Harrison boys soccer hopes powerful offense leads to championships. (Observer Online)
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By Jason Bernstein
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Article Link: Observer Online
Longtime Harrison boys soccer coach Mike Rusek knows that last season’s Blue Tide team might have been a little bit ahead of schedule when it made runs to the Hudson County and North 2, Group 2 tournament finals a year ago.
But with several pieces from those playoff runs back, the message this preseason has been quite clear that the expectations for this fall are greater than simply matching last year’s success.
“We’ve been talking about that all summer with these guys,” said Rusek after the team’s season opening 6-2 victory over Dwight-Englewood. “In our minds, it’s this team’s responsibility to win one of them. It’s a long road to get to that point, but that certainly is what we’re talking about day in and day out.”
The biggest reason for this is an offense should once again be one of the best in all of North Jersey. In particular, Harrison returns one of the state’s premier one-two attacking tandems in seniors Kiandry Aban and Pedro Barreto Reis, who interchangeably act at the Blue Tide’s striker and attacking center-midfielder.
Barreto Reis, a rare four-year starter at Harrison, had 15 goals and 16 assists a year ago, while Aban was last season’s breakout star when he erupted for 25 goals and 12 assists. In Thursday’s opener, the duo combined for three goals and three assists.
“When you’re returning two guys (like Pedro and Kiandry) who you really believe that as juniors were probably among the top 20 offensive threats in the state, you’re in a much better position than most teams,” Rusek said. “We’re going to build around them. Our guys are a little crafty and I think actually enjoy getting assists as much as they enjoy scoring goals. They both still have that midfielder mentality.”
The depth of offensive weapons goes beyond just Barreto Reis and Aban. Junior Jhowy Picon (seven goals, five assists) is a returning starter at outside midfielder, while Johao Narvaez, another junior is set to start at the other outside spot.
Mamadou Oury Bah, a senior newcomer, has emerged as the traditional offensive center-midfielder while sophomore Fabian Palacios is the starter as the defensive center-midfielder as has shown a maturity beyond his years while handling the role.
“He’s just an unselfish soccer that’s just always covering for everyone,” Rusek said. “When someone is a making a run (into the attack), Fabian will step to that open area and cover. If you have a guy that’s as good as he is at doing that, you feel very comfortable if there’s a counter attack.”
Sophomore Alex Zambrano (three goals, eight assists) and junior Jose Agudelo will see extended minutes all over the midfield as well as sophomore Fabricio Cabrilles and seniors Santiago Rodriguez and Nathan Pereira.
Senior Diego Castaneda is a returning starter at center back and will help anchor a backline that was bolstered by the addition of senior Smile Barbaran, who played MLS Next last year. Elian Apolo, a sophomore, will also see significant minutes at center back.
Harrison has a deep rotation currently at the outside backs with juniors Estevien Alvarez and Kevin Zavala, and seniors Luis Paguay and Carlos Tejada.
Junior Renato Morales takes over as Harrison’s starting goalkeeper after serving as the backup a year ago. Gabriel Ortiz, a sophomore, is currently the top backup with senior Jandell Pereira also vying for time.
In addition to its games in the NJIC Meadowlands Division, Harrison will once again look to challenge itself outside of the NJIC, starting with a Sept. 5 showdown at Notre Dame that was played after The Observer’s deadline this week, as well as a Sept. 19 matchup with Tenafly at the NJIC vs. Big North Showdown at Emerson Boro.
Harrison is also set to play Rutherford at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Oct. 7.