MHS boys’ soccer team ready for new challenges

Shambach switches over to guide Mustangs

By: John Beisser
   
   There are equal parts excitement and change surrounding the Manville High boys’ soccer team as the Mustangs complete their final paces in preparation for the 2006 season, which begins with a road match at Princeton Day School on Friday.
   For starters, the Mustangs feature a new head coach in Mike Shambach, who replaces Jim Chiariello. Shambach served as the Manville girls’ head coach last season. Shambach will be assisted by Tim Moore, while Erin Delaney has taken over as the Manville girls’ head soccer coach.
   The 2006 season also represents the Mustangs’ first as members of the ultra-competitive Skyland Conference. For years, Manville has competed in the Mountain Valley Conference. Also making the transition from the Mountain Valley to the Raritan Division of the Skyland Conference will be long-time rivals Bound Brook and North Plainfield.
   "It’s exciting to be in the Skyland Conference but it will also be more challenging," Shambach said. "We will be playing schools like Somerville, Bernards, Belvidere, Hackettstown, Delaware Valley and North Warren. We have a tough opening stretch of games and I am hoping we can keep it together during this stretch."
   The season-opening stretch Shambach refers to is a five-day period where the Mustangs will play four games. Following the Princeton Day match, Manville will play at Bernards on Saturday, before hosting North Plainfield and Belvidere on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Tuesday’s Belvidere match will be Senior Parents Night and thus will be played under the lights on the football field, with the game slated for a 7:00 p.m. start.
   Shambach inherits a team that fashioned a 3-11-3 record a year ago. Most of the team’s returning strength appears to lie in its defense. Sophomore David Brozyna, whose older brother Rafal was one of the top players on last year’s team and who graduated last spring, will man the center-halfback position and has looked solid in preseason camp. Senior Roland Yakobchuck is an experienced performer who will likely get the nod at left outside halfback.
   Marvin Sosa, a junior who is actually in his last year of eligibility, is expected to be a leader from his important sweeper position. Junior Jim Lozada has been slowed with an injury in the preseason but Shambach has high hopes that, when healthy, he will be a force at stopper. At 6-1, 180 pounds, Lozada brings a combination of size, skill and athleticism to the table. Shambach will turn to a pair of juniors to replace last year’s starting goalkeeper, Bryan Molina, who has moved back to Costa Rica. Chris Kocur and Andrew Saultz are competing for the starting position.
   Offensively, senior Edyn Pineda and junior Anthony Valverde, are both considered strikers in Shambach’s system and are capable performers. Sophomore Daniel Pierrot gets the nod at either left striker or forward and is also being counted upon to provide offensive punch.
   "I am looking for our team to be solid defensively, as we will run specific zones and diagonal formations, an Italian style of defense," Shambach said. "I can tell even in the early going that they will take pride in their defense.
   "With a new coach and a lot of new faces, it will be our defense that leads us," he added. "In soccer, it’s easier to defend and react than it is to create. While we will be somewhat simple on offense, I don’t want to be on defense all day either. What we’re after on offense is to be efficient."
   Manville’s efficiency was on display during the team’s scrimmage vs. Immaculata, an established, upper-echelon Skyland Conference program.
   "They led in possession time for almost the whole game, but we had a 1-0 lead for most of the game," he said. "That’s what I mean by being efficient. We need to make the most of our chances, executing in our overlaps, criss-crosses and one-touch passes as well as the give-and-go. Timing is very important in this offense."
   Shambach considers himself fortunate to be taking over the reigns of the boys’ program in a World Cup year. The month-long 2006 World Cup began on June 9 when school was still in session. Much of the talk in the Manville High hallways and cafeteria centered on this world-wide event, which takes place every four years.
   "There was a definite buzz about the World Cup in school, which was great," Shambach said. "The teams from Poland and Costa Rica were competing and you could tell the kids had a lot of pride and passion for the game and in their country’s teams. We talked a lot about the World Cup and you could feel the energy at school. It just created an awareness to a sport that generally takes a back seat to the mainstream sports in the United States."