By: Dave Gurney
Last year was a season of many highs for the Monroe High School boys varsity soccer team.
Their record of 20-4 set the mark for the most wins in a single season. Runner-ups in both the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament and the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament placed Monroe near the top of its respective groupings. Finishing 11-1 in the White Division, the Falcons claimed another in a long line of division championships.
But now comes the hardest test of all for the Falcons having to replace 13 seniors and six starters.
But even though McKenzie lost his share of all-White Division and all-GMC players, notably Justin Miller, Kevin Gibbons, Chris Faraone and goalie Cory Notaro, he finds himself in an enviable position. The Falcons still return a great deal of talent and experience from last year’s record-setting squad.
"We try, as a program to never rebuild," Monroe head coach Steve McKenzie said. "We have a lot of seniors that are starters that have been playing in the program for three years.
"There shouldn’t be much of a change. We have the same expectations, and so far the guys have done an excellent job."
Returning starters are Brendan Sebastian, Zach Theinert, Frank Carr, Spencer Lawrence and Dale Santiago, in addition to reserves Sean Lawrence, Michael Rettberg, Derek Culper, Michael Buffolino, and Mike Barcz. Added to the squad are Ivan Barretto and T.J. Benedict.
"We have some excellent players, but again, we just try to keep filling spots due to graduation and the guys stepping up have done a great job," McKenzie said. "We have some different types of players but they give the same type of production."
In terms of the additions, Benedict makes the jump up from the junior varsity to the left fullback position, while Barretto returns to the team after taking off from high school soccer his sophomore year.
Out of the returning players, seniors Carr (seven goals, 11 assists) and Spencer Lawrence (four goals, 12 assists) plan to contribute up front and in the midfield. Both were named to the all-White, all-GMC, and all-state teams last year.
Theinert will make the dramatic jump to center back, a stark contrast for the 2005 All-White Division forward who collected 15 goals and nine assists. McKenzie has been impressed with Theinert’s moved to the back.
"Zach has been moved to center back and has made the transition perfectly," McKenzie said. "He’s handled it very well."
The trouble spot for McKenzie lies in the goalkeeping position, where he has had to fill the void of two-year starter Notaro with Rettberg, a forward for the Falcons last season. Rettberg has done the job so far this preseason, but hasn’t been tested as much as McKenzie would like due to some effective defensive performances.
"The one spot we’re inexperienced in is goalkeeping," McKenzie said. "Michael’s inexperienced because it’s his first year in goal. But he’s improving each day.
"During the scrimmages we’ve done a good job limiting other team’s chances, so he hasn’t faced any big opportunities."
They’ll need Rettberg at his finest to repeat last year’s White Division championship.
With GMC Champs North Brunswick dropping from the Red back into the White, and with he improvement of Woodbridge and New Brunswick, this year should be a challenge.
"I think it’ll be competitive," McKenzie said. "There should be four teams fighting for the title. North Brunswick is good, Woodbridge is much better, and New Brunswick should be a good team. It’ll be a competitive White division."

