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Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week

Pastorello leads Cougars scoring

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   It was a two-minute span that Manny Pastorello won’t soon forget.
   The Montgomery High boys’ soccer team, which was riding a two-game winning streak, trailed Bridgewater-Raritan, 1-0, with just three minutes left. At that point, Pastorello got free and scored a goal to tie the game. One minute later, it was his pass to freshman Matt Mayewski that led to another goal and a 2-1 Cougar win.
   ”It was the best feeling I’ve had in soccer in my life,” said Pastorello, who leads the Cougars with seven goals this season. “We had to win that game. The team wasn’t really feeling it and then with three minutes left I scored and we tied the game. Then a minute later we got the ball to Matt and he scored and it was just a great feeling.”
   The win, followed by a scoreless tie against Gill-St. Bernards two days later, capped off a week that saw Montgomery go 3-0-1 and put itself into position to accomplish the goals the Cougars set for themselves at the beginning of the season.
   ”I was happy with the week we had,” Montgomery coach Rickey Steeb said. “You always hope that you can go 4-0, but three wins and a tie is a good week. All three of the wins were closer than they may have looked.
   ”Voorhees put up a real good fight. Manny had an assist on the tying goal and scored our third goal. And the Bridgewater game was just a real good game. They led 1-0 and then in the 87th minute Manny took a pass from Greg Ives and scored. Then, a minute later he took a ball and passed to Matt who scored the winning goal.”
   For Pastorello, scoring that goal helped make the week a successful one for the Cougars. They entered Thursday’s game against Hillsborough with a 4-2-2 record and hopes of qualifying for the state tournament and playing well in the upcoming Somerset County Tournament.
   ”That goal gave us the opportunity to tie it up,” said Pastorello, who finished the week with three goals and three assists. “I did not expect us to score again a minute later, but we did and that was a big win. We always want to do as well as we can. The Gill-St. Bernards game was a little disappointing, but we should get a chance to see them again in the county tournament.”
   Manny Pastorello is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
   ”This year he already has seven goals,” Steeb said. “He has teamed up front with Matt Mayewski, who is a freshman and they complement each other very well. They play well together and neither one of them is selfish. They pass the ball well and that is a big positive for us.
   ”Manny is definitely a team player. Matt is just a freshman and the two of them have worked very well together.”
   At first, Pastorello thought it might take a little time to get used to his new partner up front. But the transition has been a smooth one thus far.
   ”It didn’t take long,” Pastorello said. “Our first game playing together was our first game of the year against Watchung Hills. In the second half we had an amazing combo play. We didn’t connect for a goal, but I knew at that point we were going to be able to play well together and do some good things.
   ”He’s a freshman and I’m a senior and I try to use my experience to help him when I can. My freshman year I looked up to the older players and tried to learn from their experience.”
   Last week, Pastorello got to experience as good a week as he’s had on the soccer field. And he’s looking forward to more big games down the road.
   ”We still have to win three more games to get into states,” he said. “We have some big games coming up and hopefully we can play well.”