The last Friday in August was a rainy mess which promised to wash out most outdoor activities. In past years it might have canceled soccer practice or moved it inside but in 2009 the Cranford High School Boys team was able to practice on the new turf field at Memorial Field.
“It’s great to be able to practice on rainy days. It helps keep the momentum of our practices going and puts us on level footing with almost all of our opponents,” said Cranford Coach Mike Curci, who has built the Cougars into a consistent powerhouse that is poised to join the county elite.
The Cougars are coming off consecutive 15 win seasons that both resulted in winning the final two Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) titles. This year the Cougars will compete in the newly created Union County Conference with many of their MVC rivals but also get the added competition of Union County Tournament (UCT) finalist Summit. MVC rival Governor Livingston gives the new conference two of the four UCT semi finalists from a year ago. For the second straight year, the Cougars were denied making the UCT semi finals with an agonizingly close loss to the eventual county champion in the second round. In 2007, they lost on penalty kicks at Scotch Plains and last year dropped a 1-0 decision to Elizabeth but Curci is confident that this year’s team has the talent to break through.
Veteran talent abounds in each part of the lineup with nine returning starters abetted by a strong freshman class. “We understand the expectations are high, but this is the position you want your program to be in. Our goals are to win the conference county and states, but we also understand that we cannot over look all the strong competition we'll be facing this year. We're as excited as we've ever been to start a season,” said Curci.
A year ago Curci was looking at a young squad that began slowly, but after a 2-3 start, finished with 13 wins in their final 16 games. The final loss was 1-0 to eventual Group II champion Delran in the sectional semi finals. Goalie Scott Boyer was one of the returnees and helped stabilize the team until they gelled later in the year.
Boyer returns for his third season as starter with 29 career wins and is one of the top net minders in the state as well as one of the team captains. “He has been the backbone in our two championship runs. He has great reaction, cat-like quickness and is a special player,” says Curci.
Joining Boyer as captain is defender Pat Kaskiw, an all county and all conference player last season and a three year letter winner. “Pat is a warrior and his passion for the game is contagious. He did a great job in his first year at sweeper last year in keeping the defense organized. His leadership on and off the field were a big part in helping us win the title again. He has excellent skills and is a tough defender,” said Curci.
Versatile Ryan Lopes returns as a wing defender who also scored eight goals when moved up front. Curci considered Lopes one of the most improved players last year. Playmaker Pat Hartnett, also a star hockey player, also returns to help distribute the ball. A year ago he had six goals and six assists and is also a three year letter winner.
Speedy Nick Pace will switch between midfield and forward, where his aggressiveness will help on both ends of the field. Stopper Connor Demars came into his own last year at stopper and often covers the opponents’ top forward and shuts them down. Midfielder Ray El-Khoury uses skill and toughness as well as tenacity to help on both offense and defense.
The third captain, Eric Walano, also an outstanding swimmer, is a tenacious defender and outstanding with slide tackles “Eric always has the eye of the tiger and a great attitude. He is an outstanding leader on and off the field and will be one of the best defenders in the county this season,” said Curci.
A number of talented players will be battling to augment the veteran talent. Curci has been pleased with the intensity of the practices thus far and is looking forward to see how well his talented squad comes together. Two dates to circle are home battles against former Watchung Conference rivals Westfield on Sept. 17 and Scotch Plains on Oct. 29. With the games on Cranford’s new turf field, it would take much more than rain to cancel them.
