Season ends with loss at North Brunswick
By: Rudy Brandl
The Hillsborough High boys’ soccer team experienced another frustrating afternoon in the semifinal round of the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs.
Last year, the Raiders were eliminated in a controversial 3-2 game at Rancocas Valley. Tuesday afternoon, their 2005 season came to an end in a 3-0 loss at top-ranked North Brunswick.
The HHS boys (13-6-2) left Steve Libro Field feeling frustrated for two reasons. They dominated the second half but could not score the tying goal and North Brunswick (17-1) tacked on two late goals to produce a very misleading final result.
"The score doesn’t reflect how close a game it was," Hillsborough head coach Eric Puma said afterward. "We had lot of opportunities that just didn’t bounce our way. We were just unlucky."
Hillsborough ruled the second half with a 15-5 advantage in shots and 6-1 edge in corner kicks. The visitors controlled possession and produced numerous point-blank chances. A few shots were blocked by the defense, while others were smothered by goalkeeper Justin Smith, who made nine of his 11 saves in the second half.
Chase Barbieri and Yannick Smith were particularly dangerous for Hillsborough. Barbieri, a junior striker, drilled a few dangerous corner kicks in the goal area and created other scoring chances from the left wing. Smith, a freshman attacking midfielder, nearly tied the game early in the second half with a corner kick on goal. He also came close at the far post after Barbieri crossed the ball from the left side.
Smith robbed HHS senior forward Pablo Lopez in the seventh minute of the second half. Lopez ripped a hard shot that Smith deflected but Smith’s attempt to rip home the rebound was blocked by the North Brunswick defense.
"It was frustrating because we were putting in the work to get opportunities," Barbieri said. "The ball just didn’t bounce our way. We were unlucky. It was a good team effort. I guess it just wasn’t enough today."
For a complete recap of all the HHS state playoff action, see Thursday’s Hillsborough Beacon.

