South Plainfield's Storah is HNT/GMC Boys Soccer Preseason Player of Year

EDITOR'S NOTE: The preseason POY selection  is based on the results of last week's preseason poll.

Three years ago, South Plainfield High School's Isaiah Storah was a freshman on the boys soccer team, and was relegated to the sidelines as a ball boy. Fast forward to his senior year, and Storah is a captain who has stepped up to be a leader.

In 2014, the Tigers won the NJSIAA Group III championship, and Storah was in his first year of playing soccer. His freshman year he transferred to South Plainfield from the Somerset Bible Baptist Academy, where he had played football and basketball, but the school didn't have a real soccer team. 

"I always liked the sport but didn’t have a team to go to until I transferred to South Plainfield," Storah said. "And then I started playing."

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According to South Plainfield coach Anthony Perfilio, Storah, who was voted the 2017 HNT/GMC Boys Soccer Preseason Player of the Year, has transformed into one of the best players on the team. 

"He’s a real good kid, he’s probably the best player on the team in terms of skill and work rate," Perfilio said. "When he was a freshman we won states and he was the ball boy for us during the sectionals and state finals, now he goes from being the kid who was on the sidelines and now he’s been basically starting for varsity for three years. He's done some good stuff for us, now he’s a senior and we’re hoping for big things."

Last season, Storah played outside midfielder and forward and finished with four goals and one assist, with two goals coming against East Brunswick in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament quarterfinals. This season, Perfilio is looking for Storah to step up and play center mid, helping to replace Jacob Villacres, last year's leading scorer. 

"On a young team, it's him and two other seniors," Perfilio said. "He means a lot to us, he's a big part of our team and we need to make sure he stays healthy. As he goes, we go."

With all of the hard work and dedication Storah has given to the sport of soccer the last four years, he sometimes can't believe himself how far he's come. 

"It kind of feels weird, it kind of came out of nowhere, but it’s a good feeling though," he said. "Sometimes I actually surprise myself, I wasn’t really expecting to be a captain, it’s kind of a shock."

This season, Storah is focused on helping his team win, and offering "inspiration, motivation and courage," to his teammates. South Plainfield opened the season with a 2-0 loss to Colonia on Tuesday, but will look to bounce back against Ridge on Saturday. Despite being 0-1, Storah is still confident the Tigers can achieve their goals. 

"We’re a pretty young team and we’re playing some big teams, but if we play to our best potential, we can do well," he said.

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