With six victories in seven matches, the Spotswood High School boys soccer team has made itself a force in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Blue Division.

A year ago the Chargers struggled to a 5-12-2 mark, but 13 players from that team returned this fall and Spotswood has scored victories over Carteret, Bishop Ahr, South River, John F. Kennedy, Highland Park and Cardinal McCarrick. The only blemish on coach Jeff Marvinny's team's record is a tie with Metuchen.

"The experience factor has been a big plus for us this year," the coach said. "Our players really learned a lot last season and it's paying off for us this year. Our guys are more comfortable and confident on the field."

Spotswood has allowed just six goals in its first seven games thanks to a strong showing in net by junior keeper Ben Horowitz. Stopper and co-captain Steve O'Brien and junior sweeper Kyle Lacina have both excelled on the back line. Jimmy Reyes and Charles Pearsall round out the solid defensive corps.

While the Chargers' defense has proven to be quite stingy, Spotswood has kept opposition on its heels with a high-powered attack led by co-captain Vinnie Vizzi, who has 13 goals and two assists.

Sophomore midfielder Danny Medina has added three goals and three assists, and junior midfielder Ricky McCall has a pair of goals and two assists to his credit. Juniors Fabio Silviera and Jose Narvaez have proved adept at distributing the ball as evidenced by Silviera's seven assists and Narvaez's four assists and a goal. Mike Braver rounds out the talented midfield crew.

"All of our players have worked very hard," Marvinny said. "We've worked especially hard on the fitness factor, and our team is in excellent shape. That's really helped us late in games."

Two examples illustrate Marvinny's point. The first was a 2-1 victory over Highland Park. Down by a goal early, the Chargers battled back to knot the score before the half and went on to win with just four minutes remaining. Against Kennedy, Spotswood warded off a furious late-game rally, including four corner kicks, to preserve a 2-1 triumph. Marvinny noted that two versatile

reserves, Matt Fox and junior John Relay, have played key roles off the bench throughout the campaign.

 

While Spotswood has already exceeded its victory total of a year ago, Marvinny said his team can't rest on its success as it heads into the second half of the campaign.

"Every game in the Blue Division has been pretty close this year," the coach said. "The key for us is to keep getting better with every game. We've kept improving, but we just have to keep working hard to make the state [NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II] tournament."

The Chargers were slated to continue their quest for a division title against Metuchen at home on Monday. South Plainfield comes to visit this afternoon for a nonconference match, and the Chargers will be at Bishop Ahr on Saturday.