Boys Soccer: GMC Player of the Year and other postseason honors, 2017

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:Matt Hoyt spent the last two years in a complementary role at Monroe, distributing from the midfield for two of the best players in program history.

This year, it was Hoyt’s turn to shine in the spotlight.

Hoyt, nearly unstoppable in the midfield, became the school’s all-time assists leader on his way to a 20-goal, 30-assist season as Monroe quickly became the team to beat in the Greater Middlesex Conference.

Even more outstanding: Hoyt had at least one goal or one assist in all 24 of Monroe’s games, further defending the point that stopping him, even in losses, was impossible to do.

"Matt has taken a lead role the last couple years," Monroe coach Steve MacKenzie said of Hoyt. "In the past, he's taken a secondary role to some great scorers. He's the same type of player. He gives us the opportunity to penetrate in the midfield, which opens some stuff up for our forwards. Even in preseason, from end-to-end, attacking at the backs, he's been excellent."

Hoyt scored multiple goals in four different games this season and tallied three assists in wins over East Brunswick on Sept. 7 and Piscataway on Oct. 5.

TEAM OF THE YEAR: After back-to-back years of long winning streaks to start the season, Monroe found itself in an unfamiliar spot when it lost on Opening Day to rival South Brunswick.

But that proved to be no issue as Monroe went on to go without a loss in the next 22 games until a 2-1 result against Princeton in the Central Jersey, Group 4 semifinals.

Along the way: another Red Division title and a Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title – the program’s first since 2014.

Monroe was led by the three-headed offensive monster of Hoyt (20 goals, 30 assists), Brendan Deal (23 goals, 14 assists) and freshman Christian Bernal (16 goals, six assists).

Liam Craver tallied 19 assists as a playmaker in the midfield and Nick Rios was strong in net for Monroe all season.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Under Keith Roig, Highland Park made history this season, winning the Central Jersey, Group 1 title for the first time in program history.

Led by the program’s all-time leading scorer Jonah Beberman, who scored 36 goals for the Owls, Highland Park won 16 games for just the third time in history and reached the Group 1 semifinals before bowing out against a strong Glassboro team with a bid for the state final on the line.

Highland Park, a small Group 1 school that often gets lost among the giant Group 4 schools in the GMC, won 13 of its first 15 games and reached the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament quarterfinals before falling to finalist South Brunswick, 3-2.

Roig had the Owls believing that they were, all season, truly one of the most talented teams in Middlesex County.

Highland Park dropped defending sectional champion Asbury Park, 5-1, in the sectional final to claim the school’s first sectional championship.

Ethan Gildenberg (eight goals, 14 assists) and Felix Rojas (seven goals, 11 assists) were major contributors for Highland Park this year while Elan Isaacson was strong in net all season.

BACK TO THE FINAL: South Brunswick, the second-best team in the Greater Middlesex Conference all season, made a second straight trip to the county final this season.

The Vikings won 15 games and went 1-0-1 with high-powered Monroe before falling, 2-1, in that GMCT final.

South Brunswick opened the season with four straight wins before a loss to East Brunswick in mid-September.

Jake Stump turned into one of the GMC’s most prolific scorers with 23 goals, while Dylan Inguardi added eight goals and eight assists for the Vikings. Antonio Iovine had seven assists and Justin Cross was one of the top keepers in the conference all season.

DEFYING THE ODDS:East Brunswick was expected to be one of the top teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference this season, but had a few more downs than anticipated and was handed the No. 13-seed in the Central Jersey, Group 4 state tournament.

The Bears proved that they were one of the best teams in the Red Division in the state tournament as it defeated fourth-seeded North Brunswick in the first round before taking care of No. 12-seed Montgomery in the quarterfinals.

East Brunswick’s season ended in a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to top-seeded Hunterdon Central in the sectional semifinals on the road.

Ivan Loncar was East Brunswick’s top scorer this season, amassing nine goals and 10 assists for the Bears. Josh Newton added eight goals.

LATE SEASON SUCCESS:Old Bridge expected to be in a rebuilding stage after graduating a plethora of seniors from last year’s team, but found some magic late in the season.

Old Bridge finished a game over .500 at 11-10-1 and reached the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinals after knocking off East Brunswick on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.

In the first round of the state tournament, Old Bridge, seeded No. 15 Old Bridge, took No. 2-seed Monroe into overtime but eventually fell, 2-1.

