Sayreville War Memorial High School’s boys soccer team rebounded from a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory against Woodbridge on Thursday.
The win improved the Bombers’ record to 7-6-1. Sayreville got off to a 1-3-1 start before reeling off five successive wins. Coach Nick Cifelli’s team’s three most recent losses were all by one goal.
A year ago, the Blue and Gray struggled at times to score goals, but that has not been an issue this year. Striker Fernando Maldonado had scored in nine successive games heading into his team’s clash with John F. Kennedy High School on Oct. 14. The junior has 22 goals in all, including four hat tricks, to go along with four assists.
“Fernando has great speed, and we saw what he could do last year when he scored seven goals, but he missed half of the season with injuries,” Cifelli said. “We have a good group of forwards, and they’re all dangerous.”
So much so that opponents cannot focus solely on Maldonado. Junior strikers Louis Brooks and Lucas Pereira are also difficult to contain. Brooks has five goals and three assists, while Pereira has scored four times in addition to picking up a pair of assists. The Bombers have received scoring from the middle, too. Isaac Balogee has contributed three goals and three assists, Kevin Asare has two tallies and five assists, Trevor Pucciarello has scored a pair of goals with three assists and Matt Barbosa has a goal and four assists.
At the other end of the field, Sayreville goalkeeper Connor Drabik has made 75 saves to go along with five clean sheets. Sayreville’s able defensive unit includes Ryan Mosser, Joe Pucciarello, Justin Santos and Bjorn Anderson.
Following the Kennedy match, Cifelli’s team will close out the regular season with matches Oct. 16 against Perth Amboy and Oct. 17 against Metuchen before heading into the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament. The Bombers will also compete in the upcoming NJSIAA Central Group IV tourney.
“Our goal has always been to do well and advance deep in the tournaments,” said Cifelli, whose team fell in the first round a year ago to J.P. Stevens. “We know we have the talent to win those matches.”