SOCCER CLUB REPORT
There was a lot more action at the Middlesex County Fair grounds than the usual merry-go-round ride at the East Brunswick Soccer Club Labor Day Tournament, as the Hillsborough Red Knights collided with the East Brunswick Comets and came away with a win.
Philip Masiakowski passed the ball to Prashant Subramanian, who assisted Panayiotis Christodoulides for the first goal of the game for the Red Knights. A precise throw-in by Nick Manuelli to Phivos Christodoulides who passed to Philip Masiakowski allowed an assist so Liam Jurkowich could score the second goal for the Red Knights.
The East Brunswick team was able to fight back and score to tie the game twice. However, the Red Knights were dominating the game and it was only a matter of time before their efforts paid off and scored the winning goal. After many missed opportunities, Kyle Cunningham gave an assist to Phivos Christodoulides, who had a nice run and scored the third goal for his team.
Defenders Brandon Moore and Nick Palmer helped turn back the Comets repeatedly. Goalies Nick Melfi and Trevor Mateyka made numerous saves to shut down the Comets’ powerful offensive attack.
On day two of the tournament, the Red Knights defeated the Toms River SA Arsenal 4-0, despite being down two players from their roster.
Masiakowski scored the first goal off an assist from Panayiotis Christodoulides. A throw-in by Palmer enabled Panayiotis Christodoulides to make an assist to Jurkowich, who scored the second goal of the game.
With his lightning fast moves on the field, The Arsenal could not stop Subramanian from scoring the third goal for the Red Knights after an assist from Phivos Christodoulides. Cunningham scored the fourth goal off an assist by Masiakowski.
To keep the Arsenal scoreless, defenders Christopher Gacek, Brandon Moore, Palmer, Phivos Christodoulides and goalie Melfi stopped the Arsenal in their tracks.
All in all, the Red Knights displayed true passion and teamwork during the hot East Brunswick Labor Day Tournament, feasting on hot dogs and ice cream in between games, and having a great time.
Panthers take second
in Readington tourney
The U-13 Hillsborough Panthers kicked off their fall campaign with three solid victories during the weekend of Sept. 6-7 in the Readington “Soccer Feast” Tournament.
The Saturday program was shortened to one game when Tropical Storm Hanna blanketed the area with heavy rain. Paired against their sister team, the Hillsborough Arsenal, the Panthers struck quickly as Eric Boyer scored a pair of goals in the opening stanza. Kenny Dundorf followed a with a long range bomb giving the Panthers a three-goal lead. Forward Shane Nuara extended the lead to 4-0 on a “highlight reel” header off of an outstanding cross from Mike Troeller. Joe Spaniol capped the scoring with an upper box roller that found net.
The Panthers defense was outstanding as midfielders Jordan Gilberti, Phil Rudio and Grant Jurkowich controlled the tempo and clamped down on the Arsenal attack.
Hillsborough started off day two against their conference foe: the Hunterdon United. The Panthers displayed an aggressive offensive push accented with good ball movement. Hillsborough fullbacks were not to be overshadowed as Nick Theodore, Callum Humphrey and Varad Joshi frustrated the Hunterdon offense. Although ‘Boro enjoyed a big advantage in time of possession, the score remained tied late into the second half. Striker Ameer Metwally generated several offensive chances, peppering the United keeper with two in-close shots.
Nathan Paget and Alex Tang were emblematic of offensive minded fullback play, as they aggressively kept the ball in the attacking zone on numerous occasions. With time running down in the second half, Joshi drove around the United defense and threw a cross in front of the net. Gilberti gained possession and calmly left-footed the game winner home. Bryan Yaskowski and Humphrey were outstanding in goal recording the shutout.
In the final game of the weekend, the Panthers tangled with a host Readington squad and jumped out to a 1-0 lead, as a Boyer pass found Alex Florin, who drilled a shot into the right side of the net from the lower box. Phil Rudio came back to make it 2-0 with an unassisted rocket from just inside the high box. Gareth Dennis closed out the first half scoring with a fantastic, hustling effort, tallying his first goal as a Panther. Jordan Gilberti tallied his second and third goals of the tournament with two pinpoint shots in the second half.
The Panthers, who are coached by Ashraf Metwally, Steve Paget and Phil Rudio begin their Mid-Jersey schedule on Sept. 14.