Fall sports are about to start for Montville Township High School varsity squads. As opening day approaches, we look at teams as they ready for competition.
OVERVIEW
The Mustangs have been outstanding in recent years. Last year they captured both Morris County Tournament and state sectional titles. This season they will have to replace several outstanding seniors that played in key positions. Impossible to replace is Morris County Player of the Year J.P. Correa who is now playing at Rutgers. All of this year’s players are being challenged to raise their level of play in order to reach the standards they have set for themselves.
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LAST SEASON'S RESULTS
The Mustangs had one of the best seasons in school history finishing with a 24-2 mark. They defeated Chatham 1-0 in double overtime on an Austin Okereke goal to capture the Morris County Tournament title. They captured a North 1 Group III title with a 5-1 romp over Wayne Valley but then fell to that same Chatham team 1-0 in overtime in a Group III semifinal to end a spectacular season.
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KEEP YOUR EYE ON
• Jack London, Midfielder (Jr.)—A two-year starter, London is one of the players being challenged to step up this year. He is quick on the ball and a hard worker. He will be needed to make the right decisions to generate the Mustangs offense.
• Mike Georgiades, Midfielder (Sr.)-He roams the field. He has good speed and a good first touch. If he can improve his work rate, the Mustangs should begin to click on the attack.
• Jared Weiner, Defense (Sr.)—Defense will be important since Montville will have unproven varsity goalkeepers and possibly fewer goals on offense. He is the leader in the back. Weiner is a terrific communicator and he has good size for the battles in the box.
THEY'LL MISS
• Austin Okereke, forward—The Mustangs performer was a target forward who bedeviled opposing defenses. He had 10 goals and 10 assists for Montville.
• J.P. Correa, Midfielder—He was Morris County Player of the Year and the winner of the Haas Cup as the Morris County Tournament MVP. An exceptional talent with more than 30 goals and 20 assists to his credit. He is now starting at Rutgers.
• Rob Swallow, goalkeeper—Swallow did a terrific in keeping the ball out of the Mustangs’ net.
COACH'S TAKE
• "It’s really hard to repeat what we did last year. Those seasons only come once in a long time. We can only work hard and hope for the best. If we play as a team, on defense all the way up to our attack, we have a good chance of having a good year." —Jonathan Lopuski
THEY SAID IT
• "I think everything needs to improve. The defense needs to get better. Our key to this year is more passing up front and scoring a lot of goals. This year it’s going to be a lot different. We’re going to have to play every game like it’s our last game. It should be another solid season. We lost a lot of good players but don’t expect anything less than last season. " —Eric Manning, senior defender
• "This year we don’t have a kid that is going to score 36 goals. It’s more about working as a group. You don’t have that one player that is going to win us a game in the last second. We all have to pass and make those combinations to get us to the goal. It’s not going to be as easy as last year but if we all work hard every game we can do it." —London
• "We have the same defense so we should be pretty solid there. We just have to score a lot of goals. Last year we had an All-American. We would just pass him the ball and he would beat five people. So we have to adjust our style of play. We have to pass more." —Georgiades
• "Kids are always trying to win spots, especially after last year. Everyone is working really hard. We’ve been having a good preseason so far. We’re looking like a strong team. All the seniors have been doing great." —Weiner
Fall Sports Previews
Tuesday:
Wednesday: Boys Soccer
Thursday: Field Hockey
Friday: Football
