Maroons Boys Soccer Shooting for County, States

The Ridgewood boys soccer team would really like to get back to the Bergen County tournament.

The Maroons fell short of that goal last season and they want to get back to face the elite of the county at least to get one game. "That is one of our main focuses this season," said Ridgewood head coach Craig Mahler who added about the state tournament. "We want to get in and win at least a state game."

Ridgewood finished with a 9-9 record last season and tied with Paramus and Bergen Tech for the Big North Liberty division title.

Mahler and his Maroons team would like to take the divisional title outright this year. "The key is we need to take care of our own business," the coach said.

And on Wednesday Ridgewood took care of their own business in the second half en route to a 4-2 victory over Passaic Tech, 4-2, at home at Somerville School.

The Maroons, now 1-0-1 after the victory, were down 2-0 at halftime before scoring four unanswered goals by four different scorers. Senior forward/defenseman Mike Henni, senior midfielder/forward Alec Cobb, senior forward Matt Steinberg and senior midfielder Yusuf Hamza all bore down on the Bulldogs.

Ridgewood will be playing at unfamiliar Somerville School after Hurricane Irene scarred the the high school field turf. In the season opener on Sept. 10, the Maroons tied Hackensack, 1-1, on the road.

According to Mahler, the district was able to get the turf field company to fix the field and hope it's ready for Sept. 24.

September 24 is a key soccer date in Ridgewood – it's "Super Soccer Saturday" with the freshman, junior varsity and varsity boys soccer teams playing back-to-back-to-back games. Varsity is the last game at 7 p.m. under the lights. Additionally, "Super Soccer Saturday" will be a benefit for Soccer in Haiti where Ridgewood will be collecting soccer goods, balls, cleats, etc.

"The strength of the team is that we put a lot of pressure on the other team," said Mahler. "They can put high pressure on offense and defense."

That was the case against Passaic Tech as the Maroons put the pressure on the Bulldogs in the second half and it bore fruit.

Mahler has seven starters back led by two All Big North honorees from last year in senior forward Steinberg and senior midfielder Hamza. Steinberg moves from midfield to forward this season. "Matt is very attack minded player and skilled," said Mahler. "We're expected him to score a lot of goals. Matt can be very dangerous."
   
Hamza's leadership and work in the middle are big pluses for the Maroons. "He controls the center of the field and loves to play," said Mahler. "Yusuf has a calming effect on the team."
   
The other starters back are junior midfielder/defense Cooper Holmes, junior defenseman Nick Simon, junior defenseman Brandon Grant and junior forward Billy Maltz.
   
The newcomers include senior defenseman Andy Brodkin and both goal keepers in junior Nick Tselios and senior Pete Goodman.

"At this point right now, both of the them are playing extremely well," said Mahler, who added that he could play both goalies in each game."If one is on why not go with the hot hand?"

Against Passaic Tech, Tselios and Goodman split time with each goalie taking a half.
   
A starter who is back that was lost to an ACL injury last season is senior midfielder/forward Alec Cobb, who could be a big player for the Maroons if he is fully healthy.

The other seniors on the 2011 squad include Henni, midfielder Zach Hannerfeld, defenseman Steven Kaiser, forward Alex Majors and forward Chris Tarzian.
   

Ridgewood 2011 boys soccer schedule

(Games at 4:15 p.m. unless noted. Also the game against Ramapo slated on Sept. 12 has not been rescheduled as of this week.)

Sept. 14        Passaic Tech
Sept. 16        at Teaneck
Sept. 19        Don Bosco
Sept. 21        at Bergen Tech
Sept. 24        Paramus, 7 p.m.
Sept. 26        at Northern Highlands
Oct. 3            Hackensack
Oct. 5            Old Tappan
Oct. 11          at Fair Lawn
Oct. 14          Teaneck, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17          at Don Bosco, 7 p.m.
Oct. 20          at Paramus, 7 p.m.
Oct. 25          Bergen Tech
Oct. 31          at Demarest