For most teams, the 2016 Harrison boys soccer squad’s season would have been deemed as a success. But as veteran coach Mike Rusek mentioned the accomplishments of a year ago, which included 19 victories, a league title and a state sectional championship, it came with a slight hint of a disappointment and a clear indication that more was expected this upcoming season.
Such sky high standards are the norm at Harrison and this year is no exception. With eight returning starters from last fall’s North 2, Group 2 champions, Rusek and the Blue Tide not only have their eyes set on an incredible 38th sectional crown, but to be right in the mix for a 27th state title for the legendary program.
“We were disappointed last year,” Rusek said. “We lost two games in our conference. We won the conference, but that was the first time in a long time that we had lost to anyone in our conference. We hope to this year to being undefeated in our conference, get back to that. We lost in the quarter-finals (of the Hudson County Tournament), we want to get back into at least that group of four, being in the semifinals.
“In the state tournament, we really want to see ourselves back in the finals. We feel like last year, we did well with what we had making it to the semifinals. We really thought winning the section last year was a nice accomplishment for the group. But we believe this year’s gotta be more. Our hope is to get ourselves to the final.”
Unlike the last two years, when the Blue Tide were young and their lineup was a constant work in progress, Rusek and his brother/assistant coach John see a veteran squad with few uncertainties heading into the Sept. 5 opener at Belleville, and a much-anticipated matchup with Newark East Side at Red Bull Arena on Sept. 9.
Harrison returns three starters on the back line, headlined by versatile centerback Ney Moreno (5 goals, 19 assists), a four-year starter capable of playing anywhere on the field. Senior Luis Zapata is the other centerback with three-year starter Harman Briceno on the left side and Lucas Trindad on the right.
The midfield boasts similar talent and experience led by junior Omar Sowe (4 goals, 7 assists), a three-year starter, holding center midfield. Like Moreno, Sowe is one who can play all over the field and is primed for a breakout year in Rusek’s opinion.
“(Ney) and Omar are very similar in that they can play anywhere on the field and we’re better wherever we put them, Rusek said. “But you do then lose something from moving them. We could go with Omar and Ney as the two center defenders and feel like we can really shut a team down, but then we’d lose something in the offense. We’ll try to balance it as best as we can.”
Kalleb Braga and Maicol Diaz are multi-year starters along the Harrison midfield, which will also includes Louis Palomino. Freshman Mustapha Sowe and sophomores Isreal Dos Santos and Steven Espinoza will also see minutes in reserve.
Up top once again is senior Deydiry Chamba. Chamba, who was named NJ.com’s NJIC Player of the Year last season after racking up 26 goals and five assists, has 49 career goals and enters the season needing just 23 to become Harrison’s all-time scoring leader.
“There’s never been anyone we’ve had that has had four steady years like that,” Rusek said. “We’ve had kids that had amazing junior and senior years, but they didn’t do much freshman or sophomore years. He’s been consistent for three years now. If he does that again, we’ll be in very good shape.”
Expectations are also high for senior Raphael Resende, a physical forward who had 13 goals and eight assists a season ago, but Rusek believes is capable of scoring even more this year. Gabriel Abreu is a talented freshman who should also see time up top.
The lone area of concern would be in goal as the Blue Tide graduated both keepers from last year. However, Rusek has been pleased with the play of the three juniors competing for the spot – Joshua Tapia, Christin Quispe and Eduardo Nelson.
