By: Camille Ortega ‘21
Dunellen High School’s first boy’s soccer team started their 2018 fall season on Aug. 13, finishing up the season with a team record of 5-2. The boys defeated Woodbridge in their opening game, with a final score of 7-0. Regardless of it being the teams first year in action, they were also able to beat Dunellen's biggest rivals, the Middlesex Blue Jays with the final score of 3-1. Head Coach Brendan Tennant was quite pleased with this outcome.
“There were games where other teams were tired in the end. The Middlesex game is a great example, we definitely dominated the second half of the game.” Mr. Tennant said enthusiastically.
Tennant said, “I looked at the players that were there from the beginning, the players that put the time in, in terms of the preseason practices and then the actual pre-season. I thought Jose and Josh were definitely leaders in how they formed and organized the whole thing.”
There were two captains on the team, senior Jose Lizardo and junior Jashua Coca, they both displayed a positive work ethic and pushed themselves as well as their teammates.
Coca said, “I gave them positive criticism in order to improve their mistakes, I was the loudest on the field!”
Coach Tennant said that seeing the town come together during the games was something that filled Columbia Park with even more excitement.
“Having so many people in the stands cheering for the boy's soccer team was phenomenal!”
The games were all free and open to anyone. From students to parents and teachers, the boys’ support system was always there. Even at away games, the team always had a stable source of motivation. Goal after goal, sophomore Jasson Pimentel’s father would blow a horn and the crowd would go wild!
Towards the end of the soccer season, the team moved to the GMC tournament where they won their first game against Woodbridge Academy on Oct. 18. The team’s season came to a close with a loss against New Brunswick with a final score of 2-1. Although it has been an ongoing topic that money was the only factor that was holding back the idea of a boys soccer team, Dunellen High School Principal, Paul Lynch, was able to discuss everything else that was involved.
“After we finished doing our budget we were able to allocate enough money in order to make the program happen, but again one of the biggest keys is the fact that we are going to be able to get turf field over there so field space isn't going to be the issue it has been.”
It is still too early to tell if the boy's soccer team will be playing at a varsity level for the year to come, but with new facilities such as a turf field, the season will be more suitable for all team players. Although the boys were technically not in a division due to it being their first year in action, they fought in order to prove how crucial it was for Dunellen to have a boy’s soccer team.