For the third straight boys’ soccer game on Nov. 17, after the clock ran out, the Holmdel High School players hustled over to the bleachers to celebrate with their fans.
This time, the scene was playing out at Kean University in Union after the NJSIAA Group 2 championship game.
Holmdel won the championship, 3-1 over Glen Rock High School, earning its second straight Group 2 state title.
Holmdel beat Dover High School, 4-1, in the 2017 Group 2 state final.
In 2018, the previous two celebrations, before the group championship, took place on both Nov. 13, after Holmdel’s 2-1 victory over Delran High School in the Group 2 state semifinals, and on Nov. 8, following the Hornets’ 4-0 victory over Shore Regional High School in the Central Jersey, Group 2 state sectional tournament championship.
For Holmdel, it was another joyful conclusion to a great season. The Hornets went 44-2-1 in the past two years.
“It means so much. We’re never afraid of a team,” said Holmdel senior Anthony Arena. “This team is very, very talented, and we work hard for what we get.”
“I remember the years when we got here (before), in 2011 and 2012, I would always tell my guys, ‘You don’t realize how hard it is to get to this point.’ But to win it two years in a row is amazing,” said Holmdel coach John Nacarlo. “These kids worked so hard and they believed that they were the better team when they came out.”
Coming into the Group 2 final on Nov. 17, Glen Rock was 23-0-1, having outscored opponents, 84-12.
Then, in the first half at Kean, Glen Rock opened a 1-0 lead. But the Hornets never panicked. They took control of possession, attacked the net and broke through with three straight goals.
Late in the first half, Jack Giamanco scored to tie the game. After halftime, Jack Russo floated the ball into the box. Mark McStay headed it past the diving keeper to put Holmdel ahead for the first time, 2-1.
“It was incredible. When I saw Russo step up to take the free kick, I knew he was going to play a great service,” McStay said. “I went for it and it went in. I shielded out my defender and when I flicked it, I knew it was going in.”
The Hornets, true to form, kept attacking. Later in the half, Arena raced forward and blasted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
“We’re a very attack minded team,” Arena said. “We know the defense can hold it down.”
There were still about 15 minutes left, but the game was over. Holmdel had cemented its place as one of the best boys’ soccer teams in state history.
“Giving up the goal we gave up (against Glen Rock), it was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ Sometimes maybe a team would have a letdown. But we were able to get one back. Then we had the wind at our back in the second half,” Nacarlo said. “It’s special. I’ve had a very close relationship with a lot of these kids. I love these boys. To see them go out the way they did was amazing.”
Twelve of Holmdel’s 21 varsity players are seniors, including Anthony Arena (18 goals, 13 assists in 2018), Joe Arena, Anthony’s cousin (eight goals, seven assist), Ryan Fergusen (11 goals, six assists), Joe Arena (eight goals, seven assists), Henry Kiechlin (six goals, five assists), Russo (six goals, eight assists) and McStay (five goals, nine assists). Goalkeeper Jack Murray will also graduate in the spring.
Holmdel will at least return its leading goal scorer, Giamanco (23 goals), a junior in 2018. But otherwise, the Hornets have a lot to replace.
The program, though, has been here before. Nacarlo’s club also reached the state group championship in 2011, 2012 and 2015, and reloaded after each run.
“But the last two teams I’ve had here were very special teams in the program’s history,” Nacarlo said.
