Metuchen boys soccer pulls out win over Middlesex

METUCHEN - The Metuchen High School boys soccer team learned a valuable lesson when it traveled to GMC Blue Division rival Middlesex on Wednesday afternoon. Never count out your opponent.

The Bulldogs led 3-1 midway through the first half but had to battle for their victory in the second as the Blue Jays rallied to tie the game 3-3. With about five minutes remaining, Kenny Rosamilia headed in a pass from Michael Cyran that caught Middlesex goalie Christopher Cuadros off guard to win the game for Metuchen (3-1).

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"Just knowing that we can come back from a deficit, letting somebody get us down and then coming back and playing our own game," Rosamilia said of the lesson learned. "It’s good to know that our team can come out of that, but it’s also hard to know that we can get into that, so we have to work on that."

Metuchen struck early, taking a 2-0 advantage in the first 16 minutes on goals by Rosamilia and Kyle Harry. Middlesex (1-3) spent most of the first half playing to Metuchen's tempo but got one back in the 23rd minute when Anthony Ortiz Zumba scored on an assist from Diego Villeda to cut the lead to 2-1.

The Bulldogs didn't let the Blue Jays celebrate for long, as they took a 3-1 lead just a minute later.

Toward the end of the first half the momentum started to shift in Middlesex's direction, and the Blue Jays took advantage as Michael Arroyo scored on an assist from Adrian Martinez to send the game to halftime with Metuchen up  3-2.

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"We collapsed a little bit toward the end there, but we came back and won. We were very out of it mentally, and we were getting down on each other. We weren’t playing as a team," Rosamilia said of the Blue Jays' comeback. "We just collectively talked together at the half and realized we could really bring it together, and I think we came back and did that as a team."

Middlesex found its game in the second half, as a majority of the final 40 minutes were played toward Metuchen's end of the field. In the 27th minute, the Blue Jays tied the game 3-3 on a goal from Joseph Moskal.

"It was kind of nerve racking because we thought we were in a good position," Harry said. "We made a few mistakes defensively to let them back in, but ultimately we were able to pull it out."

First-year head coach Jesse Goldberg credited Middlesex's turnaround to a change on the field. At the start of the game, Goldberg had four defenders plus a sweeper, something that the Blue Jays had never done this season. In the second half, he switched it back to the usual 4-4-2, and his team responded.

"I tried to make some adjustments in the first half, kind of to pack it in the middle. We packed it in actually defensively, something we’ve never done before, so that was kind of on me," Goldberg said. "We went back to a 4-4-2 and we brought some intensity, we had our bench on top of everything and just showed a lot of heart. I’m real proud of our guys."

Despite its 1-3 record, Middlesex has shown promise so far this season, and Goldberg says that if his team keeps working hard, the Blue Jays are going to be much improved come tournament time.

"It shows that we’re going to be a dangerous team, we’re going to compete in every game going forward," Goldberg said of Middlesex's comeback. "I’m going to continue to work these guys very hard in training, we have to work on finishing. When that GMC Tournament comes, state tournament comes, we’re going to be ready."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego