By Josh Lashley, Special Writer
Soccer is among the ultimate of team sports.
Sure, individual athletes receive various all-star honors, and a select few players go on to become legendary.
But what makes soccer unique and highly enjoyable to watch is when an entire side is working in unity. It’s not something that occurs easily, and the finished product on the field is achieved only through hard work, the ability to learn from mistakes and build upon the strengths of everyone in the lineup.
Numerous times this season, the Northern Burlington High School boys soccer program was able to compete as a cohesive unit, and the results, as expected, were positive. The Greyhounds finished just under the .500 mark at 8-10-2. They also advanced to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Sectional Tournament where they lost, 2-1, to Red Bank Regional.
”I think our most impressive game was our 4-2 win against Holy Cross (on Oct. 7),” Northern Burlington head coach Justin Faust said. “We were fully healthy at that point and had everyone playing their natural position. We were able to go on the road and dominate for large portions of the game.
”The game that stands out to me the most was our 2-1 win at Florence (on Sept. 29) where we went down 1-0 with 10 minutes left and scored two goals before (the end of) regulation to win the game. It showed a great deal of character.”
The leadership by the upperclassmen on the roster didn’t go unnoticed by Faust.
”We had leadership from our captains throughout large portions of the season — Cam Allen, Jace Rinehart and Brian Ford,” he said. “A leader who truly emerged was Brett Meyer as a junior. He had an incredible attitude throughout the season by leading vocally and by example.”
Faust was pleased with how several student-athletes adjusted to playing at the varsity level.
”I think our group of younger players, mainly freshmen, really surprised me with how well they were able to handle the varsity game,” he said. “By the end of the season, we were playing four freshmen in our lineup, which shows how well they adjusted to our game. One player who grew throughout the season was Deon Bullard Jr., a junior, who really matured as a player to coincide with his talent.”
Faust was pleased with his team’s overall performance on the pitch this season and is very much looking forward to the fall of 2015.
”Although on paper, it (the Greyhounds’ record) doesn’t look as impressive as we would have liked, with the strength of schedule we play — Moorestown, Rancocas Valley, Delran and Cinnaminson two times a year — we should be proud of our season,” he said. “My optimism for next season is the return of a good senior core that has some extremely talented players — Kyle Adams, Meyer and Kyle Quigley — with some younger talent that got valuable minutes this season as well.”
