By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
Andrew Patterson never knows exactly where he will be playing, and Hillsborough High School boys soccer coach Eric Puma has tried him in a variety of spots.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to change right away,” Patterson said. “He switched me up to play forward last game, and right when he put me there, I scored. It’s interesting switching around. Sometimes I do need a break.”
The Raiders senior played three different positions and scored the only two goals of the game as 11th-seeded Hillsborough upset sixth-seeded and unbeaten North Plainfield, 2-0, in the Somerset County Tournament second round Saturday. Gareth Dennis and Zurab Bedoshvili had an assist apiece while Robbie Degaris recorded his first shutout of the season in the Raiders’ second win of the year.
“We’re struggling,” Patterson said, “but we’re making a run in counties. With every single game we improve. Montgomery is the only team we’ve lost to by more than one goal. Our record does not show how good we are.”
Frustration could be piling up for the Raiders if it weren’t for a perfect run thus far through the SCT. Their two wins in the county tournament are their only two wins through 12 games, but that record doesn’t tell how competitive they have been.
“I have guys that I play (club) with telling me all the time, ‘You guys are not 2-9-1,’” Patterson said. “’You’re not that bad a team.’ I think teams should be scared to play us, even though our record isn’t good.”
Patterson is happy to be back helping the Raiders after missing a chunk of last year with a concussion. The season hasn’t begun the way that he dreamed, but there’s still the chance to finish well.
“I feel like the seniors are going to push the younger kids to keep going and keep fighting,” Patterson said. “And I saw after Senior Night when we had our loss that the underclassmen were upset with themselves because they felt like they were letting the seniors down. It shows how close we are as a team because they didn’t want to let us down.”
Patterson is a constant that the Raiders are happy to have back in their lineup. He’s been a starter since sophomore year, and his versatility has been a plus for Hillsborough.
“On my club team, I play center back and left back,” Patterson said. “At the higher level, my best spot would probably be defense. But I’ve always had that extra instinct in the final third, that intensity, that’s why I play attacking on high school. We have a strong defense with two center backs who are seniors and two outside backs that are strong. We don’t have a problem searching for defenders. He moves me around to see where he needs me to play.”
Patterson aided an offense that is coming to life. They have put more shots on goal in recent action, and scored a season-high three goals in a loss to Ridge last week. They are getting healthier and more comfortable in their roles.
“I don’t see why we can’t win the rest of the season out and make a good run in counties,” Patterson said.
Next up in the SCT in poetic fashion is Montgomery, the No. 3 seed, and the only team to defeat them by more than one goal this year. Hillsborough will play at Montgomery on Saturday and they will be the underdogs again.
“I experienced sophomore year when we were eighth seed and we made it all the way to the county final,” Patterson said. “We made it far and upset Pingry. We’ve got some experience. We have four or five kids that have experienced that and know what it takes. Montgomery, we’re trying to put together a scouting report. My coach did a good job of scouting out North Plainfield. They were undefeated. They’ve scored four or more goals in all their games. We shut them down.”
The defensive dominance along with some timely goals from Patterson have the Raiders feeling good about their play.
“That was our first shutout of the season,” Patterson said. “It switched. That was where we clicked and now we’re moving forward. We kept on fighting and fighting and we finally clicked.”
Hillsborough is hoping to use its regular season games to boost its momentum. So far piecing together any sort of winning streak has been a challenge. After topping Rutgers Prep in the opening round, the Raiders dropped a pair of one-goal games. Patterson is one of four captains charged with keeping the team positive and they have tried everything to stick together through the trying start.
“I’ve been on the team for three years, and this is the closest I’ve felt and the most I’ve been able to talk to them,” Patterson said. “We had a pasta dinner at my house. We had a couple team bonding things. We keep trying to push through it. Coach has done some stuff with us. Last Friday we did a film session and Coach had us do a tug of war. It hurt our hands, and he put up a quote: ‘Don’t let go of the rope.’ The rest of the season, we said we’re not letting go of the rope, no matter how much it hurts.”
Avenging a regular-season loss to Montgomery would provide a positive and confidence. There is plenty to build off of with their latest county win.
“When we played North Plainfield, we connected on defense really well and were talking the whole time and communicating,” Patterson said. “We played good team defense and we scored on our chances. I think if we just finish out games and also start games well, we’ll have a good rest of the season.”
The Raiders have not quit on their chances, and have revealed themselves to be second-half side in games. Now they are looking to have a solid second half to their season.
“It’s been consistent that we haven’t started off games strong and we’re low in the beginning and we’d get down,” Patterson said. “Our second half of the season, we tried to fight back. That’s what our second half of the season has been. Our mistakes cost us and other teams’ mistakes don’t cost them.”
Fueling Hillsborough is the chance to prove how much better they are than their record, and with it, the opportunity to play for a title.
“I think we have more momentum and we’re going to keep carrying it and try to get as far as we can in counties,” Patterson said. “Coach Puma said there’s not a high likelihood you’re not going to make states. They take your first 13 games. You have to play these games like it’s the end of the season. Our season is counties and the rest of the season. Counties is pretty much our state tournament. We want to make some noise in the state tournament.”
