Bill Shapiro is the only boys’ soccer coach that Union City has known. The former Union Hill coach was appointed as the head coach of the new program when Emerson and Union Hill merged seven years ago.
At the time, many people believed that the new squad would be a sleeping giant, taking talented players from two very solid programs and turning them into a new super power.
But it didn’t turn out that way. For some reason, the combination of the two schools didn’t produce the dominant soccer program that a lot of people – including Shapiro – thought it would.
“The first couple of years, there was still this tension from the old Emerson and old Union Hill,” Shapiro said. “It was like the Hatfields and the McCoys. There were some tough times. We had to sort of wait it out.”
Last season, Shapiro started to see some subtle changes, all for the better. The only problem? The results were not there. The Soaring Eagles posted a 9-13 record.
“Last year, we had a tough year, but we were close,” Shapiro said. “We lost to [St. Peter’s] Prep by a goal. We lost to [Hudson County Tournament champion] Kearny 2-1 in overtime. Most of the losses we had were by one goal. I think that motivated the kids that we had coming back. We had a good core group of kids coming back and had some other talented kids coming up from JV [junior varsity]. I think it was like a perfect storm.”
First, the returning kids all decided to take it upon themselves to work out and prepare for the 2015 season.
“They were really motivated and worked hard in the offseason,” Shapiro said. “They were all in the weight room three-to-four days a week all summer. They went running together. They knew that they had to keep working.”
The Soaring Eagles were also boosted by the arrival of an unlikely transfer named Mohammed Aboudania.
“I didn’t know anything about him until he walked into my office one day in January or February,” Shapiro said. “The head of our bilingual program said that he had a new kid who said he liked to play soccer.”
So here was Aboudania, a native of Egypt, somehow getting placed in with a team filled with players of some sort of Hispanic descent.
“He’s tried to learn a lot of Spanish as well as English,” Shapiro said of Aboudania, who has fit in well as a forward.
Over the summer, the Soaring Eagles participated in some tournaments, also part of preparation for the season.
“In one summer tournament in Harrison, we beat Long Branch and tied Princeton,” Shapiro said. “That went unpublicized, but both are among the top 10 teams in the state. That was a sign for me that we were going to turn the corner. I kind of knew that we were going to be pretty good.”
When the season began, the Soaring Eagles were ready to soar. They beat South Plainfield, a team ranked in the preseason Top 20 in New Jersey, by a 5-0 margin. They beat local rivals North Bergen and Memorial, which then enabled the Soaring Eagles to take their place among the state’s elite.
Although they did suffer a 2-1 loss to Kearny, the Soaring Eagles rebounded in huge fashion by knocking off St. Peter’s Prep, 3-1. And they haven’t lost since.
The Soaring Eagles’ 4-2 win over North Bergen last Tuesday was their seventh straight of the season, improving their record to 8-1 overall, just one victory short of what they accomplished all of last season.
They are currently No. 13 in the state in the latest rankings.
“I think they now see if they put in the time, good things can happen,” Shapiro said.
There’s another interesting sidelight to the Soaring Eagles. Shapiro has a huge roster, 25 kids in all, and gets a lot of those kids into action.
“Every day, I could go with a different lineup,” Shapiro said. “No lineup is ever etched in stone. They’re going to get a chance to play. It keeps the kids hungry. They can’t afford to get lazy. They have to keep working. If they step up, they get on the field. It’s always been my philosophy to get as many kids involved as possible. I’m doing my best juggling everyone.”
The Soaring Eagles are using two goalkeepers, a pair of juniors in Bruno Canteros and Gerson Vasquez.
“They’re about the same,” Shapiro said of the net minders’ talent levels. “Bruno is better with his feet and getting to the ball. Gerson conservatively punts the ball 65-70 yards on a regular basis. That’s like having another weapon. He has a couple of assists already.”
The Soaring Eagles also don’t play a conventional formation. To utilize the depth he has at the midfield position, Shapiro plays three defenders and five midfielders.
“I have about 12 kids who play the midfield, so I have to take advantage of that,” Shapiro said.
Junior Gerson Bonilla is the team’s returning starter at center back.
“He made the varsity as a freshman, one of only two I’ve ever had who made varsity as a freshman,” Shapiro said of Bonilla. “He’s so in tuned with us that I don’t even have to ask him to do things. He just does them. It was an easy decision for me to make him a captain.”
Seniors Doug Reyes and Nelson Guandique are the other defenders. Both were key players on the team last year, but Reyes was battling injuries throughout the year. Guandique is the Soaring Eagles’ utility guy who could play any position, but Shapiro has put him amongst the back line.
The midfield features senior Hervert Espana, who had the goal of the year Tuesday against North Bergen, converting on an acrobatic bicycle kick. Goals such as that are not readily seen on the high school level, but Espana nailed it in the win.
Jacson Segovia is another senior midfielder and Alex Ortega and Doanis Martinez are juniors.
Andrew Nino is a senior and also occupies the center midfield slot. Nino has five goals and five assists thus far.
“Andrew has been our best player and playmaker,” Shapiro said. “He can score with both feet. All of those guys can score and have scored already. We’re getting goals from everyone.”
Aboudania is one of the forwards and he’s fit in perfectly with his new surroundings. The other forward is senior Mario Mata, who leads the team with seven goals.
Junior Gabriel Martinez can play anywhere on the field.
“He’s like our sixth man if we were playing basketball,” Shapiro said. “He’s the first one coming off the bench.”
Junior David Aravelo bounces back and forth between forward and midfield. He’s used primarily because of his speed.
So there has been a dramatic turnaround in Union City. The troubled days are in the past. So is the losing.
“Those are distant memories,” Shapiro said of the turmoil the Soaring Eagles once faced. “It’s not an issue anymore. The kids are all working well together. Our JV program is 7-0 and the freshmen are 6-1. They’re all seeing the rewards of their hard work and the future also looks very bright.”
Never mind the future. For Shapiro and the Soaring Eagles, the future is now.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.