By Jim Hintelmann
MIDDLETOWN – Although not having a winning season, Middletown North (7-8-3) boys soccer coach Fred Napoli is hopeful that the Lions can finish on a high note.
“I still think that we can play better,” Napoli said following Middletown North’s 2-0 non-division shutout of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional Tuesday. “We have some talent, but one of our best players, Dan Bennett, is out for the season with a knee injury.
“Our goalie, Jordan Robinson, has been playing great this season,” Napoli said. “He made three great saves to preserve the shutout today.”
Senior midfielder Randy Azzam gave North all it would need when he took a feed from John Maxted on a breakaway and kicked it in from 3-yards out with 20 minutes left in the first half.
–Sean Simmons
North made it 2-0 with 4:11 remaining to the half as it was awarded a penalty kick, and Sean Gallagher drilled it in from about 15 yards on the left side. The rest of the game was dominated by the defenses of both teams as Robinson and Rumson goalie Markar Krikorian made some outstanding saves.
Rumson (4-12-1) is in a major rebuilding season after going 19-3-1 a year ago.
“We graduated all but one starter,” said Rumson coach Will Gould, now in his second season as head coach of the Bulldogs team.
“We play a very strong schedule,” Gould said. “We have 13 underclassmen, but they have talent and are picking up experience this season. We’re looking forward to next season.
“We lost a lot of games by a goal. We are just developing chemistry and building experience. It takes time to do that,” he said.
Although not having a winning record, North still qualified for the upcoming state tournament, which will get under way next week.
“They (NJSIAA) seed the teams on power points,” Napoli said. “We’ve been playing a very strong schedule this year.”
