Kyle Lopez Gives Heights a Lethal Foot

Kyle Lopez and his fellow teammates on the Hasbrouck Heights soccer team know all the games are important when it comes to getting a state seeding.

Therefore for Lopez and Aviators head coach Vinny Marchese it was hard to swallow in the season opener when Wallington won 3-2 on their turf. The Group 1 state reigning champions won on a penalty kick with less than two minutes in the game.

"We didn't get a good call in that game," said Lopez who added that Heights gets Wallington at home on Oct. 13. "They are going to have come here."

In the 2011 opener the Aviators were winning 2-0 before Wallington came back with two goals and what for many thought the game should have been sent into overtime.

Since Heights, which is a Group 2 school as a co-op with Wood-Ridge and has mainly a Group 1 school schedule, a victory over the mighty Wallington would have given the Aviators plenty of power points in the state playoff seedings.

Last season, Heights finished with an 11-5-1 record, but had to go on the road in the first round of the Group 2 North 1 state tournament and lost.

For Marchese and the rest of the Aviators, Lopez has broken onto the scene with seven goals in the team’s first five games including one on Friday in the 6-0 victory over Manchester. The now senior has already eclipsed last year’s goal total of five for the entire season to make him Athlete of the Week.

Lopez credits the work with the rest of the team during the summer and is also working on shooting with his other foot. “I am trying to hit better with my left foot,” said Lopez who is an outside midfielder. “I was working hard with my team during the summer and finishing better.”

Just ask Marchese if it has paid dividends. "He's just been getting better and better," said Marchese. "He's gotten most of his goals with his left foot and he is a natural righty. It makes him dangerous."

Lopez was especially on against Weehawken with three goals in the 5-1 victory on Sept. 19. The senior points to his work with the likes of Dylan Colombo up front and Chris Bini in the midfield have worked well together as the Aviators have become lethal with the ball and have outscored their opponents, 20-4.

On the team Lopez is called DJack because he loves Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson and also ‘Papi‘, a special term for dad since Lopez is Columbian.

Not only is this his last season for the Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge team, but he is looking to play soccer in college. Every game is important for not only the Aviators, but also his college aspirations.

And there might some scouts behind Hasbrouck Heights High School on Tuesday when the Aviators take on Harrison. For Lopez and the rest of the Aviators, Tuesday will be a good test as they host the Blue Tide, one of the top soccer powerhouses in New Jersey.