Lyndhurst boys soccer coach Emad Abu-Hakmeh isn’t afraid to constantly remind his team that it has the potential to accomplish things no other team in Lyndhurst history has accomplished.
“I absolutely think it is a very special team and we’re hoping that we stay focused and stay healthy,” said Abu-Hakmeh. “Honestly, with the depth that we have and the talent and the skills, it’s a very well-rounded team that has a lot of potential and could be the best team Lyndhurst has ever had.”
While it will be a couple months until we know for sure where this year’s Golden Bears truly ranks, this past week was a glimpse of what it’s potentially capable of doing.
After road victories at Hasbrouck Heights and Ridgefield, Lyndhurst had its most notable win of the season on Friday when it defeated state-ranked and previously unbeaten Harrison, 4-3, in overtime, to improve to 6-1 on the year.
In the win, senior center midfielder/forward Robert Dasler Jr. had three goals and an assist, punctuated by the golden goal in overtime.
With 15 goals and six assists on the year, Dasler is playing at an all-state caliber level as he rapidly approaches the school’s career scoring record.
“He’s grown into every single position that was assigned to him.The goals that he has scored have been amazing goals,” Abu-Hakmeh said. “He’s a very talented kid.”
Besides Dasler, sophomore Ryan Kartanowicz, senior Ariel Trelles-Calle (two goals, six assists) and promising freshman Desart Goxhaj all see time up top at striker. Trelles-Calle and junior Leon Sahiti see action at center midfield when Dasler is up top.
Abu-Hakmeh has called this year’s roster the deepest he’s had during his time at Lyndhurst and the midfield is arguably where the Bears are deepest.
Sahiti and sophomore Kareem Elsayed have shared the holding midfield duties, while Abu-Hakmeh said he has six different guys he trusts to play meaningful minutes at outside midfielder.
Sophomore Cristian Ventura starts on the left side with Kartanowicz and junior Luke Werner also seeing time. On the right wing, Adiel Avila-Rivera is the main starter, though Kyle Figueiredo and Matias Valencia Rendon also play on the right side as well.
Eduardo Coutinho DeAndrade, Ariston Nishevci, Dylan Salme, Christian Alves bring additional depth along the midfield
Injuries forced Lyndhurst to go deeper into the defensive depth chart than it had initially hoped, but the end result is Abu-Hakmeh now feels he has six backs capable of logging major minutes.
Senior Lorenzo Sanchez anchors the unit at center back. Duberneys Berdugo, a physical junior, is on the right side, while junior Athan Hilas starts on the left side.
Sophomore Alexander Mongelli has emerged as the fourth defender when Lyndhurst plays more of a four-back formation. Jake Cabanilla and Trelles-Calle, when he’s not on the attack, are a major part of the defense. Sebastian Erostico brings added depth on the back line.
In goal, senior Maksym Dmochowski is back for his third year on varsity and after battling injuries last season, is playing the best soccer of his career. Dmochowski has three shutouts and 45 saves in total, 14 of them coming in the win against Harrison. Sophomore David Porras, who saw significant time last year due to Dmochowski’s injury, returns as the backup.
Lyndhurst looked to continue its winning streak when it hosted Secaucus on Monday, Sept. 22 before traveling to Manchester Regional on Wednesday before playing rival North Arlington next Monday.
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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.)