Malliard stars in rainy thriller
by John Beisser, Sports Writer
The essence of high school sports was on display at Manville High School last Friday afternoon. To witness it, one would have had to be in his or her car in the parking lot, windshield wipers on, or under a soaked poncho. But it was there, if you squinted hard enough between the rain drops, it was there.
The MHS boys’ soccer team, winless on the season at 0-14-1, was facing a respectable seven-win Bound Brook club that had asked for this game to be moved up with an eye towards an easy victory and a berth in the state playoffs.
For the sports lover, or for anyone who dislikes watching a group of people suffer, this game had everything drama, momentum swings, and for the members of the Manville team victory.
Sweet victory at last. They don’t get much sweeter.
When the dust, er mud, had finally settled, the Mustangs had themselves a pulsating, improbable 4-3 victory. How meaningful was the win for Manville? Consider the words of Mustangs’ first-year head coach Tim Moore.
”This game makes up for all 14 of the losses,” he said.
The Mustangs and their longtime cross-town rivals were scheduled to play the game this week but Bound Brook athletic department officials contacted Manville with the idea of moving the game up to Friday because the Crusaders were in desperate need of a victory in advance of Saturday’s cutoff date for the state playoffs. To qualify for the NJSIAA Tournament, a team needed to have a .500 or better record by Saturday’s state cutoff. Bound Brook had a 7-9 record at the time the request was made to Manville. The Crusaders’ plan was to defeat Hackettstown and then easily dispatch of winless Manville to reach a 9-9 mark.
Manville athletic director Pat LaMastro and Moore graciously agreed to move the game, complying with Bound Brook’s plan. Ah, the best laid plans of, not mice and men, but in this case, Mustangs and Crusaders.
After Manville accepted the request to move the game, the Crusaders went out and lost the Hackettstown game to fall to 7-10 and out of the state playoffs. While a state playoff bid was no longer at stake, the one thing Bound Brook may not have considered was the response to the what was tantamount to either a stunt, or shrewd strategy, depending on one’s rooting interest. And that response was a 80 minutes of fury, 80 minutes of pent-up frustration and disappointment.
Most feel-good stories feature a hero and villain and this one is no different. For Manville, there were many standouts on this day but two stood out among the rest. Consider center midfielder Alex Malliard, who recorded a hat trick with two of the goals coming on penalty kicks.
Bound Brook scored a late first half goal to forge a 2-2 tie at halftime. The Mustangs then took a 3-2 second half lead as Malliard took a corner kick from junior midfielder David Brozyna and one-timed it into the goal.
”David did a great job there as the ball was never more than six feet off the ground and it curved right to Alex who nailed it,” Moore said. “It was a bang-bang play. There was about 20 minutes left to play but the kids were jumping up and down. They could feel this might be the day.”
Nothing has come easy for this Manville team this season so why would this day be different? Sure enough, Bound Brook tied the game at 3-3. The emotions of the Manville team, at this point can best be summed up in three words, “Here we again.” Moore admitted those words crossed his mind and they had to be on the minds of his players as well.
The score remained 3-3 until the final minutes when Cesar Mora got tangled with the Bound Brook goalie. When the goalie shoved Mora in the chest, he was given a yellow card and Manville was awarded a penalty kick. Brozyna took the kick, which slammed off the goalie and bounded towards Cesar Mora all they way out at the 16-yard line. The sophomore midfielder promptly buried the shot and pandemonium ensued.
The Mustangs were able to regain their poise and wits, aided by a big save from junior goalie Matt Zangara.
When the final whistle blew, the final celebration began.
”We were jumping on each other like we had won the World Series or the Super Bowl,” Moore said. “It was like magic.”
The sounds that emanated from the leaping and hugging Manville players was the release of 15 games and nearly two months of despair.
Had Bound Brook miscalculated the Mustangs’ fight and will by asking for the game to be moved? Were the Mustangs insulted by being asked to move the game? Did they take it personally? Moore succinctly answered all of these questions with one line.
”Let’s just say that it was mentioned to the guys before the game,” he said.
Let us just say congratulations to the Manville High boys’ soccer team.