It would be easy for North Arlington and boys soccer head coach Pedro Martinez to lament the graduation of 14 seniors from last season. But while others may see a team that will be hard-pressed to match last year’s 12-10-2 record, Martinez sees a group that, while young, is ready to pick up the slack.
“This group is young, but we got a lot of players who have a lot to prove,” said Martinez, who enters his third season as Vikings head coach. “We have juniors and seniors that have been with us since freshman or sophomore year. It’s their moment to step up, fill the shoes, fill those roles that our seniors left and it’s their time to shine.”
One of those players set for a big season is junior goalkeeper Jakob Gwiszcz, who is set to be the fulltime starter after sharing the position a season ago. The 6-foot-1 Gwiszcz showed flashes of brilliance last year, most notably with a 13-save performance in the Bergen Invitational Tournament final against Lyndhurst.
“He’s always played very well. He’s good with his hands, good coming out of the goal,” Martinez said. “Now that he’s a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, he’s covering more ground, he’s playing more confidently in the air. He’s only going to get better.”
Senior Perdomo is set to be the backup.
North Arlington’s defense has been bolstered by the return of senior captain Nicholas Keoghan, a three-year starter at center back, after missing nearly all of last season due to a torn ACL.
“He is our best defender this year and arguably the best defender we had the previous two years as well,” said Martinez. “It seems like this injury hasn’t stalled his growth and development. He’s back better than ever, he’s in better shape and stronger.”
Senior Adam Janosek will start at the other center back position, while on the outside, sophomore Tyler Hacket is set to start on the left side and senior Mo Cheikhali is set to start on the right side after playing midfield last year.
Freshmen Josiah Guerrero, Owen Alvarez and Brandon Leon are all likely to see time on the backline as reserves as well as senior Jayden Guevara and junior Finley Hughes.
Junior captain Julien Santos is a three-year starter as the holding center midfielder with fellow junior captain Felix Medina returning at center midfield. Aleksander Dabrowski is set to start at the other center-mid spot in the Vikings’ 4-5-1 formation.
Senior Jonny Miranda, a three-year varsity player, is set to start on the left side, while senior Dylan Santos will be on the right.
Junior Nicolas Salazar and sophomores Jacob Giaquinto and Valentino Cruz are also vying for time in the midfield with Guerrero also potentially moving up from the back at times.
The graduation of Nico Stanzione, North Arlington’s career scoring leader with 73 goals, has left a massive hole at the top of the Vikings’ attack. Junior Matthew Francisco, a backup last year, is currently set to start at the nine, with freshman Youssef Karim also set for meaningful minutes up top.
“There’s not just one guy we’re relying on,” said Martinez. “It’s really going to be a team effort in the attack this year.”
North Arlington opens the season on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at Manchester Regional, followed by home games against Hawthorne Christian on the 5th and Lyndhurst on the 9th before traveling to Harrison on Sept. 11.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)