After a well fought 2014 season where its record did not reflect the performance on the field, the boys soccer team kicked off its 2015 season.

The team, who finished last season with a record of 4-11-2, started off the 2015 campaign, with many close losses, suffering one goal defeats to teams including Hunterdon Central and Bridgewater-Raritan, two highly competitive teams.

Boro soccer is putting out a more inexperienced lineup this year, with 12 athletes new to the varsity level.

“Adjusting to the speed and physical aspect of this level [will be difficult],” head coach Eric Puma said.

The new athletes include two promising freshman: midfielder Zurab Bedoshvili and goaltender Nick Burd.

Amongst the returning players are captains Phil Masiakowski, Eddie Michta, Garreth Dennis, and Andrew Patterson. Puma believes they all contribute something important and unique to the team. However, Puma believes there is one thing they all contribute.

“[The team] has strong leadership and desire,” Puma said.

Even with a returning core, the fact that there are more newcomers than returning athletes created an inevitably difficult road ahead for the team.

While the determination and will is present, consistency is lacking, Patterson believes.

The Raiders picked up their first victory on Oct. 3, in a dominating performance versus Rutgers Prep.  Goals by Michta, along with juniors Carter Altman and Danny Kozimbo helped propel the team to victory.
The Rutgers Prep win helped the team advance in the Somerset County Tournament.

As of mid October, the season has been a story of close bitter defeats. On Senior Night, Oct. 8, the team lost by a single goal in an overtime defeat against Ridge.

Weeks earlier, the team fell one goal short against teams including Watchung Hills, Immaculata, and Pingry.

Even though the final result appeared in the loss column, the team was still able to find some positives throughout their close losses.

Junior defender, Joey Bevilacqua, believes that the game vs. Pingry was a big match for the team.

“We only lost 2-1 and the team as a whole played very well,” Bevilacqua said.

The team won back to back to back games in mid-October, with a shutout against North Plainfield and a 2-1 win vs. rival Franklin.

“It really was huge for our team to get back to back wins,” junior Danny Kozimbo said. “Our team played really well on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.”

As of Oct. 14, the team was 3-9-1, and hoped  to continue its streak of consecutive wins.