9 minute read
Sports
Sports & Recreation
Kearny boys’ soccer team tops Year in Sports Top 10 stories
By Jim Hague ogsmar@aol.com
A familiar position for a local soccer power. The passing of several notables, but none larger than the beloved football coach. The idea of hosting a usual indoor sport outdoors. These are some of the sports stories that grabbed the headlines of the Observer’s sports pages in 2021. Here’s our list of the Top 10 – and some others that were placed in a just missed list.
1-Kearny wins NJSIAA Group IV state title, capping a brilliant one-loss campaign
For all intents and purposes, Kearny High School’s run to an NJSIAA state championship ended at the hands of Elizabeth in the overall Group IV semifinals. The Kardinals trailed the Minutemen, a usual foe in the old Watchung Conference days, by two goals with under 10 minutes to play, but somehow managed to score twice in the final stages to tie, then won the game via penalty kicks (after trailing in that portion of overtime, 2-0) to send the Kardinals into the overall Group IV state title game against Freehold Township.
Once there at the overall state title game at Kean University in Union, the Kardinals unleashed their typical scoring explosion, tallying six goals for incredibly the ninth time in 24 matches this season. Led by the team’s leading scorer, Juan Rojas, who scored two goals and added two assists, the Kards (22-1-1) rolled to the state title with a 6-2 victory in front of 6,000 avid soccer fans at Kean.
The scoring explosion enabled the Kards to capture the NJSIAA Group IV state title and earn the final No. 3 ranking in New Jersey.
It marked the 33rd time dating back to 1923 that Kearny won its respective state championship and the first time since 2017. Prior to 2017, the Kardinals also won state titles in 1999, 2002 and 2004.
It was also the second state title for current head coach Bill Galka.
The Kardinals also won the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League regular season championship and the Hudson County Tournament championship, defeating neighboring archnemesis Harrison, 3-2 in overtime in a match played at Red Bull Arena. Needless to say, it was a year to remember.
And the Kards’ ascension back to state soccer prominence earns The Observer’s No. 1 sports story for 2021.
Photo by Jim Hague Kearny soccer standout Nico Gomez moves his way up field during the Kardinals’ 6-2 win over Freehold Township in the NJSIAA Group IV state championship game at Kean University in November, a story that earns the top spot in The Observer’s Top 10 Sports Stories for 2021.
2-Nutley grid coach DiGregorio passes
It was one of the more valiant cancer battles in recent time. Beloved Nutley head football coach Steve DiGregorio battled pancreatic cancer unlike any other person inflicted with the hideous and frightful disease. DiGregorio did not step aside when he was first diagnosed in 2019, keeping hope upon hope that he would be able to beat the disease. While everyone around and about the Nutley athletic department believed that the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was a death knell, DiGregorio didn’t want to believe it and managed to somehow, some way keep cancer at bay while returning to the sidelines to coach his beloved Maroon Raiders in 2020.
It turned out to be a glorious return to the sidelines for DiGregorio, who enjoyed two stints as the head football coach at his alma mater, but none sweeter than the undefeated championship season of 2020. The Maroon Raiders won all six of their contests in the COVID-19 truncated schedule and managed to capture the championship of the Super Essex Conference’s mid-sized school division. It was Nutley’s first undefeated season since 1939.
However, the cancer, which was in remission, returned with full vengeance in January of 2021, forcing DiGregorio to step down as head football coach, turning the reins over to DiGregorio’s long-time assistant J.D. Vick. In October of 2021, DiGregorio lost his battle with cancer. He was 60 years old.
Steve DiGregorio’s passing left a huge void in the hearts of all involved with the Nutley football program. He is still sorely missed.
3-A change of pace with Nutley wrestling outdoors
The coronavirus COVID-19 did not do anything worthwhile anywhere, but it did have a silver lining for the Nutley High School wrestling team.
When some of the sports that generally occupy the winter months were put on a backburner due to the pandemic, the sport of wrestling just moved its season from a winter sport to a once-in-alifetime hybrid that crossed over from the winter months to early spring.
With that, the powers-thatbe at Nutley High School decided to do a brilliant thing in April by moving the match against rival Bloomfield to outdoors on the field at the newly refurbished Nutley Oval. It was an absolute perfect setting for a high school wrestling match, with the school buildings surrounding the Oval, in itself one of the most unique and historic spots for all of high school sports in New Jersey.
Although Bloomfield came away with the victory, everyone involved was the winner, because years from now, those kids who wrestled outdoors that crisp April day will always remember the day they had a chance to compete outdoors in the sport they love.
4-Locals O’Neill, McClelland lead Rutgers’ women’s soccer team to NCAA Final Four
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women’s soccer coach at Rutgers University in Piscataway, has never been one to turn his back on his hometown, namely Kearny. The same can be said for O’Neill’s prized goalkeeper Meagan McClelland, who also hails from Kearny. The two local soccer fixtures were able to lead the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Final Four in Santa Clara, California, Rutgers’ first appearance in the Final Four in six years. It was a glorious year for the Scarlet Knights, especially the two proud locals, one of whom was The Observer’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2019 (can we guess which one earned that award?). But it was a momentous contribution from two locals who managed to gain national attention and to plop themselves in the middle of the Top 10 local sports stories of the year for 2021.
5-Kearny girls’ soccer team wins 12th straight Hudson County Tournament championship
Photo by Jim Hague Long-time Nutley head football coach Steve DiGregorio, shown here leading his team to pre-game warmups at MetLife Stadium before the Group III state sectional championship game in 2009, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in October, 2021.
When it was almost like a passing fad, like perhaps four in a row or even five or six straight, it was impressive, for sure. But it was believed that the stranglehold that the Kearny High girls’ soccer team had on the Hudson County Girls’ Soccer Tournament would eventually come to an end. But the streak has not ended and it’s now to the point of resembling the old NCAA men’s basketball streak that was held by the UCLA men. Everyone figured that the Bruins’ impressive run would eventually come to completion, but sure enough, John Wooden managed to collect yet another banner.
The same can be said now for the Kearny girls’ soccer team. Led by head coach Mike Sylvia and a crew of hardworking defensive wizards, the Kardinals won their 12th straight Hudson County tourney title, which is now at 12 in a row and counting. Ironically, the Kards defeated North Bergen in the title game in the beginning of November. North Bergen’s nickname? The Bruins, of course. There’s some symmetry there, don’t you think?
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The coronavirus pandemic has reared its ugly head in the local sports world for almost two years now, but perhaps the saddest local moment took place in October when both the Nutley High School football and girls’ soccer teams had to forfeit out of their respective NJSIAA state tournament brackets on the very same day due to an outbreak of COVID-19. The football team was all set to face Old Tappan in the first round of the North Jersey Section 1, Group IV bracket, while the Nutley girls were set to tangle with Cranford in the second round of the North Jersey Section 2, Group III playoffs. It was a very disheartening and disappointing day for the entire Nutley athletic department.
6-COVID outbreak shuts down Nutley football, girls’ soccer
seasons right as NJSIAA playoffs began
7-Local pitchers Todzuman, Stoeckel enjoy incredible softball seasons
While there weren’t any state championships to be won by the local teams in sports like softball, two local pitchers had All-State caliber campaigns and created seasons to remember.
Lyndhurst junior Ella Todzuman had a breathtaking season for the Golden Bears, allowing just one earned run in 121 innings, striking out
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