Hernandez scores winner in OT
by John Beisser, Sports Writer
The Manville High boys’ soccer team could feel this one coming.
So often this season the injury-decimated Mustangs were in position to pull off a significant victory, a legitimate Skyland Conference win, and so often they came up just an eyelash short.
Through all of the sweat and effort, heading into their Oct. 23 game with Belvidere, all the Mustangs had to show for it was a lone win over an over-matched Somerset Vo-Tech team. But on this day, healthier than ever and with a resolve that belied the fact that this was a one-win team, Manville went out and earned itself a satisfying 1-0 double-overtime victory.
Both teams had their share of opportunities but a save here, a bounce there, and all of the sudden, it’s a scoreless game into overtime. After the first overtime session, the game remained scoreless. With the stamina on both sides being tested by the minute, Manville dug down deep and found a way to punch in a goal.
Jason Diaz began the winning sequence with three minutes remaining in the second overtime by dribbling the ball up the left side of the field. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted teammate Rich Hernandez darting towards the goal on the right side. From the 25-yard line, Diaz deftly hit Hernandez with a crossing pass. Hernandez controlled the ball, dribbled, teed it up and fired it towards the right side of the goal.
”He had a ball’s width to work with and he just snuck into that space between the goalie and the goal post,” said a jubilant head coach Tim Moore. “It was a great goal, it really was. It was quite a celebration afterwards. Everyone on the bench, we were freezing out there. It was cold and we’d been standing there for a couple hours. When Richie hit the goal, we all were jumping around. It was great for the guys.”
Finally, the Mustangs had themselves a satisfying Skyland Conference victory. Asked to describe his feelings following the goal, Hernandez paused before delivering a one-word, succinct answer.
”Relief,” he said. “That’s the best word to describe it. It was just such a relief after all of the hard work we put in, to finally beat a team in our conference.”
It’s no coincidence that this win came when Manville was at near full strength with people like Dawid Brozyna and Dan Castro back in the lineup after missing significant time with injuries.
Manville entered the week hoping to build on this victory. On Tuesday, they were slated to make the long trek to Sussex Vo-Tech, a game in which the Mustangs were favored to win. The season finale was scheduled to be at home vs. Highland Park, a Group I school that plays out of the Greater Middlesex Conference. Moore indicated there’s a chance that the game with Middlesex, originally scheduled for Oct. 24, may be rescheduled but he thought the chances were remote.
”Most likely our season will end with these two games this week,” he said. “And, in a way, it’s a shame because we’re now as healthy as we’ve ever been all season. We went into the Belvidere game with 10 of our 11 starters on the field and we haven’t had that all year.”
Moore said that senior Pawel Maziarz perhaps summed up the team’s emotions afterward.
”He said ‘Coach, I wish we had 10 more games. We’re just about whole as a team and the season is ending.
”I can tell you this,” Moore added. “If we had 10 more games, I really think we’d win our share.”

