Boys Soccer

October 22, 2009

Running with the big boys

Jose Arismendi High Tech

Jose Arismendi and the Lasercats get their shot against the big schools on Saturday.

Click Here for photos from the 2009 Soccer season.

The first round of the Hudson County Tournament for boys soccer may not have seen any upsets. All but one first round match (Harrison vs. Hudson Catholic) ended in a shutout and six of the eight games were decided by five or more goals. However, a first round that may have lacked in drama has set up a quarterfinal Saturday full of intrigue.

The biggest question entering the tournament was how perenial Group I power Harrison would fare against the bigger schools from the old HCIAA. This weekend will give us an insight into that question as the No. 2 seeded Blue Tide face Union City. The Soaring Eagles may be seeded seventh, but are playing their best soccer of the season, earning a tie against Kearny and a win over St. Peter's Prep this week.

Harrison isn't the only small school looking to topple a much bigger foe. High Tech dominated another small division team in a 9-0 first round win over Marist. The Lasercats get to show they belong in the discussion with the big boys when they square off with the third-seeded Marauders.

In other quarterfinal action, the top-seeded Kardinals face off with North Bergen. Both regular season matchups resulted in one-goal victories.

Dickinson and Memorial also face off in a matchup of two of the county’s top scorers in the Rams’ Maxi Garcia and the Tigers’ Fernando Alvarez.

Second Round:
Saturday, October 24
8. North Bergen at 1. Kearny (1 p.m.)
7. Union City at 2. Harrison (12 p.m.)
6. High Tech at 3. St. Peter’s Prep (1:30 p.m.)
5. Dickinson at 4. Memorial (2 p.m.)
First Round Scores
(1) Kearny 8, (16) Lincoln 0
(2) Harrison 8, (15) Hudson Catholic 1
(3) St. Peter’s Prep 5, (14) Weehawken 0
(4) Memorial 5, (13) Ferris 0
(5) Dickinson 8, (12) Hoboken 0
(6) High Tech 9, (11) Marist 0
(7) Union City 2, (10) Bayonne 0
(8) North Bergen 2, (9) McNair 0

Click Here to view the tournament bracket as a printable JPEG