Growing up, Robert Dasler Jr. got to see several talented high school players in action before getting to Lyndhurst High School.
Of those players, one stood out above the rest, Enrique Mutsoli.
“That was the best kid I had ever seen play in my life, especially at the high school level,” said Dasler Jr., who was in eighth grade when Mutsoli scored an incredible 39 goals as a senior and now plays at Florida International University.
“Robbie always looked up to Enrique and it was always his goal to be like him,” said Robert Dasler Sr., who has been an assistant at Lyndhurst the past five years, coaching both his son and Mutsoli. “Enrique did things on the field that I’ve never seen before and then we kind of saw it in Robby where he was modeling him. That was always his go-to guy.”
On Wednesday, Dasler Jr. broke one of Mutsoli’s records, when he became Lyndhurst’s career goals leader, scoring three times in the Golden Bears’ 5-1 victory over Park Ridge in the Bergen Invitational Tournament.
Dasler Jr. followed it up with two more goals in Saturday’s BIT quarterfinal game against Emerson Boro, giving him 76 for his career, breaking Mutsoli’s mark of 70.
Dasler Jr.’s record-breaking night, the latest of many dominant performances over his career, makes him The Observer Athlete of the Week.
“It was a big weight lifted off my shoulders,” Dasler Jr. said. “I just felt more free and relieved the whole time after I (broke the record).”
Dasler Jr. broke the record when he scored on a penalty kick in the first half. He then added a goal from outside the 18 and got his third goal when he slid a pass from Leon Sahiti inside the far post from about six yards out.
“It takes a talented player to put the ball in the net the way he does,” said head coach Emad Abu-Hakmeh about Dasler’s ability to score from all different angles and locations. “He can score from any corner, from any angle. He’s a very special player.”
Abu-Hakmeh was coaching in Lyndhurst’s recreation program, when he first saw Dasler Jr. play roughly eight years ago and took over as the Bears’ head coach when Dasler Jr. was an eighth grader.
Dasler Jr. immediately found a role on varsity as a freshman, scoring three goals with three assists. As a sophomore, he had 13 goals and 14 assists for a Lyndhurst team that made a surprising run to the North 2, Group 2 semifinals. It was last year however, when Dasler Jr. really broke out and realized becoming the career scoring record was a reachable goal when he tallied 29 goals with 11 assists.
“It started after my junior year,” Dasler Jr. said. “After my sophomore year, I only had 16 goals so it wasn’t really on my mind. Then, I had 29 my junior year and I was like, I could actually do this.”
This season has seen Dasler Jr. elevate his play to an even higher level. Dasler Jr.’s 31 goals are currently tied for the most in the state. He’s scored at least one goal in all, but one game this season and has six hat tricks, highlighted by his three goal, one assist performance in an overtime win over Harrison.
The 31 goals put Dasler Jr. within striking distance of Lyndhurst’s single-season goals record, which Mutsoli set with 39 in 2021.
“Robby has had his signature on every single game we played so far,” said Abu-Hakmen. “He’s a very special player.”
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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.)