UNION COUNTY, NJ — Last year, as many as 12 boys soccer teams in Union County finished with winning records, with one more winning 10 games.
The back-and-forth on the pitch at times was highly fast-paced.
Elizabeth High School–Frank J. Cicarell Academy, guided by head coach Jacques Gonzalez, led the way by capturing its first Union County Tournament championship outright since 2008, edging Union High School, 1-0, in single overtime in the final played at Arthur L. Johnson High School’s Nolan Field in Clark.
Union, led by head coach Lester Lembryk since 2008, won the Union County Conference’s Watchung Division title at 4-1. The Farmers finished 11-3-2 overall.
All six teams in the Watchung Division finished with winning records. Elizabeth came in at 16-4 and led Union County in wins. Westfield High School, guided by head coach Eric Shaw, went 13-5-4 and ended up capturing the North 2, Group 4 sectional state championship, beating Union and Elizabeth in the section along the way.
Governor Livingston High School went 11-6-2; Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School, 12-4-4; and Summit High School, 12-7-3. The Watchung Division was, arguably, the toughest and most challenging division of any conference in the entire state last season.
Other UCC division champions were Rahway High School winning the Mountain Division title at 6-0-1 and Arthur L. Johnson High School capturing the Valley Division crown perfect at 6-0.
Other Union County teams that finished better than .500 were Rahway High School, 12-3-1; Cranford High School, 10-7-1; New Providence High School, 10-5-4; David Brearley High School, 13-7-1; Arthur L. Johnson High School, 15-3-1; and Jonathan Dayton High School, 10-6-1.
Roselle Park High School went 10-11 overall and came in at 3-3 for third place in the Valley Division.
The first day of official boys soccer practice is now just a month away, scheduled for Monday, Aug. 19.
The first day teams are allowed to scrimmage is the following Monday, Aug. 26.
Opening Day for the 2024 season is set for Thursday, Sept. 5.
Other important dates include the cutoff to make the state playoffs is Saturday, Oct. 26, and regular season competition concludes on Sunday, Nov. 24.
The state tournaments for the public schools are scheduled to commence Tuesday, Nov. 5, and go all the way until the state finals are contested on Friday, Nov. 23, or Saturday, Nov. 24, at a site still yet to be determined.
The state tournaments for the non-publics are also set to kick off Tuesday, Nov. 5, and go all the way until the state finals on Wednesday, Nov. 21, or Thursday, Nov. 22. A site for the state finals is still being determined.
Union ended up edging Governor Livingston for the Watchung Division title as the Highlanders were second at 3-1-1. Union came close to winning the UCT outright for the first time since 1999.
Rahway won the Mountain Division crown by one game against Cranford, which finished 5-1. Rahway beat Cranford, 3-2, at home in its third game of the year. Angelo Giuliano, Jairo Carrillo and Leo Carrion scored for the Indians, while Josh Ketechke and Logan Yuen found the net for the Cougars.
Arthur L. Johnson won the Valley Division championship by one game against Jonathan Dayton, which finished 5-1. When Arthur L. Johnson and Jonathan Dayton met in the season-opener for both in Clark, Arthur L. Johnson came away with a 7-1 victory, led by two goals from Parker Reyes.
Boys soccer key dates for 2024 season
First practice: Monday, Aug. 19
First scrimmage: Monday, Aug. 26
Opening Day: Thursday, Sept. 5
Cutoff date to make playoffs: Saturday, Oct. 26
Regular Season Competition ends: Sunday, Nov. 24
Public Schools States Begin: Tuesday, Nov. 5
Public Schools State Finals: Saturday, Nov. 23, or Sunday, Nov. 24
Non-Public Schools States Begin: Tuesday, Nov. 5
Non-Public Schools State Finals: Wednesday, Nov. 20, or Thursday, Nov. 21
Photo Courtesy of Lester Lembryk