Sports

Sports & Recreation

WITH Jim Hague

ogsmar@aol.com

One day’s soccer sojourn into night

Local teams try desperately to stay alive in NJSIAA state playoffs

It’s one thing for a local sports writer to attempt to stay atop the ongoings of our beloved high school soccer teams.

It’s another when the NJSIAA schedules all the locals to play their respective games on the same day. That is downright maddening to try to connect just a little of each team and each game in a clear, concise and timely fashion, making sure that you don’t slight one team or write about one team more than another. In this case, fairness is right there next to godliness.

So last Thursday, as the NJSIAA moved its state soccer tournaments toward the sectional quarterfinal round, we ventured to try to see three local boys’ soccer teams hitting their respective pitches right around the same time. Needless to say, it was borderline insanity. Especially when one is operating with a bad wheel – and we don’t mean on the car.

The first stop of the afternoon was the 2 p.m. kickoff between Harrison and Caldwell in the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group II bracket. The Blue Tide were the No. 2 seed in that section and other than the loss to Kearny in the Hudson County Tournament finals last week at Red Bull Arena, the Tide hadn’t dropped a contest since Sept. 25, when they fell to Newark East Side. The Blue Tide were like a welloiled machine going in and were facing a Caldwell team that was under .500 at 8-12-1 and lost five of six matches prior to facing Harrison.

“We felt like we approached it well,” said Harrison veteran head coach Mike Rusek. “We approached the game well and scouted them. We knew we were in pretty good shape as a team and after the first 10 minutes, I felt like we were in the driver’s seats.”

However, Caldwell scored a goal in the 12th minute of the match and was fortunate enough to have that goal stand up. The Blue Tide saw their incredible season come to an end at home, losing 1-0 to finish the 2021 campaign with a 17-4-1 record, but it’s a sting that won’t soon go away.

“We had 24 shots at goal and couldn’t make one,” said Rusek, whose team outshot Caldwell by a 24-3 margin. “Our plan was correct in terms of passing the ball and moving forward with the ball. We just didn’t do a good job finishing. Overall, we played a good game, but we just didn’t score.”

Rusek was asked if the

Mutsoli: Lyndhurst’s goal-scoring machine

Lyndhurst senior striker Enrique Mutsoli, the leading goal scorer in the state of New Jersey.

Photo by Jim Hague

By Jim Hague ogsmar@aol.com

It was a little more than a year ago that Enrique Mutsoli’s life changed dramatically. The Lyndhurst High School senior suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, putting an end to his COVID-19 filled nightmare.

“I really couldn’t wrap my head around it,” said Mutsoli, whose first name is pronounced EN-RICK, unlike the way most people of Hispanic descent say the name. “I didn’t think I tore my ACL, because I didn’t feel like I did. I went to three different doctors. I’m a stubborn human being by nature.”

Mutsoli, who was born in Kenya but moved to the United States when he was five years old, immediately called upon his devout Christian background to get him through the tough times.ic

“I initially asked God, ‘Why me?’” Mutsoli said. “I am the humblest and nicest kid that I know. I’m a young man of immense faith. I go to church regularly and I try my best to pray all the time. When this happened, I questioned my faith a little. I had several months of thinking and praying.”

While going through the rigorous therapy that comes with reconstructive knee surgery, Mutsoli had an epiphany.

“I finally understood why it had to be me, why it happened to me,” Mutsoli said. “I was praying one day and it came to me.”

Mutsoli didn’t question his faith any longer. Instead, he went right to work, making sure that his knee recovered and he could return to the soccer pitch.

“We believe that when he’s healthy, he’s one of the most talented players in the state,” said Lyndhurst’s first-year head coach Emad Abu Hakmeh. “We knew that when he was healthy, he was a great player. But with injured players, you have to be cautious.”

Abu Hakmeh said that there was even more concern to start the season, when Mutsoli suffered a slight concussion, putting his top scorer on the sidelines for a few games to start the comeback season.

“He was eager and wanted to play,” Abu Hakmeh said. “But his health was more important. I told him that he wasn’t playing until I received a letter of medical clearance. God forbid if he got hurt again and would have to miss the entire season. That couldn’t happen.”

Mutsoli had just gone through 10 months of treatment and physical therapy.

“It was very difficult, but