JERRY WOLKOWITZ St. John Vianney’s Alison Regler tries to fend off a Holy Cross defender during last week’s 4-0 Vianney win in the Central Jersey Parochial A final at Thompson Park in Lincroft. The Lancers will square off against defending state champion Immaculate Heart Academy of Westwood today at Kean University, Union, for the overall Parochial A crown
Surely it was disappointing for the Red Bank High School boys’ soccer team to have lost a 1-0 decision to Ocean in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III finals. But the Bucs went home with their heads high, having become the first boys’ soccer team in school history to make it that far in the tournament.
"I’m very proud of them," said Coach Geoff Harrison, whose squad went 11-7-4 overall this fall. "They stepped up and achieved what they were capable of."
The key to the Red Bank campaign this year was offense, Harrison noted.
"The other three years I’ve coached here, we had trouble scoring," he said. "This year we were shut out in only two games, once to St. John Vianney and the other in the finals against Ocean."
Three players keyed the Bucs’ scoring attack. Senior Jon Crook, who started the season as a defender, switched to forward and posted six goals, adding 12 assists. Another forward, junior Fabio Alfaro, registered another seven goals, with three assists, while the leading goal-maker was outside halfback Glen Fitzgerald, a nine-goal, one-assist scorer.
"Overall, another person who deserves a great deal of credit is senior Tom Steckroth, who took over as goalie midway through the season after starting the year at forward," said Harrison. "He hadn’t played the position since eighth grade, but we went on a 5-2-2 run with him in goal. He also had two shutouts."
One of those whitewashings came in the state semifinals against Princeton, in which the Bucs came away with a 1-0 double-overtime victory.
Steckroth posted six saves, among them two point-blank shots. Red Bank won that contest with 50 seconds remaining in the second OT, on a tally by Alfaro, which was accomplished with panache: The junior headed the ball three times, then let it fall to the ground and booted it in.
In the finale, Red Bank held Shore Conference Class B rival Ocean scoreless until the end of the second half. Harrison has high praise for several of his other performers. Ed Falzarano moved to sweeper from forward and was superb, he said.
"Senior Sean Cusick was our returning varsity marking back," added the coach. "He moved to stopper and had a great season, with a couple of goals and assists, and he made things happen.
"So did Stephen McCormick, our center-halfback," added Harrison, who was assisted by jayvee mentor Dave Deegan and freshman coach Scott Ferris. "His ball control was excellent and he was our big setup man. He had three goals and five assists, and a lot of other things couldn’t have happened for us without him."
For Harrison, the end of the season was bittersweet.
"The last game was a tough loss," he says. "These seniors are the first of my ‘babies,’ freshmen who came through four years of the program with me. For them to have made it to the Central Jersey finals for the first time in school history was a very gratifying way to end their careers."