By David Gurney, Sports Writer
After his team’s 3-1 victory over Edison clinched a third consecutive Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division championship, South Brunswick High School boys soccer head coach Chris Hayston was excited, happy . . . and relieved.
Asked if he was doused after the game with what has become customary in sports, the celebratory coach “Gatorade shower,” Hayston was very blunt in his reply.
”No, I was not doused. I was really, really happy about that. But more I was just really happy for the kids and the win,” he said.
Autumn weather may have discouraged Hayston from receiving a shower, but there was no rain on the Vikings’ season-long parade until a possible letdown loss to Old Bridge on Monday.
After a week with wins over rival East Brunswick (3-2 in overtime), Edison and a tie against undefeated Shore Conference-power Toms River East (1-1), the Vikings head into the postseason at 11-1-2 and a brimful of confidence.
”The kids have a lot to be proud of, they’ve worked hard this year and are seeing some of the rewards of that,” Hayston said. “What we’ve done is a major accomplishment. We’re lucky and proud to be able to do that. We’re glad we did it, but now we want to do something else. We’ve done this already, let’s move onto something else.”
That something else will be the Greater Middlesex County Tournament, where the Vikings received the top seed in the field, and farther down the line, the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tournament, where the Vikings will inevitably get a high seed.
For the GMCT, SB will essentially receive two byes before playing the winner of No. 16 Woodbridge and No. 17 Metuchen at home this Monday. A win against those two teams would pit the Vikings against the winner of No. 8 South Amboy and No. 9 Piscataway next Thursday.
In addition to the byes, the Vikings will also host games in the first round and, barring an upset loss, a home game in the quarterfinals. The final two rounds will be at neutral sites that will be determined at a later date.
Last year, SBHS made it to the GMCT championship before suffering a tough 2-1 loss to East Brunswick at Woodbridge High School.
”The kids deserve the number one seed, worked very hard to get it,” Hayston said. “But we still have to win the games. We can’t get caught up in the seeds. The one seed hasn’t won it in four of the last five years and the one seed has not gotten to the finals the last two years. When we score, it only counts as a goal, nothing more. We still have to go out and win.
”The advantage for us is two home games. We’re very happy with the seed, but there’s more work that needs to be done.”
In the Vikings’ overtime victory over East Brunswick, which basically sealed the Red Division championship, the back-and-forth affair was settled with eight minutes left in overtime on a goal by senior midfielder Sean Tyree off a feed from senior forward Tommy Huchko.
Goals by senior midfielder Kazuki Yamada and Pat Harkness gave the Vikings an early first half lead and tied the game midway through the second half, respectively.
To Hayston, it was only fitting that a pair of seniors made the big play in overtime to defeat their rivals.
”We had to fight back, keep our composure,” Hayston said. “It was a great goal by two senior leaders who needed to step up and make a play, and they did. Every win against EB is a big one. They’re our rival now. It was the most gratifying win we’ve gotten this season.”
Yamada and goalie Kevin Gramata were missing from the Old Bridge loss due to injury.

