MHS boys play scoreless tie

Team defense becoming very stingy

By: John Beisser
   
   While the ball has not exactly bounced the Manville High boys’ soccer team’s way this fall, first-year head coach Mike Shambach remains proud of his team’s effort, says his team’s execution is improving, and is looking forward to the season’s final stretch.
   Manville’s hard-fought 0-0 tie with Delaware Valley last Thursday represented the third consecutive fine defensive outing for the Mustangs (0-11-1) and may have been the best effort defensively all season.
   Junior sweeper Marvin Sosa, junior stopper Jim Lozada, senior stopper Lukasz Bogdanowicz and sophomore halfback Pawel Maziarz have all played sterling defense of late. Shambach has alternated his goalkeepers – sophomore Matt Zangara and junior Andrew Saultz – and each has shown great promise. It was Zangara who was in goal the entire way in the shutout vs. Delaware Valley.
   "The defense has played a lot tighter of late," Shambach said. "They have just played very solid as a unit. They have not allowed teams to get good spacing and they have played some great soccer. Our goalkeepers have been solid as well. That’s a position where you just can’t make a mistake. They’ve come up with some big saves but are also doing a good job with their feet, kicking the ball out when needed. They have to be on their toes at all times."
   Zangara made his varsity debut with 16 saves in last week’s scoreless tie.
   "It’s a tough position mentally, you know you just can’t make mistakes because a mistake usually means a goal and one goal is often the difference in a game." Shambach added. "We have some good competition in goal. They’ve both done a nice job."
   It’s no secret that what has ailed Manville all season has been the team’s offensive play. The Mustangs are still searching for that one breakout game when everything clicks. Manville is playing good enough defense to keep itself in virtually every game, as evidenced most recently in the scoreless tie vs. Delaware Valley and a 1-0 overtime loss at Belvidere on Oct. 2.
   "The last couple of games, the offense has been better," Shambach said. "We had some very good chances to put the ball in the net. We are looking to make some adjustments. We have to keep getting crosses, we’re working on that. Soccer is such a skill sport. We’re still working on our accuracy. Overall, our offensive execution has to improve but I have seen some positive things on the offensive end recently."
   Manville’s next three games are rematches and, at the beginning of the week, Shambach was excited and curious to see how his team would respond. On Tuesday, the Mustangs were slated to host North Plainfield and will be looking to avenge a 4-0 defeat back on Sept. 11. On Thursday (today), Manville will travel to Bound Brook, another team that beat the Mustangs by a 4-0 count earlier this season. On Tuesday, Oct. 17, Manville will play at Somerville. The first meeting between the Pioneers and Mustangs resulted in a 5-0 win for the ‘Ville.
   "These are three local rivals of ours, so I know our guys will be excited," Shambach said. "Despite the scores, I thought we were competitive against North Plainfield and Bound Brook. We played some good soccer in both of those games and I thought they were closer than the final scores indicated. As for the first Somerville game, well, that was a tough one. That final score accurately reflected how the game was played. Somerville has a nice team this year with a lot of skill, so it will be interesting to see how we respond this time."
   Shambach is excited about the return of senior Robby Lobo, who has been out for two weeks with an ankle injury. Lobo will add depth to the rapidly improving Manville defensive unit.
   With the blanketing defense Manville has displayed of late, it’s just a matter of time before the ball bounces the Mustangs’ way and that elusive first victory is in hand.