Hunterdon Central boys soccer tops Ridge in opener
BERNARDS - Heading into Thursday’s season opener against Ridge, the Hunterdon Central High School boys soccer team wanted to show just how hard its players had worked during the offseason.
It took almost 30 minutes, but eventually the Red Devils started to hit their stride, and the goals followed, as Hunterdon Central topped Ridge, 4-0, in a Skyland Conference Delaware Division matchup.
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“We just wanted to go out there and show all the hard work we put in during preseason,” said Hunterdon Central junior Josh Bordwick, who finished with a goal and an assist. “We wanted to show everyone we worked hard and we did that today.”
Hunterdon Central finished the 2015 season with a 9-5-4 record after a first-round exit in the NJSIAA Central Group IV Tournament, then lost about 10 seniors to graduation. During the offseason, the Red Devils decided that this season was going to go differently.
PHOTO GALLERY: HUNTERDON CENTRAL VS. RIDGE
“We lost a few of our starters last year, but last year was a growth year for us and all of us came together this year at the start because we knew what the expectations were and we knew that we didn’t want to have a repeat of a first round exit in the states,” Bordwick said. “So we’ve been working hard all offseason and all summer and I think today it really showed.”
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Hunterdon Central started off strong, dictating the tempo and spending a majority of the first half in Ridge’s zone. Bordwick struck first for the Red Devils, scoring on an assist from junior Matt Tetreault with 11:19 remaining for a 1-0 lead.
With under two minutes remaining in the first half, Tetreault scored on an assist from Bordwick to send the Red Devils into halftime up 2-0.
“Ridge is always a tough team, their physical, they play hard, and that’s what I was expecting today and that’s what we got, in really tough conditions,” Hunterdon Central coach Anson Smith said. “I couldn’t be happier, the work rate is what led to the goals and that’s what we talked about in preseason, they’re a hard working, talented group.”
The Red Devils kept up their offensive pressure in the second half, as senior Salman Ghiya scored the final two goals, one with 17:37 to play and one with 8:10 left, with assists coming from Martin Menendez and Luke Morgante. Ridge started to pick up its pace late in both the first and second halves, but the Hunterdon Central defense kept the Red Devils from getting on the board.
“I think our defense played real well, our defense stopped everything for us, and if they weren’t stopping everything we wouldn’t have the opportunities up top,” Bordwick said. “So a huge shout out to the defense for getting up there and stopping everything so we could put chances on.”
Hunterdon Central took 10 shots on goal, with Ridge goalie Biron Arcentales making six saves. The Red Devils defense held Ridge to only three shots, with goalie Dan Mecadon stopping them all.
“I think it’s just the team chemistry we have,” Tetreault said. “We know each other more than other teams, we’ve worked together in the summer, and I feel like moving forward that we are going to just work well together, combine and score a lot of goals. So I think today showed we can be dangerous.”
The Red Devils were pleased with the opening season win, but they know that there’s a long road ahead, and they are in no way about to get complacent.
“It’s early, I wish I could say (scoring four goals is) going to be indicative of the season, but there’s some really good teams and we have a very tough schedule ahead of us,” Smith said. “These guys know it. But on a good note I’m very happy with the result and we’re measured in our response as we know there’s a lot of tough teams ahead.”
Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego