Soccer teams drops first two games
by John Beisser, Sports Writer
Just two games into the season, injuries are starting to take their toll on the Manville High boys’ soccer team.
Valuable defender Danny Castro went down with a leg injury two weeks ago and senior captain and midfielder Dawid Brozyna suffered a hip injury in Manville’s 4-0 loss to North Warren last Thursday.
The Mustangs found themselves in a 4-0 hole at halftime vs. North Warren but second-year head coach Tim Moore was hearted by his team’s tenacity and fortitude in the second half as Manville battled its talented counterparts to a 0-0 stalemate over the final 40 minutes of the contest.
Sophomore backup goalie Richard Kloskowski came on in the second half and did a nice job, making his share of tough saves in the face of offensive pressure being applied by North Warren. Moore also had high praise for junior back Doug Bradley and sophomore back Mike Hernandez, along with a pair of newcomers who had a baptism by fire.
”Doug and Mike, they played the entire game back there and really did a nice job for us,” Moore said. “When we got down 4-0, I moved Richie Hernandez up front to try and get some offense going and Doug and Mike, along with junior Shawn Kaminski and Arthur Kolodziej, a sophomore – two young guys who have barely played, did a really nice job.”
With about eight minutes left in the game, Brozyna crashed hard to the ground while trying to change direction and needed assistance leaving the field.
”His cleat got caught in the turf and he twisted awkwardly and landed hard on his hip,” Moore said. “There was no contact on the play with a North Warren player and the field was not an issue. In fact, North Warren’s grass surface is probably the best field we play on all year. It was just a freak injury.”
The initial thought was that Brozyna may have miss the remainder of the season but the senior was optimistic on Sunday evening, detailing how the X-rays showed the injury was not as severe as first though.
”It looks like a bad muscle strain,” Brozyna said. “It’s not nearly as painful as when it first happened. I hope to be back in two or three weeks. We’ll have to see how it goes, though.”
”Losing Dawid is crushing to our midfield,” Moore said. “He’s responsible for getting the ball up from defense to our offense. He’s a guy who plays every minute of every game. He takes our penalty kicks, is a team captain and really a guy who his teammates feel is the best player on the field for us.
”He’s the guy they all look up to,: Moore added “His form is perfect and his work ethic is great. I’m always telling the younger guys, ‘Watch Dawid, do what Dawid’s doing,’ He’s not a player who is easy to replace. Guys like Brian Valverde (junior) and Xavier Bolanos (junior) will have to step up and play a lot more.”
Manville was slated to play at Belvidere in a game Moore termed “winnable,” before hosting an excellent outfit from Hackettstown on Thursday night, a team Moore said is on par with North Warren athletically.
”Belvidere should be a competitive game,” he said. “Hackettstown, they’re a really tough team.”
Helping the Manville cause on Thursday is the fact that it will be Senior Night, as the game will be played under the lights on the football field, two factors that promise to put an extra bounce in the Mustangs’ step.

