By Andy Loigu

In a thriller-diller at a hostile haunt in Hudson County, the Hackettstown High School boys soccer team (now 18-4-1) won the North Jersey Section 2 Group 2 championship on Nov. 8 by a 1-0 score. The Tigers’ defense held off the aggressive Harrison Blue Tide after Tyler Gorczyca scored an early goal on a head-in of a feed from Shane Davies.

It is the soccer equivalent of an alley-oop dunk in basketball.

Goalkeeper Vinny Coccaro and the backline defenders were the Tigers’ anti-ballistic missile defense system. “Our success as a team starts with our defense, and that starts with Tyler Gorczyca as our center back,” said head coach Matt De Martini, who has kept the program at the same level at which retired Hall of Fame coach Gary Thomas left it four years ago. Without Sammy Giraldo for most of the game, due to a red card, the Tigers’ defense was short handed, but held together.

Gorczyca did it all. On defense he marked the Blue Tide’s top scorer, Omar Sowe, who scored 35 goals and made 21 assists this season.

Harrison, a program that has won 37 sectional and 25 state titles and went 19-5 this year, was cheered on by a large, boisterous home crowd, but Hackettstown’s avid fans made the trip across the state and the coaches and players certainly appreciated their support.

The Tigers’ next mountaintop is the state semifinal, scheduled to start at 5 p.m. on a neutral field at Ridge High School, against undefeated North 1 champion Glen Rock. The Panthers (22-0-1) have been on a magic carpet ride which includes the Bergen County Tournament championship and a 4-1 win over Ramsey in their sectional title game. The Tigers are on a roll of their own, going 8-0-1 since a loss to Newton on October 15, including their championship run in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament.

Warren Hills finished its field hockey campaign with a 19-6-1 record. Only at Warren Hills, where expectations always are high, would that be considered a disappointing season. The Blue Streaks lost the Group 3 state championship game on Saturday, in Bordentown, to third ranked Moorestown (the defending state champions) by a 7-0 score.

Warren Hills went into the final riding a six-game win streak, the last loss being a 1-0 heartbreaker to an inspired Hackettstown squad in the H/W/S final on October 20.

The Blue Streaks reached the state final with an exciting 3-2 double-overtime win over Millburn at North Caldwell on November 7. Once again, as she was in the sectional final win over West Morris, sophomore Simryn Desai was in the right place at the right time, to score the golden goal. She redirected Samantha Dugan’s crossing pass into the cage with 10:17 showing on the scoreboard clock.

Earlier in the game, her goal gave Warren Hills a 2-0 lead, but Millburn battled back, forcing the overtime with a last-minute goal in regulation. Junior goalkeeper Julia Webber made sure Millburn would never score again. Her 12-save game was a major factor in the victory. Juliana Valli scored an unassisted goal in the first half for Warren Hills.

Congratulations all around, to all the coaches and players for a marvelous season filled with gritty and memorable performances.

Corey Sargeant was the goalkeeper for the 2001 state champion and 2003 Hunterdon/Warren champion Hackettstown boys soccer team, coached by gentlemanly Hall of Famer Gary Thomas. Sargeant follows the Tigers’ fortunes with the same passion he showed as a player, as he considers everyone connected with the program to be an extended part of his family. Love is not divided, it is multiplied, as any longtime coach or teacher would tell you.

He is in his fourth year as an associate attorney for Loccke, Correia and Bukosky, as his life has shifted from Hackettstown to Hackensack. Ironically, he worked as a law clerk in Harrison for a year, while studying at the Seton Hall University School of Law.

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Contrary to the bias of certain people, who believe that “sports makes people dumber and should not be part of the schools” (source of quote withheld to protect the guilty) many high school letter winners go on to become awesome, smart and diligent people, who live a life of dedicated public service.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.