After successful season, Newton looking ahead

NEWTON — Initially the Newton High School boys' soccer team had the appearance of a squad with all of the necessary ingredients needed to reach a high level of success. But, as sports fans of certain professional teams can attest, a program’s ultimate success is not always achieved simply by the talent on the roster. A sense of team unity, a belief in the coaching staff and the ability to be unselfish are some of the aspects, beyond skillful players, that add up to a solid sports squad. Newton had their share of talented student-athletes on the pitch this year, but the Braves also had the type of players who were team-oriented and willing to put the program ahead of their own personal goals. Newton finished with an overall record of 19-3-1. They placed first in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division with a 9-0 record and won the NJSIAA North I Group II Sectional Tournament with a 1-0 victory over Mountain Lakes in the championship game. They advanced to the State Group II semifinals where they were defeated, 1-0, by the eventual state champion Bernards. “We had a great senior class led by our three senior captains Kevin Boyd, Mike Pierson and Steven Churchill," Newton head coach Pat Brennan said. “Ben Ervey, Kevin Lyons, Mathias Kauderer, Bill Makowitz and Jose Mecias were the other seniors on the team and they all contributed to leading us to the success that we had. It was just a phenomenal senior class." Brennan said three players stood out in terms of their improvement over the season. "Kyle Morel had a great year in the goal for us. [He] was a bit of a question mark at the beginning of the season because he had played junior varsity in his first two years and I hadn't seen him enough." Brennan said Morel gave an "outstanding" performace this season. The other two players were TJ Chrustic and Ryan Cronin. "TJ really played mistake-free soccer, especially on the defensive side of the field," said Brennan. "Ryan would usually substitute in for him at about the halfway point and gave us a great offensive spark. Both should have tremendous success next year." The Braves are - not surprisingly - a team to watch in the fall of 2012. “We have probably the top two players in the area returning in Andy Weber and Brett Conrads," Brennan said. “Having those two back at center midfield gives us a huge advantage in probably the most important position on the field." Brennan said the team will also be returning with two-year starters Brady Castle and Leo Recalde. "That gives us a solid nucleus to work with, combined with some pretty talented underclassmen which gives us optimism for success," he said.