For decades, the names on Kearny’s boys soccer team may change from year to year, but the standards have remained the same.
This year, that belief has never felt more true. That’s because the Kardinals have virtually an entirely new roster this season after graduating 20 seniors from a team that went 19-4 a year ago.
So while a lot of the names might not be too familiar to people, at least not yet, the goals remain as high as ever.
“The expectation for us is no different than last year when we had 20 seniors,” second year head coach Scott Millar said. “The expectation is we’re going to compete and our expectation is that we’re going to put ourselves in a position to compete for the league, compete for the county and compete for the sectional championship. If we’re not willing to do those things, there’s no point showing up.”
While it’s easy to lament who is no longer wearing the red and white, what Kearny does return is arguably the state’s top midfielder in Benji Silva.
Silva, a 5-foot-8 senior midfielder, was an All-State, Third Team selection as a defender last season by NJ.com. Over the course of his four-year career, Silva has lined up all over the pitch, a role he will continue to play this year for the Kardinals. Silva, who has 18 career goals, is expected to play more as a center and attacking midfielder than in previous years.
“We’re very fortunate to have a player of his caliber,” Millar said. “There’s no doubt that the players look to him as the standard bearer of what we’re all about. The way he trains, the way he plays, the way he carries himself. He’s a very, very humble guy and we’re definitely going to look for him to carry a greater weight this year than he’s had to in the past.
“It’s a luxury that very few people have, to have a player of his caliber. Whatever position that we play him at, whenever we play anyone, in our mind, he’s the best player on the field.”
Expected to join Silva as starting midfielders are junior Colin McKenna, senior Justin Rivadeneyra Madrid and sophomore Lucas Ramirez. Seniors Braidan Logue, Alessandro Puente and Cristian Cruz, as well as sophomore James Mara are also expected to see significant time in the midfield.
Seniors Nicholas Diaz, Isael Quintero and Anthony Solari are also hoping to earn minutes within what should be a deep midfield for Kearny.
Logue and Puente are also expected to see some minutes up top at forward. Promising sophomore Christian Anfibio is expected to start at striker and while Millar admits a lot will be expected of him offensively, Kearny should once again rely on goals coming from multiple sources, rather than just one star up top.
On defense, center back Dylan Ribeiro is primed for a big senior season after being limited by injuries the previous year.
“Dylan has really demonstrated some good leadership right now and as a player, we’re looking at him to provide that and keep the back organized,” Millar said. “He’s picked up some injuries and there’ve been some outstanding players that have played in front of him, but he’s taken this opportunity and he’s looked outstanding.”
While the exact alignment in the back is still not fully decided, senior Dynnel Dantes, junior Marques Nix and sophomore Jeremiah Huff, are expected to also start. Junior Ryan Zaouia is also expected to see meaningful minutes on defense. Sophomores Philip Dudek, Isac Leiro and Michael Szymanski, as well as seniors Edgar Siguenza and Jedidias Naranjo are also vying for time.
Senior Caleb Baptista, a starter in both basketball and volleyball, is currently the front-runner to start as goalkeeper.
“We’ve been fortunate over the years to have some pretty goalkeepers and his athleticism ranks up there with some of the top ones that we’ve had in recent years,” said Millar. “You’re not going to get a more athletic kid than him.”
Junior Matias Romero and sophomore Kolton Gryckiewicz are also competing for the starting spot.
Kearny begins the season at home against Toms River North on Tuesday, Sept. 2 before opening league play at Union City on Sept. 5.
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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.)