Boys’ Soccer 2011 Season
Our 2011 season began at the Toms River Preseason Tournament, where we participated in two Saturday games as Sunday’s matches were rained out.
After camp, a very aggressive Shore Conference scrimmage schedule was next. Wins against Brick and Middletown North put us in the right frame of mind for the season. But Tropical Storm Irene washed out our Point Pleasant Boro and Manasquan scrimmages.
The regular season began on a Saturday morning in early September against Neptune. What followed was a tough month that saw us competitive in many games, but unable to lock up that elusive first win.
This Husky team showed their character by making a terrific run during the month of October. Wins against Monmouth Regional, Manchester, and Lakewood ensured a better record. The Monmouth victory occurred in overtime.
Sophomore Brendan Howley had a break-out season as he led the team in scoring with 6 goals and 4 assists. Senior Nick Fulop, even though he battled injuries all season, had 5 goals and 3 assists to make the All-Division Team. Sophomore Berend Malin, 3 goals and 2 assists, also contributed greatly to our offensive output. Dylan Cerreta, Casey Donohue, Mike Hrvatin, Ryan Norman, John Alston, Mike Denino, Esti Mehari, Sam Labinger, and Alex Cella landed on the scoring sheet at least once. Casey Donohue and Dylan Ahrens patrolled the goal, making save after save.
This 2011 Husky Team was drastically hit by a rash of injuries. We had many pulled and torn muscles, sprained ankles, multiple knee sprains, torn shoulder, broken wrist, back injuries, and even a concussion. Senior Captain Phil Strobel, just coming off a leg injury, suffered a concussion in late September that sidelined him until the last game of the season. As a matter of fact, we never once used our projected starting lineup throughout the season because there were always multiple players hurt.
Some good news is the fact that we have seven returning varsity starters and ten returning players who saw quality time on the varsity level. Although the 2011 season was a tough one concerning our record, these young men worked extremely hard, had a lot of fun, and learned how to play this incredible game the right way.
