jara Habib (five goals, three assists) are the other returning starters.

Also back are midfielders Lawrence Fox (four goals, four assists), Matt DelCora (three goals), Joey Lamartina, Mark Chesler and Matt Rosenberg, forward Danny Litwok and defender Adam Huber.

Marlboro got its season off to a solid start with a 4-1 win over Freehold Township. Fox had two goals and one assist; Habib one goal and one assist; Verma a goal and Woodley chipped in with a pair of assists. Gill had 10 saves.

Marlboro made it 2-0 with Gill getting his second straight shutout, 3-0, over Neptune in the Neptune Kickoff Classic. Habib scored twice and Fox once.

The Mustangs dropped their first match of the year on Saturday, falling 1-0 at Ocean. They are now 2-1-1 overall.

Manalapan has been the district’s most consistent team through the years. John Natoli’s Braves are just two years removed from their Shore Conference Championships and will be looking to maintain their winning ways behind a veteran team in 2003.

The Braves lost defensive stalwarts Dan Saffer and Lou Becker and goalie Marc Premselaar to graduation, but have their offensive sparks back in midfielder Greg Arenson (six goals, two assists) and forward Scott Gross (four goals, three assists).

Steve Rosenberg (midfield), Scott Beckerman (midfield), Mo Elbayer (midfield), Jason Cochran (forward), Andrew Chorney (defense), Phil Kaiser (defense), Scott Sheridan (goal) and Alex Baker (midfield) are the Braves other returners. All are seniors save Baker, a sophomore.

Newcomers include forward Jesse Linker, defender Jason Miller and junior goalie Lee Sussman.

The Braves have varsity experience up and down the field with the exception of goalie where Premselaar held fort.

Manalapan began its season impres­sively enough against the always formidable Ocean. The Braves’ offense was clicking, coming up with six goals in a 6-2 A North win.

Manalapan spread the wealth around with Rosenberg and Gross each netting two goals, and Becker and Baker notch­ing the other two.

Sheridan picked up his first career shutout when the Braves beat Howell, 2-0. Sheridan had 11 saves and Elbayer and Gross scored for Manalapan.

Manalapan delivered a clear message to the rest of the Shore that the Braves will be serious contenders all season by knocking off state-ranked Christian Brothers Academy, 2-1, in Lincroft.

Kaiser, assisted by Gross, put Manalapan up 1-0 in the first minute of the second half. CBA would tie it, but Linker, from Areson, deposited the game-winner at 67:00. The Braves are flying with a 3-0 over­all mark and, more importantly, are 3-0 in A North.

Freehold Borough has been no stranger to the postseason over the years. Head coach Scott Noseworthy has two outstanding players to build around in forward Greg Annan and goalie Brian Bresnahan, both experienced seniors.

Annan has an explosive first step that makes him hard to mark. Last fall he led the Colonials with eight goals and four assists. Bresnahan is as steady as they come in goal. He had eight shutouts in 2002 and continues to leave offensive players shaking their heads by the way he steals goals away from them.

Borough’s other key returners include forward Chris McCeever, midfielder Adam Aptaker, defender Ed Santos, de­fender Tom Cook and defender Kevin Sharpe, all juniors. Newcomers include Adam Horowitz (midfield), Brian Knox (midfield/forward), Rob Bier (goal), Ryan Cook (midfield) and Matt Shafai (defense).

The Colonials, 10-6-3 in 2002, are young and will be leaning heavily on Annan and Bresnahan, especially early in the season as the team tries to find its way. Borough has not gotten out of the gate quickly, losing its first three games. What has been encouraging for Noseworthy has been how solid his de­fense has been. With just one goal in those first three games, the Colonials need to find scoring to turn things around.

Colts Neck should benefit from a re­building season in which Art Collier’s Cougars still went 9-9-4. The Cougars are expected to challenge for the B Central ti­tle this fall.

Goalie Matt Novielli has been a stand­out since starting as a freshman, helping the Cougars win a division title and go undefeated during the regular season. Now a seasoned veteran, the junior will keep the Cougars in any game they play. He is coming off a seven shutout season in 2002.

He provides leadership and con­fidence to the Cougar backs. Sean Settles, Josh Rocks and Justin Plean, who play well together on defense, are back. Combined with Novielli in net, this will be a formidable group for of­fenses to crack.

Also back for the Cougars are Carson Sorsby (midfield), Alex Karakoglu (midfield) and David Cohen (forward). All three are seniors. Newcomers this year include Ivan Jaimes (midfield), Thomas Cholulo (forward), A.J. Alfano (forward), Todd Stoner (midfield), Michael Baur (forward) and Dan Westendorf (goal).

The Cougars have all the ingredients to make a serious run for the B Central title. Their biggest question will be, can they score enough goals? Colts Neck is 3-1 overall and 2-1 in its division.

Freehold Township would like to get back to the state playoffs. Jesse Renna’s Patriots were 6-9-2 last year and return a solid corps of starters.

Forward Bryan Allman (five goals, nine assists), and midfielder Kevin O’Connor (eight goals, two assists) are proven scorers and playmakers. Forward Vincent Verderosa (five goals, one assist) can find the back of the net as well.

Defenders Greg Hartlein and Dan Ceparano are back, as is midfielder Dan Bautista. Matt Laspisa (midfield) and Pete Lomuscio (defense) were letter winners last year, adding to the team’s experi­ence.

Newcomers are A.J. Hamami (keeper), Jody Smith (defense), Tim Foley (defense), Mike Hennessey (defense), Jared O’Prandy (defense), Mike Tepedino (midfield), Jesse Tepedino (midfield) and Dave Vaz (defense).

Negotiating the difficult A North Division is never easy, but if the Pats can hold their own, as they are doing now, they should be playing in November too.

The Pats topped Middletown North, 3-1, Saturday to move to 3-1 for the season. O’Connor scored twice and Allman once in the win.

The Pats have gotten off to a 2-1 start.

Hard times have fallen on the Howell Rebels, a program rich in tradition. The Rebels were winless a year ago, and Rich Yuro will still be counting on under­classmen as the team looks to climb back to respectability. It was just three years ago that Howell won the A North crown.

Seniors Jack Poznanski (midfield), and Jared Finamore (forward) provide experience and are two players whom coach Rich Yuro can build around.

Damon Guszlaw (forward) and Will Meldrum (defense), also seniors, bring experience. The other returners, Andy Matura (midfield) and Rob Doyle (defense), are juniors.

Among the newcomers are seniors Joe Marques (midfield) and Kevin Revoir (midfield), and junior John Schanck (goalie). Yuro will be taking a look at youngsters this year with sophomores Matt Calipini (defense) and Vic Masino and freshmen Paul Califore (midfield) and Mike Krol (defense) on the roster.

Things may not be so bleak for Howell after all in 2003. Last week the Rebels claimed a pair of wins at the Neptune Kickoff Classic to improve to 2-3 on the season.

The Rebels put the winless streak be­hind them, beating Freehold Borough, 1-0, as Guszlaw netted the only goal of the match off a Poznanski feed. Schanck stopped eight shots to pick up the shutout.

Howell came back to beat the host team Neptune on Saturday, 3-2. Masino netted a pair, including the game-winner. Revoir assisted on both his goals.