The Colonia Boys Soccer team closed the book on one of the most successful seasons in school history on November 18 at The Forge for their banquet. The Patriots finished the season off 14-6-3 and overall it was a great season for Coach Kizoulis’ team, which consists of 13 seniors.
The season started with a bang, and during the first game of the season, the Patriots won in overtime, thanks to a glorious free-kick by Senior Brandon Bras. Colonia would continue to dominate competition and went undefeated through its first 8 games in a tricky division. This included wins over cross-town rivals Woodbridge and Kennedy, 3-1 and 1-0 respectively. Also a blowout win vs Edison and a hard earned draw against annual contenders South Plainfield.
It wasn’t until a tough loss vs New Brunswick did Colonia taste defeat. This loss didn’t rattle Kizoulis’ men, as they would bounce back to beat Woodbridge again and Sayreville too 4-3, in a game regarded by both Mr. Pace and Mr. LaSala as the “game of the season.”
By now, the Patriots were in contention for a potential White Division title, which would be the teams first since 2004. In the final regular season game vs South Plainfield, the Patriots came up just short to a solid team and finished second in the division. This great regular season granted the Patriots a 9 seed in Counties, as they lost in the quarterfinals to one-seeded South Brunswick.
Soon came States, and after defeating Orange, the Patriots suffered a heartbreaking loss to Newark East Side, in the last ever game for 13 seniors. Finishing the season off with the most goals, was senior Joel Concha with 9, while senior captain Nick Filzen led the team in assists, with most coming off his lethal throw-ins. Senior Goalkeeper Derek Phells finished with 131 saves on the year.
Making all-division for the Pats were Phells, Filzen, Concha, Bras along with fellow senior Kevin Korycki. All in all, it was a memorable season for Colonia Boys’ Soccer.
