The Varsity Boys’ Soccer team has a 11-3-2 record and is second behind Gill St. Bernard’s in New Jersey’s Skyland-Valley conference, which also includes Warren Hills, Delaware Valley, Immaculata, Voorhees, and Somerville. Junior Dan Paez scored the only goal in the tied opening game of the season against Immaculata, with senior Dan Schindler assisting and goalkeeper Andres Lezme having three saves. They then lost 0-3 to Gill St. Bernard’s, beat Voorhees 3-0, beat Delaware Valley 2-0, dominated Governor Livingston 5-1, lost 0-2 to Warren Hills, won against Somerville 2-0, again against Immaculata, lost again to Gill St. Bernard’s, again against Immaculata, tied Voorhees 1-1, beat Delaware Valley again, Bridgewater-Raritan 1-0, and North Plainfield 1-0 on October 20. They then played Warren Hills on October 22, winning 4-1, but lost to Pingry 2-0 on October 24 in the semifinal round of the Somerset County Tournament. Nick Neptune leads the team with 12 goals scored, followed by Dan Paez with 9 and Nico Arza with 3. Nico Arza is the leader in assists with 9, followed by Freddy Ludtke and Dan Paez, each with 5.
The boys’ Varsity soccer coach is Joseph Laspada, who is also a teacher at the Bernardsville Middle School. “The plan for success this season is playing quickly and accurately with passes and moving off the ball to create space for each other,” he said. “The players need to focus more on the importance of set pieces, attacking and defending. My biggest praise/criticism of the season would be how well the boys get along on and off the field.”
Junior Freddy Ludtke said, “The key to our success this season has been our ability to defend. Our goalie, Andres Lezme, and every player along our backline has come up big at different points throughout the season, either to hold on to a lead or to keep us in games. Going into the state tournament, we need to focus more on our offensive productivity. We need to be more creative in terms of our movement of the ball. Also, finding ways to grind out wins when things aren’t going our way will be important the further we get in the state tournament. My biggest praise of our team would have to be our solidarity and resilience. We’ve responded well to adversity and every player on the roster, from the guys who play every minute to the guys on the bench, has been essential to our team’s success. Our primary objective is to make as deep a run in the state tournament as possible. Now that we are out of the running for our conference and out of the county tournament, the state tournament is our main focus.”
“Our biggest achievement this season so far was our win at Bridgewater in the Country Quarterfinals, which went to penalty kicks. We won in the 7th round,” said coach Laspada. “ Dan Schindler scored twice in the shootout while Dan Paez, Nick Neptune, and Freddy Ludtke made their kicks before Andres came up with the big save to win it. In addition, Dan Schindler said, “Beating Delaware Valley at an away game by scoring with 30 seconds to go was definitely an exciting moment.”
The best advice each can give the players for success: “Outwork our opponent in all the facets of the game,” said Laspada, and from Ludtke, “Work hard, prepare right, and stay calm. Soccer is a crazy game and anything can happen over the course of 80 minutes, so we need to be prepared for anything. Also, for the younger guys, my best advice would be to enjoy the moment. The high school years go by so fast, so be sure to take time and enjoy every part of the journey.”
Bordentown defeated Bernards on November 10 in the Central Jersey, Group 2 sectional semifinal round after 80 minutes of soccer went into sudden-death overtime. Matt Horner of Bordentown scored the golden goal to win the game 2-1, with Bordentown’s Andre Justin and Bernards’ Dan Paez also scoring. Bordentown will play Holmdel in the final round on Friday.
