After losing a heartbreaker in the season opener, Edison High School coach Brian Murtagh was worried about his boys’ soccer team’s confidence coming into a big game against rival Woodbridge High School.
“We have a bunch of new leadership on the field,” Murtagh said. “We’re looking for those guys to step up into those roles. We have a bunch of guys still fight for positions. We have a decent amount of depth this year, so we really want to see who’s going to step in and take over in their role and claim their spot on the field for the year.”
The biggest thing Murtagh and his staff were looking for is the team to believe they can beat anyone.
“We’re just looking for confidence,” the coach said. “We’ve had some self esteem issues and guys getting down on each other during the preseason. So we’re just trying to build them up and have them build each other up to really be confident in their games and to get the best out of them every day.”
The Eagles had squandered a two-goal lead late in the game on opening day and fell to Old Bridge High School, 3-2, on Sept. 5 in Edison.
So Murtagh’s young team looked to bounce back against division favorite Woodbridge when it played as the host to the Barrons on Sept. 7.
“We’re looking at this game as a must-win game,” Murtagh said prior to the matchup. “I look at Woodbridge as, if not the top, one of the top two teams in our division this year. We can’t afford to be losing ground on them right away. We would like to get a win and gain some ground on them. You never know game to game what could happen, so to get a win tonight would be absolutely huge. We told our guys this is a must win. Hopefully, they put that chip on their shoulder and play like it.”
Woodbridge looked like the better team early, scoring two goals in the first few minutes of the game. However, the Eagles rallied and tied the game at the half.
Edison then controlled play and scored two more goals in the second half to beat Woodbridge, 4-2.
Junior midfielder Benito Rojas scored two of the Edison goals. Rojas stated that the team never gave up, despite being down early.
“We just had to keep our heads up,” Rojas said. “We’re a brotherhood out here. We had to fight until the end. We worked hard all summer and didn’t want to start the season 0-2. We had to do what it took to get the win.”
Senior goalkeeper Michael Quest admitted that he felt the pressure to perform, especially after the loss to Old Bridge, but he never wavered in his belief in the team.
“I know the team was depending on me,” Quest said. “I just had to step up and make big plays to help win the game.”
Quest, who made seven saves in the contest, said it was easy to get over the two early Woodbridge goals because he knew his team’s offense would get the goals back.
“I knew that our team had to ability to get back into the game,” Quest said. “We did just that. I was able to shake off the two goals and focus on the rest of the time.”
Murtagh was thrilled with his team’s effort and reiterated how important the game was.
“It feels good,” Murtagh said. “I think we needed that. We were a little down on ourselves after giving up the two-goal lead with a few minutes left to go against Old Bridge, so we were at a low point. I said it before: we had this as a must-win game. We knew we had to make up ground right away.”
Murtagh stated that the difference in the team’s performance came down to confidence.
“Some of my teams over my years coaching here that have gone the furthest in the tournament, even in 2011 when we were the [Greater Middlesex Conference] co-champions, we were the No. 10 seed. We were nowhere near the best team on the field on any given day, and we came out on top of the county,” Murtagh said. “In high school ball, whether it’s red, white, blue or gold division, everyone is so close. Whoever is playing with the most confidence and playing the most together is going to be the team that comes out on top.”
Murtagh wants the victory against Woodbridge to put the team’s self doubt in check forever and to be a catalyst for the rest of the year.
“I almost don’t want the couple days off and continue with this momentum, but I’m grateful for the win and the rest,” the coach said. “We’ll see how they respond going forward.”
Edison had a chance to respond positively in its game scheduled on Sept. 12 at home against John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. The Eagles travel to South Plainfield High School on Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. and Sayreville War Memorial High School on Sept. 16 at 10 a.m.