Howell High School’s Kevin Kappock (4) clears the ball away from Freehold Township’s Vinny Puglia during an Oct. 12 soccer match pitting the Rebels against the Patriots. Howell won the Shore Conference A North Division contest, 2-1. JEFF GRANIT staff A fter scoring what proved to be the winning goal in his team’s Oct. 12 soccer match against Freehold Township High School, Howell High School forward Jeremy Hoops said, “My job is to score goals.”
It is likely that none of the goals Hoops has scored this season have been as important as the goal he scored against Freehold Township.
Howell’s 2-1 victory in Freehold Township put the Rebels in the driver’s seat to win the 2011 Shore Conference A North Division public school crown.
The Rebels (11-3 overall; 9-3 A North) completed the task by defeating Middletown South, 1-0, on Oct. 15 on a penalty kick by Drew Lyon, and Marlboro, 5-3, on Oct. 17 to win the A North public school crown. In the win over Marlboro, Chris Hill scored three goals and Kevin Kappock scored twice to power the Rebels to victory.
Private school Christian Brothers Academy of Lincroft won the overall A North title. The Colts are undefeated.
Against Freehold Township on Oct. 12, Howell was leading 1-0 on Lyon’s penalty kick when Hoops extended the Rebels’ lead to 2-0 with a goal with six minutes left in the first half.
“We needed more goals,” the sophomore forward said. “It’s tough to win 1-0 games.”
Acrossing pass inside the 18 from Kappock set up Hoops for the score that gave the Rebels a two-goal cushion.
“I took (the pass) off my chest and placed it in the corner” of the net, Hoops said, describing his seventh goal of the season .
Goals like the one Hoops scored against Freehold Township have been typical of the Rebels all season, according to coach Rich Yuro.
“We are seeing a little more urgency inside the box,” he said. “Last year there was the feeling we would get another chance. This year’s team is playing with a little more urgency. A lot of guys are contributing. ”
Howell opened the season with a 4-0 win over Middletown South and that result removed any doubts there may have been about the team’s ability to score.
“We got off to a fast start and gelled as a team,” Hoops said. “It’s given us confidence.”
Howell and Freehold Township entered their Oct. 12 match in a virtual tie for first place among theANorth public schools (the Patriots were 7-3 and Howell was 6-3 when the match was played).
The Patriots won the first meeting of the season in Howell last month, 2-1.
“They beat us through the midfield,” Hoops said. “We knew we had to tighten that up. They are a good team.” In the rematch, a handball call in the box gave Howell a chance to get on the scoreboard first. Lyon took full advantage and converted the penalty kick in the 17th minute.
Hoops extended the lead to 2-0 with his goal late in the first half. It was a half that was controlled by the Rebels.
Yuro reminded his players just before they took the field for the second half how important the first 10 minutes would be and he told them they had to remain aggressive and not give the Patriots life.
The Rebels followed his instructions and held on to their two-goal advantage as the minutes clicked off the clock.
Freehold Township made it a game in the waning minutes because of Phil Horan’s skill at taking corner kicks. Horan, a goalie who holds school records for wins and shutouts, broke a finger several weeks ago and has not been able to play in net. He has, however, taken a spot in the midfield.
Against Howell, Horan’s perfect placement of a corner kick was headed into the net by Brian Dziobak, who jumped higher than everyone else on the set play.
There was still 5:20 on the clock when Dziobak scored. At that point the Patriots were on the march and the Rebels were on their heels.
Howell keeper Luke Weber, who had not been tested much during the game, was now under constant assault as the Patriots pushed everyone upfield. Weber aggressively left the goal area to beat several attackers to through balls and crossing passes.
The Rebels managed to hold on in those frantic last five minutes for a 2-1 win.
“I’m pleasantly pleased,” Yuro said of his team’s performance this season. “We had young guys and you don’t know how they would react. We’ve had good leadership from Drew (Lyon) and Chris (Hill) and the other seniors.”
The bottom line, Yuro said, is that “they are pretty hungry to win.”
The Rebels showed a lot of maturity at Freehold Township because they were playing the Patriots the day after beating a dangerous Manalapan team, 4-1.
“You are always concerned about a letdown after a big win,” said Yuro, who added that the importance of the match and the Rebels’ rivalry with Freehold Township made a letdown unlikely.
Howell and Freehold Township will both qualify for the state tournament. Teams must be at or above .500 at the end of play on Oct. 21 in order to automatically qualify.