After 8 games the Colonia boys’ varsity soccer team has a 4-4 record. They have had their share of ups and downs so far but they have managed to push through it and not give up. That is a credit to both the coaches and the players.
One of their low points was against South Plainfield where they lost 2-0. The game was played at South Plainfield on September 21st at 4:00 P.M. South Plainfield was able to keep most of possession so Colonia had very few chances.
The Tigers scored an early first goal off a cross that the Patriots just couldn’t stop. The second goal came off a booming kick all the way from mid-field that went over goalie Ryan Litterer’s head.
The goals were scored by Jacob Alba and Richard Marovecchio while Jacob Villacres was credited with an assist. Ryan Litterer recorded 10 saves while his goalie counterpart Nick Plate recorded 3. Litterer said, “Even though we ended up losing, my players were banged up and battered but they still gave it their all. And that’s the definition of great teammates.”
Defender Damian Cunha stated, “If you don’t give it your all don’t expect something good in return.” Cunha has been playing soccer for 12 years. He grew up with the sport. If he wasn’t playing soccer he would be playing baseball because he was a baseball player before he was a soccer player. Beating Woodbridge and JFK are his highlights of the season so far because they are his rivals. Losing to Edison was his biggest surprise of the season so far because he felt like his team was better. Damian models his game after FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. Damian is not happy with the season so far because he feels like they lost games they should have won. His MVP of the season so far is Carlos Goncalves. Damian has no regrets with the season so far. If Damian had to pass the ball for a game winning shot he would pass it to Beto because “I have the most confidence in him.”
Coach Kizoulis has been coaching soccer for 15 seasons. He played soccer his whole life and always had a passion for the sport. He started coaching in his early 20s and had just as much fun playing as coaching. His proudest moment as a soccer coach is “Watching these young boys develop into respectful and productive young men.” Beating Woodbridge and JFK are also his highlights of the season so far because they’re his crosstown rivals. Meshaal Bannerman is his biggest surprise of the season so far because of his improvement from last year to this year being great and his versatility has allowed them to play him as both left and right back. When coaching, he emulates his high school coach Ed Bobao from JFK. Coach Kizoulis is not satisfied with .500 and neither are the players, they always strive to win more games than they lose each season. Coach K believes there is no MVP of the season so far; “There’s been so many key players that have stepped up this season that they’re all equally important.” His biggest regret is also not beating Edison at home; “We dominated the first 20 mins. and should have been up 3-0, but we let them hang around and they won 1-0.” Going forward, Coach Kizoulis hopes to accomplish winning as many games as he can going into the county and state tournaments, and to carry momentum into the postseason.
