Boys soccer has historically been one of the most successful programs at Bernards High School.
For the 2024 season, the Mountaineers hoped to continue the success the team has grown accustomed to. Their home opener was played on September 4th at Olcott Field against North Hunterdon. Unfortunately, the season started shaky after losing 3-0 in a poor offensive performance.
The Mountaineers were able to turn things around just three days later after beating Montgomery on the road 1-0. Following Montgomery, Bernards beat rival school Watchung Hills 1-0 at home. Bernards won their next two games against Hillsborough and Somerville making their record 4-1.
On September 21st, Bernards took on Franklin at home. After a hard-fought 80 minutes, Franklin took the game 2-1.
Starting the season off with a record of 4-2 was not what the team had hoped for. “We practiced hard, and stayed focused so we could bounce back and start winning,” said goalie Samuel Rios ‘26.
Bernards soccer has always proven to be a resilient team and that shined through when they went 5-0 over their next five games including a massive 8-0 win over Central Jersey College Charter that included a very impressive showing from the offense, and a shutout from Junior Goalie, Samuel Rios.
On October 15th, Bernards took on a rival school, Gill St. Bernard’s, in their county tournament’s semifinal game. Many players had high hopes going into the game. Tim Koke ‘26 midfielder, said before the semifinal game, “As a team, some kids were scared heading into that game because we have a lot of young players that had never experienced that before. We were still confident going into it though and we felt good.”
For both sides, defense came to play that day as no goals were scored in the entirety of regulation. The defensive effort continued in OT as no goals were scored during the “Golden Goal” period.
This shutout sent the game into penalty shots where Bernards lost, so they were out of the county tournament. Luckily, their season was not over.
Following the upsetting loss to Gill, Bernards went on to win their next 4 games including a 3-1 win over cross-town rival Ridge. The first round of the regional state tournament was played on November 5th against Science Park. After a stunning outing from the offense, Bernards took the game 5-1.
The quarter-final of the sectionals was played on November 8th against Voorhees at Olcott Field. After a very hard-fought game on both sides, Bernards lost 1-0 bringing their season to an end. Although they did not go as far as they had hoped in the playoffs, Bernards Boys Soccer ended their season with an overall record of 14-4.
