By: centraljersey.com
The Montgomery High boys soccer team has spent most of the season battling injuries that have forced the Cougars to make adjustments to their lineup.
While there have been changes on the field, the results have continued to be positive for Montgomery. Last Saturday they topped Somerville, 4-1, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Somerset County Tournament. The fifth-seeded Cougars will play at No. 4 Bernards on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Montgomery girls are the No. 4 seed in the SCT and will host fifth-seeded Somerville on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Cougar girls received a bye through the first two rounds.
While the girls are home, the boys have to head on the road.
"It should be a good game," said Montgomery boys coach Rickey Steeb, whose team improved to 6-5 with a 2-1 win over Hunterdon Central on Tuesday. "They have been having a great year so this will be a tough challenge. We’re excited to be in this position."
The win over HC on Tuesday was the Cougars second straight and pushed them back over the .500 mark. Bernards comes into the game with a higher seed, but the Cougars feel prepared.
"Our conference is so tough," Steeb said. "Every game we play is a real test. Right now we’re battling some injuries and we’ve had to move some people around on the field. We’ve been looking for guys to step up and I thought they did that against Somerville.
"I thought we played well and when the boys play well together as a team I think we play a very attractive style of soccer. Right now we just need to be more consistent."
In the win over Somerville, Corey Atanda, Brad Raw, Albert Fehringer and Mark Wronko all scored goals for the Cougars.
"We have a lot of talented players," Steeb said. "Right now we’re just trying to battle through the injuries. We have not had the same starting 11 since I can’t remember when. We have guys playing out of position, but they’re all working hard. We still have goals we want to achieve and we’re in position to do that."
A big step toward achieving their goals would be a win over Bernards that would put the Cougars in the SCT semifinals. It would also put them one closer to clinching a spot in the Central Jersey Group IV tournament.
"We know it will be a good game," Steeb said. "We heard that they are probably having one of the best seasons they have ever had. We’re excited to face them. We have had guys step up and play well. Now we need to start to do that in back-to-back games and become more consistent.
"We’re trying to avoid making multiple mistakes in a game. We’ll play well for a long stretch and then make a bad mistake that will put us down. If we can avoid the mistakes, I like our chances."

