Boys soccer: Revenge season

by Stella Traphagen, Sports Editor

The boys varsity soccer team was the last fall sport to be without a loss this season. They stand extremely optimistic for what’s to come, as they are going strong with a record of 12-2.

Co-captain senior Owen Neubart is the leading goal scorer with 15 goals and five assists totaling 35 points. Following right behind him is fellow co-captain Hugo Horwitz with 12 goals and four assists, along with junior “Taco” Amano with five goals and nine assists.

Senior Andrew O’Malley is positioned as the starting right back and is an essential piece on the field. “Our biggest strong suit this year is our ability to move the ball up the field,” O’Malley said. “The forwards have been finding the back of the net really well so far.”

For the last three years, the boys team has not qualified for the Bergen County tournament. In the previous season, they were left out, as they had a young team and were not noticed as a worthy team by the tournament committee.

This time around, the Panthers made the tournament as the number eight seed. “I have high hopes for the team this year and I think we can definitely make a far run in the tournament!” Neubart added. Thanks to their outstanding play through their first seven games, they are cheerful for the remainder of the tournament and season.

“Being a defender myself, Jake Quigley has really made a difference in our back line,” O’Malley mentioned. Junior, Jake Quigley tore his ACL sophomore year and wasn’t able to play again until this year. With their complete defensive line back in action, their dream of making it to the state championship may come true.

On Oct. 2, they played their second round of counties against Bergen Charter, and celebrated a 7-0 victory. Senior forward, Zachary Spence put in three goals and was nominated for player of the week. The Panthers dominated the majority of the game, leaving Bergen Charter with only one shot on goal.

Despite fighting long and hard to advance to the second round, Glen Rock faced trouble against Garfield. The boys had several costly mistakes that Garfield was able to capitalize on, which led to the Panthers first loss of the season by a score of 3-1 on Oct. 5. The lone Panther goal was scored by Spence.

“Although we’ve had some losses,” Neubart said. “I still believe in us, as a team, and hope to make a comeback.” With that, the boys collectively hope to move right along into states and win their league title.