Mike Folk is in his fourth season as Jackson Memorial High School’s starting soccer goalie and hopes for better things this season, which begins with a Sept. 8 match in Jackson at Jackson Liberty High School.
Last fall, Folk watched as one teammate after another went down with an injury.
“It was frustrating,” Folk said. “You play all this time and start off well and then players get injured. Our fitness is better this season.”
Jackson Memorial finished the 2010 campaign at 9-10-2, and a late-season surge led to berths in the Shore Conference Tournament and the NJSIAA state tournament. The Jaguars lost in the first round of each post-season tournament.
“We started fast and then had injuries,” said Jaguars coach Steve Bado, whose team opened the 2010 season with a 5-0-1 record. “We had a five-game spell where it seemed everyone was hurt. It affected us, big time. We were losing games by a goal instead of winning by a goal.”
Members of the Jackson Memorial High School soccer team run through their drills at the school in Jackson on Aug. 19 as they prepare for the start of the 2011 season. The Jaguars will open the new campaign by hosting cross-town rival Jackson Liberty High School at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 8. JEFF GRANIT staff Five starters from 2010 have graduated: center fullback Brandon Russo, who was team captain; forward Connor Saker; left halfback Ryan Totin; and outside fullbacks Kyle Shankler and Jason Smith.
Joe Ogren, who started at center halfback for the past three seasons, is skipping this season to concentrate on baseball.
“We lost six players, and they were all really good ones,” Bado said. “Last year’s team brought a lot of size and athleticism. This year’s players have even more soccer knowledge.
“Last year we had more power, but this is a more technical team,” Folk said of the 2011 Jaguars.
And they are young. Folk is one of only three seniors who will play prominent roles at this point, along with left fullback Mike Kaminskas, who was a midfielder last season, and TylerAndreas, who Bado said has been the most impressive player during the offseason workouts after moving up from the junior varsity.
“He did what he needed to do and got in shape,” Bado said of Andreas.
But it is the 6-2 Folk who carries the hopes for the Jaguars and has earned the praises of Bado.
“He’s looking very good, and everyone we have played has said that,” said Bado, whose team had 24 players at a camp in Gettysburg, Pa., as well as tournaments in Toms River and Neptune and scrimmages with Colts Neck, Lakewood and Brick Township. “He [Folk] has saved us a lot. He’s loaded with experience and has matured and become a leader,” Bado said. “It’s his confidence and work ethic. The team knows it can count on him, and he has taken on that responsibility.”
“I got stronger and taller,” Folk said. “I got more aggressive, more confident.”
There is a good supporting cast around Folk.
Tom Denoville, a junior, will be starting his third season at sweeper.
Matt Fritz, a junior, returns at center halfback, healed from knee surgery.
“Now he’s in full stride and looks really good,” Bado said. “He has good size at 6- 2 and is playing on all cylinders.” Oscar Rojas, a junior, is back as a starting outside midfielder, and Jared Musowski, a sophomore, is eager to put in a full season after he was injured early last season and never fully regained his stride when he returned to the lineup.
Musowski, who can play at forward or midfield, had scored four goals in his first three games before getting injured in 2010.
Anthony Diaz, a junior who grew up in Jackson but only recently returned after his family relocated back from South Carolina, has looked sharp at center halfback. He is proficient with either foot.
“I think we should make it pretty far” in post-season tournaments, Folk said. “We should be good technically. The defense is pretty strong. If we score goals, we should be pretty good.”
Folk agrees there is more pressure and incentive for him this season because it is his final campaign for the Jaguars.
“I’ve got to go out with a bang. We’ve got to win it [championships],” he said.
Lack of scoring punch was a drawback last season; the Jaguars’ goal production was balanced, but no one individual was a big finisher.
Other players who Bado believes can be significant contributors this season are senior defenders Colin McFarland and Matt Ragacki, junior outside halfback Tom Beyer, and sophomores Anthony Grovini at outside fullback and Jordan Hodges in the midfield.
Freshmen Dylan Greenblat in midfield and Colin Panara at marking back are in a fight for playing time, said Bado, but could work their way into the lineup in the future as they mature.
Sophomore Devin Josko is Folk’s backup in goal.