Boys SoccerThe numbers tell the story for the Hopewell Valley Central High School boys soccer squad.
By: Mike Molaro
The Bulldogs are 8-1 and riding a five-game winning streak, have six shutouts to their credit, have allowed just three goals all season, and have had 12 different players score goals. Despite all this, HoVal is just starting to get its offense in gear.
Avenging last year’s 2-1 loss, the Bulldogs at home last Friday stopped Nottingham, 2-0, and followed that with their sixth blanking of the season in a 6-0 rout at Ewing on Monday.
Senior midfielder Justin Hall and senior forward Dave Johnson each scored a goal against the Northstars off assists from junior midfielder Brandon Rust. Junior goaltender Emeka Ogbonna stopped two shots as HoVal outshot Nottingham, 27-4.
"We played really well," Bulldog head coach Tony Suozzo said. "We totally shut them down defensively. I was excited about the way we played from front to back. We took them out of the game.
"We talked about last year’s loss. We had a 1-0 lead and they came back to beat us 2-1. The guys were ready for this game. This may have been the best we’ve played all year."
Six different Bulldogs found the back of the Ewing nets as senior midfielder Joe Bonacci, junior back Matt Kazior, Rust, senior midfielder Jason Pall, senior midfielder Steve Berei, and junior midfielder Tom Goodban scored a goal.
Sophomore forward Orion Xavier added two assists, while Pall, Goodban, and senior back Tom Gillespie each had an assist. Ogbonna and junior Joey Hartman shared the goaltending duties as HoVal held a 26-2 advantage in shots.
"Ewing is struggling a little bit this year," added Suozzo. "What’s nice to see is that over the last week-and-a-half, we’re starting to come around offensively. We’re getting a lot of production from different players. We want balanced scoring from different areas."
While the goals are starting to come more frequently, the Bulldogs still rely on their smothering defense to get the job done.
"I’ve challenged the defense to not only give up no goals but also no shots," Suozzo said. "Our goal every game is to keep the opponents’ shot total under 10. Our defense this year has been a credit to the entire team and their taking pride that we are not giving up goals."
With a state tournament berth safely tucked away, the Oct. 19 cut-off date is a mere formality that gives HoVal a chance to improve its standing in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III bracket and meet its goal of hosting a state tournament game.
"Our biggest challenge is that we are now in Group III," added Suozzo. "We’ll be playing teams we’ve never played and haven’t seen. We want to keep winning to have a good record and get a high seed. We want a home game in the state tournament.
"These next two weeks are key for us. We still have a big game with Princeton coming up (Oct. 10) that will go a long way in deciding the Colonial Valley Conference Valley Division champion and we want to get a high a seed as we can for the state tournament."
The Bulldogs have risen to every challenge this season. It would come as no surprise if they earn a high ranking and grab a CJ III home game.

