Knights hoping to peak come tournament time
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer

The Old Bridge High School boys soccer team is looking to make its presence felt in the Greater Middlesex Conference's Red Division this season.

The Knights are coming off a 1-0 victory on Monday night against visiting J.P. Stevens, thanks to Chris Gahagan's late goal and good play by netminder Jeff Bruno and the rest of the Old Bridge defense.

That brought the Knights record to 2-3-1, with the other victory coming against Piscataway. Old Bridge has lost to South Brunswick, 2-0; St. Joseph, 2-1; and Westfield, 2-0, while forging a tie with East Brunswick.

Coach Rich Mould believes this year's edition can exceed the .500 mark of a year ago, when Old Bridge qualified for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV playoffs and lost in the opening round to Rancocas Valley.

"Our guys are starting to come together as a team, and they're cutting down on their mistakes," Mould said.

"At the varsity level all it takes is a mistake or two to lose a game. I want to be the team that capitalizes when others make mistakes."

Overall, the Knights have played well and the scoring has been balanced thus far, the coach said. Gahagan has two goals, and fellow forwards Greg Riordan and sophomore Mike Jolibois have hit paydirt as well. Midfielders Sean Davila, Matt Fitzgerald and sophomore T.J. Glynn have also put the ball in the net. Ryan Habel, a solid defender, and Sheriff Showunmi, who passes well and aids the attack, also patrol the middle. The remainder of the Knights midfield contingent includes Ken Giordano, Christian McNallon, junior Glenn Racioppi and sophomore Joe Birsindi.

Defensively, Bruno has played well in goal after earning the starting nod. Drew Donoghue, who has been battling a couple of nagging injuries, is the sweeper, with juniors Ryan Lancelot and Will Picioccio and sophomores Liam Nguyen and Tom Parkinson line up at fullback. Junior Vin Lovallo is the sweeper.

"I don't think a lot of people expected much from us this year, so we have to work hard to earn our victories and gain respect from our opponents," Mould said. "This is a very capable group of players. I expect that we'll be all right."

Another of Mould's goals is to do well in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. Old Bridge has always been dangerous come tourney time, but the Knights went out in the second round last season, following a 1-0 defeat against East Brunswick.

"We always look forward to the county tournament, but we also want to qualify for the state playoffs," Mould added. "We aim high."

Old Bridge was scheduled to visit St. Joseph's for a rematch yesterday and will travel to Edison on Thursday. The Knights will then host South Brunswick the following day.