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MONTGOMERY: Cougars soccer is rolling

Rodgers, MHS boys claim top seed for SCT

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Jack Rodgers called his last three years with the Montgomery High School boys soccer team “nothing but up.”
   The Cougars have been on a steady rise since a winless season in 2012. They bounced back last year with many of the same players for an 11-6-2 season, and this year they have taken another step forward to start 9-3 and secure the first seed for the Somerset County Tournament.
   ”Last year, that made us realize we could compete with everyone,” said Rodgers, a senior captain for the Cougars. “This year, we came in believing. We knew we were good enough, but we had to work for it. We had to come together to make us a really good team.”
   MHS showed how far they have come in the first half of the season. Sandwiched around a tough stretch where they lost three one-goal games, including one in overtime, the Cougars defeated powers Pingry, Bridgewater-Raritan and Hunterdon Central. Since an overtime loss to North Hunterdon, MHS has won three straight, including topping Franklin, 3-1, Tuesday night.
   ”I think we’re playing pretty well,” said MHS head coach Rickey Steeb. “We started off 5-0, and beat some really good teams, like Pingry, Bridgewater and Hunterdon Central. We play in a really tough conference. The Skyland Conference is really tough. We lost three tight games. We lost a game in overtime. We had a couple guys injured. Right now we’re just trying to do the best we can and get better every day.”
   Billy Rodgers scored two goals, Christian Espana had the other, and Joey LaVake, Jack Rodgers and Conner Yurcisin each had an assist apiece. Matt Cabrera had to make three saves.
   ”I think we played well,” Jack Rodgers said. “It was a little chippy game, but overall I thought it was a good performance by us.
   ”I think we have a lot of momentum,” he added. “We’re really coming together. We’re kind of hitting our stride. We have guys coming back. One of our guys been out a couple weeks for ankle. We have another guy coming back who had an injury over summer, and he hasn’t played yet. He’s going to help.”
   The Cougars will need to be at their best as they open Somerset County Tournament play on Saturday by hosting eighth-seeded Somerville. For the first time since the 2004 season when MHS fell to Pingry, 2-0, in the SCT final, the Cougars are seeded No. 1.
   ”It’s huge for us,” Rodgers said. “To have home field advantage is huge. We’ve only dropped one game at home, and only two in the last two years. And having the first two Saturdays off was nice.”
   After a double bye, MHS picks up play for the county tournament. They are hoping that the same traits that have carried them to a fast start will continue in a run to the championship.
   ”I think we’re more fit than other teams,” Rodgers said. “This team has been a family and playing for each other and laying it on the line for each other.”
   That feeling of togetherness has grown through the past years. There are plenty of contributors this year that had to endure a winless season two years ago, and saw the team rebuild itself beginning last year.
   ”It’s really been pretty crazy,” Rodgers said. “Freshman year had a lot of talent, but not a lot of dedication. Sophomore year, we didn’t have talent or dedication. Last year, I didn’t think we had as much talent but we really stuck together and believed what coaches were coaching. And this year, it’s all come together.”
   MHS remains motivated by the frustrations of two years ago and inspired by its come back last year. The Cougars picked it up another notch this year.
   ”I’m not surprised,” Steeb said. “I was anticipating this. Two years ago, we didn’t win a game. A lot of those guys were on the team. Last year with the turnaround we did have some confidence. Right now, we’re playing well.
   ”For them to not give up after two years ago and work hard in the preseason, they got to see how much they improved last year. No one thought we would have had the season we had last year. That gave us the extra motivation to work hard in the offseason.”
   MHS scored just 11 goals in 2012. That number swelled to 47 last year, and this year they have 28 goals with 23 of them assisted. Joe Morrissey leads the team with eight goals and five assists, Espana has six goals, Rodgers has five goals and five assists and Billy Rodgers has three goals and an assist. The Cougars have won a number of ways, from a 1-0 shutout of Pingry to a 4-0 blanking of Ridge. They do not give up much, and they have enough firepower to overcome anyone.
   ”Our goals are pretty much spread out,” Steeb said. “Any given game, it could be anybody. Billy Rodgers had two goals tonight. He had one before that. The boys are really working together as a team. It doesn’t matter who it is. We just need someone to step up.
   ”I think we’re pretty strong all over,” he added. “To play against a Pingry and Bridgewater and Central and keep them down. I feel like we’ve outplayed the teams we’ve played so far and had a number of opportunities for the games we lost. We were right there, we were that close.”
   Montgomery has learned from its losses as well. Even though it has started well, the Cougars aren’t expecting to be able to glide through the second half of the season. The keys are not having any sort of letdown.
   ”I think probably maintain that high level of energy and not getting too overconfident and staying humble,” Rodgers said. “We came into Phillipsburg and hadn’t heard too much about them and we lost.”
   MHS bounced back from the shock. The Cougars have been in position to win every game this season. Until Tuesday, they had scored the first goal in every game this season.
   ”We come out hard to play,” Jack Rodgers explained.
   The Cougars held higher expectations for themselves even before the season began. They returned from the summer with renewed optimism.
   ”We had huge expectations coming in this year,” Rodgers said. “I looked at the schedule and I didn’t think there was a game we should lose. I think a lot of teams are having down years and we’re on an up year.”
   Rodgers is enjoying his final season with the Cougars. He is exploring his options to play in college, and he is doing his best to set the tone for MHS while manning his usual midfield role.
   ”I think it’s a little different this year,” Rodgers said. “It’s the first year I’m officially named captain. I had to step into a role of being a more active leader. I think everyone knows their role. I think I just lead by example. Everyone knows what their role is and how to do it.”
   The Cougars are anxious to continue their ways when they start the SCT. As the top seed, there’s no sneaking up on anyone this year, and MHS is determined to hold its top spot.
   ”With the teams we’ve played so far this year and scrimmages we played — we scrimmaged Scotch Plains, Allentown and Princeton – I don’t think we’ll see anything that will surprise us,” Steeb said. “I think the boys are ready.
   ”We didn’t play Somerville yet. Obviously, we have to go out there and play our style of soccer and execute. Really, it’s possessing the ball. It’s fast. It’s physical. It’s a really attractive style of soccer. We try to take the ball and put pressure on teams.”
   The style has the Cougars at the top of the county to begin tournament play, and in place to accomplish some big goals for their program.
   ”We have a lot of guys returning from last year and even the year before that,” Steeb said. “The last two years, they’ve gained a lot of good varsity experience. This year, we’re really putting it together and playing as a team and playing at a different level.”