Moments after Harrison had lost in the Hudson County Tournament final, Mike Rusek walked onto the grass pitch at Sports Illustrated Stadium to talk to his players.
And as Rusek individually met with one disappointed player after another, he repeated the same message as they walked off the field, that the focus was now on November and the state tournament.
“I’m already saying it to kids while shaking their hands. We only got to be undefeated in November. That’s our slogan for the next month. Just undefeated in November,” Rusek said on Tuesday night following Harrison’s 2-0 loss to St. Peter’s Prep. “Every game, no matter how important it is in September and October, it leads you into November.
“You can’t be a great team unless you have a great run in November, at least in Harrison. So that’s what we’re focusing on.”
By the standard put forth by Rusek, it’d be hard to argue that the Blue Tide could have gotten better preparation than a finals matchup against a St. Peter’s Prep team ranked No. 4 in the state by NJ.com.
Harrison, seeking its third Hudson County championship and first since 2013, had its upset bid shaken almost immediately as the favored Marauders had multiple scoring chances early.
Then, just 7:22 into the contest, after a turnover in the midfield, Prep’s Anthony Bautista put the Marauders up for good when Anthony Bautista took a Philip Sayouwoh pass just outside of the 18 and slid a shot into the lower-left corner of the net.
“In soccer you don’t get a chance to call a timeout. If it was basketball, I would’ve used two or three timeouts by the time they scored that first goal,” said Rusek. “We could just tell that at the start, our touches were off and I felt like some of the guys, their heads weren’t into it. At that point, as a coach, you’re kind of saying, let’s just make it to the 20 minute mark at 0-0 and we can work off of that. But to St. Peter’s credit, both goals they scored were at the perfect moment for their team and the worst moment for our team.”
In the 53rd minute, Bautista fired a shot from beyond the 18 that Harrison keeper Anas Oufrid made a diving stop on but the Marauders’ Nick Lutsky was there near the far-post to score on the rebound to make it 2-0.
The two-goal disadvantage proved insurmountable with Anthony Novello in net for St. Peter’s Prep. The senior and High School All-American made seven saves on the night and used his mobility to cut off angles and short-circuit multiple potential scoring opportunities for Harrsion.
Oufrid made five saves for Harrison, as the junior was critical in keeping the score close early.
Before shifting all of its attention towards November and a 26th state championship, Harrison returned to the field on Friday for a makeup game with Lyndhurst. For the second time this season, the two rivals went to overtime, this time it was Harrison that emerged victorious, 3-2, behind two Kiandry Aban goals. As a result, Harrison and Lyndhurst shared the NJIC Patriot Division title with 9-1 records.
A potential third matchup between the two could occur on Nov. 11 in the North 2, Group 2 semifinals. Harrison (17-3-1), the reigning sectional champ and Group 2 finalist is the top seed and will play Science Park in the first round on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Lyndhurst (14-5), led by Robert Dasler Jr.’s state-leading 42 goals, is the fifth seed and will host Shabazz.
Meanwhile in North 1, Group 4, Kearny (14-5-1) is seeded fourth in the always loaded section and will host HCIAL rival North Bergen in the opening round. After some early struggles, the Kardinals have rebounded in a big way, winning their last five games, a streak that started with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over St. Peter’s Prep.
Also in North 1, Group 4, Bloomfield (12-5-4) is the six seed and plays Paterson Kennedy.
In North 2, Group 3, Nutley (10-6-3) earned its highest seed in recent memory as the Maroon Raiders, seeded fourth, will play Matawan in the first round.
North Arlington (9-11), which has had a roller-coaster season, is the 10th seed in North 2, Group 1 and will go to Hoboken with a three-game winning streak.
Tuesday’s winners will play in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 7.
Learn more about the writer ...
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.)