Led team in scoring
By: John E. Powers
As the season went on and the Manville High School boys’ soccer team fought to find their identity and offense, one player remained a constant. Junior Rafal Brozyna developed into the kind of player that opponents find very dangerous.
Brozyna, third on the team’s scoring list last year behind the graduated Erick Jimenez and Oscar Alfaro and a three-year varsity starter, led the Mustangs this year with 13 goals and three assists and was relentless in his pursuit to create.
"He was incredible and fun to watch," Manville second-year head coach Jim Chiariello said. "He can really be an exciting player."
Chiariello, in attempts to find more goals, moved Brozyna from the outside to the middle of the field to take advantage of his skills.
"I think with Rafal what changed was that he learned to work side to side rather than just up and down," Chiariello said. "He had great speed on the outside last year. But when we put him in the middle he was able to create in traffic for himself and the team."
While the Mustangs finished last year with a 12-5-1 record and a berth in the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs, the 2004 team struggled to score goals. The Mustangs finished their season last Tuesday with a 3-1 win against Governor Livingston of Berkeley Heights in Manville as junior forward Jullian Serrato, freshman midfielder Jimmy Lozado and Brozyna scored goals.
The win was the Mustangs’ seventh in their last 10 games. The Mustangs finished the season with a 7-9-1 record.
"That was a big game for us and probably the highlight of the season, beating Governor Livingston," Brozyna said. "They had a winning record and it was good to beat a team like that."
Bound Brook head coach Evan Brosniak, whose team was still playing in the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs this week, was very impressed with Brozyna. Brozyna scored the Mustangs’ goal in a 4-1 loss to the Crusaders.
"The kid has a terrific shot he’s a threat," Brosniak said. "The shot he scored off us was a rocket. You can’t teach that."
Brozyna was exciting to watch, streaking down the field in attempts to find a way. In a 2-0 win against Brearley, Brozyna broke a scoreless tie with a great one-man effort, beating Brearley keeper Timothy Hoagland from just inside the 10-yard line. Chiariello had hoped to have both Alfaro and Brozyna as two big threats offensively. But Alfaro hurt his knee and really never got going.
"It was hard without Oscar and because we lost Erick," Brozyna said. "They always were able to pressure the defense. But I think we had a very good team in a lot of ways. Unfortunately, it was too late when we got going. I guess we just finally clicked and got to know each other."
Brozyna will be back next year with a cast of younger players. But Chiariello has a good player to build around. Brozyna said that he will play in a winter adult league in Hillsborough this year and will probably go back out for the Manville track team in the spring.
"What I have to work on is getting bigger and stronger," said the 16-year-old, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 155 pounds.