When veteran Emerson High School soccer coach Angelo Avella awoke last Sunday morning and finally stepped outside of his Union City home, he said a prayer to the heavens.
"Ah, thank God," Avella said aloud.
After all, the temperature was hovering around 70 degrees, almost unthinkable for the second weekend in November. The balmy conditions were going to be perfect for Avella’s team to play soccer, especially at Ahern Veterans Stadium, where Sunday’s HCIAA Coviello championship game against St. Peter’s Prep was slated to be played.
At "Vets," which the Bayonne stadium has been affectionately known for decades, there are usually two temperature settings, frigid and arctic. The wind howls off the Newark Bay and turns everyone present into icicles, even in July.
However, this day was totally different. There wasn’t a hint of the usual conditions. With the majority of the Bulldogs coming from Hispanic descent, the warmer temperatures played right into their hands.
"This was absolutely beautiful for us," Avella said. "It was like heaven. Usually, we play down here and the kids are shivering. The weather was like our 12th man today."
With the conditions working in the Bulldogs’ favor before the game began, the action of the game soon turned toward Emerson almost right from the outset.
Just three and a half minutes into the game, talented senior forward Mauricio Castillo took a pass from Diego Flores and let loose with a rocket shot that made its way past Prep goalkeeper Ben Tamburella for Castillo’s 19th goal of the season.
"Mauricio had the chance and he took it," Avella said. "It was a good chance and he made the most of it."
Apparently, so did the rest of the Bulldogs, who rode Castillo’s early goal the rest of the way to a 1-0 victory over the upstart Marauders, to capture the league title, the fourth HCIAA title the Bulldogs have collected in the last six years.
However, this win was different than others that Emerson had collected in recent years. This time, the Bulldogs defeated the Marauders. There was no chance of sharing the trophy like they had to do twice prior, when the 1997 and 1999 championship games ended in deadlocks.
This one was Emerson’s all alone. There was no need to carve the trophy in half and give a split of it to each team as they boarded the bus. This time, the Bulldogs were able to do the victory lap around the field, waving the trophy in the air with their jerseys. There was no need to share anything.
"All championships are special, but this one is very special," Avella said. "At the beginning of the season, we struggled and then the goal became to make the playoffs. Once we got to the playoffs, we were playing well and I had a feeling we could go all the way. It’s a great feeling and a great accomplishment by the kids."
Castillo’s early goal seemed to take a little wind out of the Marauders’ collective sails. The Marauders had not allowed a single goal in three games prior to the title game, as part of a nearly miraculous turnaround that almost culminated in an improbable league title.
"I think getting the goal early was very important," Avella said. "I think it forced Prep out of some of the natural things they do. I’m glad the goal came early, because it gave us a lift psychologically. It gave us momentum."
St. Peter’s head coach John Irvine agreed.
"The goal was definitely a rude awakening for us," said Irvine, whose team started off the season with an 0-7-1 record, but won seven of their final nine games to reach the finals. "I think it proved that we were not indestructible right away."
From that point, Emerson’s defense set the tone for the remainder of the game.
"I knew that if we were going to win, the defense was going to be the engine that supplied everything," Avella said. "Our defense has really played well all season. Today was the same thing."
"I told our team that if we can’t score, then we don’t deserve to win," Irvine said. "We had some chances, but we just didn’t finish. We also told them that no one should get an uncontested shot, that we wanted to mark their best players all over the field. But Castillo got an inch of daylight and made a great goal."
Irvine said that he can take some solace in his team’s late-season performance that enabled them to reach the finals.
"It’s some consolation to be here, but it’s not enough," Irvine said. "The loss is still a little bitter. We really felt like we had a chance to win it. Emerson is a great team and deserved to be here. And they deserved to win. Without a doubt, I think we bring out the best in each other and it turned out to be a good game. But clearly, the best team won."
Which is always a consolation.