Leandro Gonzales of Harrison is NJ.com's North Jersey Interscholastic Conference boys soccer Player of the Year for 2014
 Leandro Gonzales (4) of Harrison is the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Player of the Year. (Lori M. Nichols | South Jersey Times)
Story By:  Chris Ryan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: On a strong and talented Harrison team, several players stood out, but few players on the team or in the state boast the leadership and experience of Leandro Gonzales.

For his career, Gonzales set the mark for most games started by a Harrison player, suiting up in the starting 11 for 98 matches.

Gonzales, a four-year starter for the Hudson County power, led in the midfield and played a key role in a potent Harrison offense. Gonzales netted 10 goals and dished out 23 assists in 2014, helping a Harrison team that scored 151 times.

And in those 151 goals came 37 from fellow senior Ali Lakhrif, who scored 37 goals to set a new single-season Harrison record, breaking the last mark set in 1973.

TEAM OF THE YEAR: For a group of Harrison seniors that had experienced plenty of state tournament heart break, 2014 was the season all of their hard work paid off.

Harrison returned to Group 1 glory, capturing its first state title since 2008, and it did so in simply dominating fashion. In six state tournament games, Harrison outscored its opponents 31-1 and never left any doubt about the top Group 1 team.

In the Group 1 final, Harrison completely controlled possession and rode another dominant performance to a 4-0 victory.

Overall, Harrison finished the season 24-3, with two losses coming to Kearny, and a third to Group 3 finalist, Princeton. The leadership of four-year starter Leandro Gonzales, plus a record-setting 37-goal season from Ali Lakhrif, in addition to plenty of other play makers, Harrison was able to bring another state title back home.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Tyler Van Dyk saw his Hawthorne Christian squad make program history in 2014, winning its first sectional title with a 4-3 win over Morristown-Beard in the North Jersey, Non-Public B final, and reaching its first state final.

Explosive scorer Rene White and company finished with an 18-4-3 mark in 2014, enjoying plenty of success while netting 100 total goals.

OTHER NOTES

In a conference that featured several elite goal scorers, none were better than Wallington‘s Damian Agaj. Agaj netted a state-high 52 goals in 2014, along with nine assists.