Secaucus volleyball streak ends and a new one begins
They were considered to be one of the favorites to contend for HCIAA soccer honors this season, but after five games, the Marauders of St. Peter’s Prep are a dismal 0-4-1 – the worst start in coach John Irvine’s 13-year career as head coach.
"I’m very stunned," Irvine said. "We’ve never been 0-2 before. We expected to win. No one could have predicted this."
One of the biggest reasons why the Marauders have struggled has been the team’s collective failure to score goals. They have found the nets just three times in five games.
"We’ve been getting good scoring chances," Irvine said. "We’re just not putting them in the net. I thought perhaps our defense would be a problem, but it’s not. We’re not scoring goals. It’s frustrating because we are playing good soccer. We’re playing pretty well. We’re just not scoring."
The Marauders were also dealt a serious blow when senior midfielder Pat Mellea went down with a severely broken wrist.
"It’s taken us a couple of games to get over that loss," Irvine said.
All-Area performer Drew Buzzio, who scored 12 goals last season, has been shut out thus far.
"He’s feeling it more than anyone," Irvine said. "He feels like he’s supposed to be carrying us and he hasn’t scored, so he feels like he’s letting everyone down. He’s had some good chances, but he’s hit the post a few times. I really can’t figure this out."
Irvine said that he hasn’t pressed the panic button yet, but time is running out.
"It’s crunch time already if we want to make the state playoffs and the county playoffs," Irvine said. "We need to start winning now."…
Speaking of winning, new Secaucus volleyball coach Sheila Ulrich’s career didn’t exactly start off with a bang, as the Patriots dropped their season opener to North Arlington, ending a home winning streak of 120 matches and an overall winning streak of 41 matches.
However, since the first loss, the Patriots have gone back to their winning ways, winning three straight, led by the play of the Flora sisters, namely Lindsey and Ashley, as well as another key returnee from last year’s Group I state championship team, Heather Aciz. Count on the Patriots to play solid volleyball for the remainder of the season…
Remember the old 70s pop hit, "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia," made immortal by Carol Burnett crony Vicki Lawrence?
Well, maybe there will be a new version, featuring Weehawken instead. Make it "The Night the Lights Went Out in Weehawken." Nah, too many syllables.
But the lights went out at Weehawken Stadium last Friday night right in the middle of the Indians’ football season opener against Hasbrouck Heights.
With just seconds left in the first quarter, a transformer blew, knocking out power at Weehawken Stadium. After consulting for a while, officials decided to postpone the game and resume play Saturday morning.
So Hasbrouck Heights took its 7-0 lead home for the night, returned the next day and finished off the 21-0 victory. It certainly called for a bizarre set of circumstances, but it worked out well, except that the locals ended up on the short end of the stick.
Speaking of lights, the new lights at Secaucus High School met to rave reviews last Friday, with fans from all over the county applauding the efforts.
However, the Patriots couldn’t come through with a win under the lights, suffering a tough 15-13 setback to Lyndhurst, a loss that puts the Patriots behind the 8-ball already for the remainder of the season. In the tough Group I bracket, the opening loss means that Secaucus will more than likely have to win the remainder of their seven games before the state playoff cutoff date to qualify for the playoffs…
The St. Dominic Academy soccer team is off to a fine start, with standouts Erin McNally and Maura Finn picking up where they left off a year ago. McNally had three goals and Finn added two goals and an assist in a recent win over Union Hill. The Blue Devils should be a solid contender for HCIAA honors again this season… — Jim Hague