Christian McCartney led Old Bridge with eight goals and 16 assists.

WHITE DIVISION ROYALTY: While much of the attention is often given to the Red Division in the GMC, the White Division had a good divisional race between Edison, North Brunswick and Sayreville.

Edison won the division at 12-2, while North Brunswick went 11-3 and Sayreville went 10-4.

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
Teams are selected by the Greater Middlesex Conference, not NJ.com

ALL-GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE
Mstt Hoyt, Monroe
Dylan Inguardi, South Brunswick
Brendan Deal, Monroe
Jason Salazar, Edison
Jonah Beberman, Highland Park
Zachary Desrosier, East Brunswick
Jake Stump, South Brunswick
Zach Colgan, Sayreville
Christian McCartney, Old Bridge
Liam Craver, Monroe
Andrew Fuentes, Woodbridge
Ivan Loncar, East Brunswick
Nicolas Garralfo, Carteret
Andrew Oross, Spotswood
Tim Meehan, Colonia
Darshan Patel, J.P. Stevens
Justin Cross, South Brunswick
Robert Saydee, Timothy Christian

ALL-RED DIVISION
Matt Hoyt, Monroe
Dylan Inguardi, South Brunswick
Brendan Deal, Monroe
Zachary Desrosier, East Beunswick
Christian McCartney, Old Bridge
Liam Craver, Monroe
Ivan Loncar, East Brunswick
Darshan Patel, J.P. Stevens
Matt Pinho, St. Joseph (Met.)
Felix Pereyra, New Brunswick
Christos Lolas, South Brunswick
Ibrahim Khalil, Piscataway
David Zaorski, Monroe
Luis Beron, Perth Amboy
Nick Liberal, Old Bridge
Justin Cross, South Brunswick
Lucas Espada, East Brunswick

ALL-WHITE DIVISION
Jason Salazar, Edison
Zack Colgan, Sayreville
Andrew Fuentes, Woodbridge
Nicolas Garralfo, Carteret
Tim Meehan, Colonia
D.J. Cobb, North Brunswick
Justin Gallardo, Carteret
Francis Astarita, Sayreville
Brandon Meyers, Edison
Chris Scariano, North Brunswick
Isaiah Storah, South Plainfield
Peter Flomo, Woodbridge
Dimeji Olynkolade, Iselin Kennedy
Jefferson Sanchez, Carteret
Alex Meza-Navarro, Sayreville
Aldo Bautista, North Brunswick
Michael Philip, Sayreville
Khalid Mamman, Woodbridge

ALL-BLUE DIVISION
Jonah Beberman, Highland Park
Andrew Oross, Spotswood
Felix Rojas, Highland Park
Kyle Santos, South River
Jack Bradley, Metuchen
Matt Landis, Highland Park
Chris Moran, Spotswood
Marcos Spasiano, Metuchen
Bryan Velasquez, Middlesex
Jude Roche, Bishop Ahr
Andre Souza, Wardlaw-Hartridge
Ethan Gildenberg, Highland Park
Elan Isaacson, Highland Park
John Loftus, Bishop Ahr
Erick Lucas, South River
Avi Hogan-Appell, Metuchen
Yanni Hazistefanis, Spotswood
John Dalagnese, Bishop Ahr

ALL-GOLD DIVISION
Robert Saydee, Timothy Christian
Joshua Koshy, Timothy Christian
Jordan Gotshall, Timothy Christian
Mark Ruta, Timothy Christian
Alijah Vanterpool, Woodbridge Academy
Darshan Patel, Woodbridge Academy
Jonathan Dela Rosa, East Brunswick Tech
Joshua Dela Rosa, East Brunswick Tech
Zack Chrobacinski, East Brunswick Tech
Edisamir Caraballo, Perth Amboy Tech
Nick Mahelecko, South Amboy
Jordan Simpson, Piscataway Tech
Daniel Scavino, Piscataway Tech
Bruno Jimenez, Piscataway Tech
Jose Dolores, Piscataway Tech
Zarir Hamza, Edison Academy
Abishek Patel, Edison Academy
Jeffrey Bandora, Edison Academy

Brian Deakyne may be reached at bdeakyne@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianDeakyne. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read Again http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/-6288423256059625225/boys-soccer-gmc-player-of-the-year-and-other-postseason-honors-2017/

Bagikan Berita Ini