When Josh Jantas returned to his alma mater, St. Peter’s Prep, last year to replace long-time head soccer coach John Irvine, he had hoped that he could help bring back some of the luster that the Prep soccer program once had, but was tarnished over the last few years.
“I knew that we were coming off a few disappointing seasons,” said Jantas, who was the head boys’ soccer coach at Secaucus for several years, before getting the opportunity to head back to Grand and Warren when his own coach, Irvine, stepped down after the 2007 season.
“I knew it might take a little while to get acclimated to the kids,” Jantas said. “I knew it might take them a little while to get used to the different style of soccer. We did have a young team, but we started off 1-3 and that really set us back.”
The Marauders managed to rally somewhat in Jantas’ first season, qualifying for the HCIAA Coviello Division playoffs, eventually losing to Memorial in the semifinals. The final record in Jantas’ first campaign was 9-7-2. Not exactly earth shattering and certainly not what Prep had put out in soccer in past years, but it was a step in the right direction.
Jantas said that he didn’t feel any uneasiness in taking over the reins of the program from Irvine, who had been the head coach for 16 seasons.
“Since I was part of the program as a player and as an assistant coach, I felt pretty comfortable,” Jantas said. “I think that eased the transition from John to me. The kids were able to accept me and that helped right away.”
Now, a year later, Jantas is more than comfortable in his shoes as the Marauders’ head coach. The players all know what to expect. The youngsters are now experienced veterans.
“I think we’re all on the same page in what we want to do as a team,” Jantas said. “We have a good amount of depth and we’re able to use a lot of players. If someone gets hurt or has to go to the bench, we have players that I feel comfortable and can do the job.”
The results have been staggering. The Marauders own a phenomenal record of 7-1, with their lone loss coming at the hands of perennial NJSIAA Group IV power and state-ranked Kearny.
In the past week alone, the Marauders have toppled Hudson County rivals Memorial, Bayonne, and North Bergen, teams that had the better of the play against the Marauders in recent years.
Sure enough, it looks like a return to greatness for the soccer program at St. Peter’s Prep. Jantas doesn’t want to get too ahead of himself, because the season is not even half over yet. But the Marauders are back and making a statement along the way that they are indeed back.
“It’s been very exciting,” Jantas said. “I have to admit. I think everyone in the school was eager for us to be a good team again. The school community, the administration, the alumni, they’re all happy for us. Everyone can see that the success is here.”
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why the Marauders have been so successful this season has been the play of senior forward Andrew Hayes, who has earned a reputation of being one of the finest strikers in the state. Hayes, a seasoned player, already has nine goals and seven assists this season.
“I think we defend well, which has always been a Prep staple,” Jantas said. “But having someone like Andrew to finish plays is a huge help.”
Another key performer is senior midfielder Matt Woods, who is a strong, defensive minded player who played sweeper last year, but has been moved up to the midfield this season to capitalize on his offensive prowess as well.
“Matt Woods is a special type of athlete,” Jantas said. “He allows us to do different things. He can also go forward and become a scoring threat. He’s able to gain more possession of the ball.”
Having a player like Woods has enabled Jantas to utilize a 3-5-2 set, putting five players in the midfield. Most soccer teams choose the conventional 4-4-2 approach.
“We’re a team that likes to move forward and try to score goals,” Jantas said. “We already know that we can defend pretty well.”
Junior Mark Zatta is the Marauders’ net minder. Zatta has already recorded five shutouts this season and has surrendered just six goals in the eight games.
“Mark is doing a great job,” Jantas said.
Senior captain Luke Farley commands the attention along the back line, returning to the defensive back position he manned last year. Fellow senior Justin Flores and sophomore Robert Chernez, who played varsity last year as a freshman, comprise the rest of the Marauder backline.
Woods is the key man among the midfielders, although Jantas can call on as many as eight others to chip in there. Senior captain Tim Gonzalez missed a good portion of the start of the season with a fractured foot, but he’s now back in the Marauder lineup. Senior Dan Bellido is another key midfielder who can score from anywhere. Junior Max Miesemer, sophomores Rory Duffy and Dean Rivers, and freshman Andrew Romero are also key components to the Marauders’ midfield contingent.
Jantas has no qualms with using a freshman like Romero on the varsity.
“He’s very good already and has a lot of promise,” Jantas said. “In fact, he’s already fulfilling his promise.”
Hayes is the main performer among the front line, with a host of juniors like Kevin Cunningham, Angelo Addesso and John Serzan chipping in there.
Jantas said that he really had major hopes for this team. He didn’t know that they would be as successful as they have been in the early going, but he really felt that this could be the year where the Marauders made a return to glory.
“I think the expectations were high coming in, because I think we all felt we had a good team,” Jantas said. “But now, I think the expectations have been raised. The results are the results. We have a long way to go. But we’re doing well.”
And have brought a lot of promise back to a school that just expected soccer greatness year after year. q
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.