SPORTS

Boys Soccer: North Brunswick clinches GMCT title with OT victory

Daniel LoGiudice
@danny_logiudice
North Brunswick traveled up RT 1 to take on East Brunswick in a boys varsity soccer game in East Brunswick on Tuesday September 8,2015.
North Brunswick goalie (right) Pawel Dzielski gets ready to stop the shot on goal by East Brunswick's # 7 (left)- Robert Ciuaru during the 1st half of play.

WOODBRIDGE – The North Brunswick High School boys soccer team was four and a half minutes away from having their Cinderella run end in heartbreak. Eleven minutes later, the Raiders were champions.

After a goal by sophomore midfielder Chris Scariano tied the score at one with 4:27 left to play to force overtime, junior midfielder Fabrizzio Reyes scored the game-winning goal seven minutes into overtime to lead the 10th-seeded Raiders to a 2-1 upset and comeback victory over fifth-seeded South Brunswick in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final on Saturday.

“I think we surprised ourselves, but we’ve been talking all along about how we feel like we can compete with the better teams,” North Brunswick coach Paul Liddy said. “To be down 1-0 with about five minutes to go and to get that goal and continue from there says a lot about the character of the kids here.”

With just under four minutes left in overtime, senior forward Sean White dribbled the ball down the left sideline all the way to the end line. White served the ball into the box where South Burnswick goalkeeper Nick Hoffman deflected it away from the goal, but Reyes was there waiting to put the ball in the back of the net.

“I saw the ball go down the line, and the coaches always say follow through, follow through,” Reyes said. “At the end, it was who really wanted it more, and it was us in the end.”

North Brunswick needed a savior prior to Reyes’ dramatic goal, and they got one in Scariano. Down one goal with 4:27 left to play, junior right back DJ Cobb centered a ball into the box to Scariano, who drilled a shot past Hoffman to tie the game at one.

“I just saw DJ run down the line, and I knew he was going to float it back post, so I knew I had to get there,” Scariano said. “Our confidence was above the clouds, above the moon. Once I scored, I knew we were going to win, I knew we wouldn’t lose.”

As the 10th-seed, the Raiders improbable run is something that hasn’t been done very often in the GMC Tournament. When asked about it, Scariano and the Raiders did not view their low seed as an obstacle.

“It means North Brunswick is not to be messed with,” Scariano said. “Whatever seed we are, we’re still going to come out as champions.”

South Brunswick scored with 23:17 left to play when senior midfielder Kevin Nunez lifted a set piece from 18 yards out into the box where junior midfielder Dylan Inguardi headed it to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.

Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.