Girls Soccer: Johnson Crusaders Are Senior Strong As They Look to Build off Successful 2017 Season

CLARK, NJ-  After a remarkable season that featured six straight shutouts to open the season, the foundation is there for the Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders girls varsity soccer team as the 2018 season is coming quickly.

With holes to fill, including the third goaltender in the past three seasons, the Crusaders are excited for the start of the new season.

“[Last year’s girls] played well, they played great defense,” Johnson second-year head coach Ken Leeder said. “We didn’t have any games where we came out flat or didn’t play well. We really came out physical and played hard.”

“I think that we never played a bad game. We just found a way to win,” he added.

The Crusaders went 21-2 and started off the season with 12 straight wins before their first loss to Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the Union County Tournament Quarterfinals. The Crusaders and Raiders remained scoreless through halftime, before the Raiders scored three unanswered goals all in the second half to secure the win. They captured the 2017 Union County Conference Valley Division championship.

Johnson second-year head coach Ken Leeder praised his players for hard work and efforts from 2017 and hopes the trend continues into the 2018 season. Photo Credit: Laura Wiese

They also reached the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 Sectional Final for the first time since 2010, but lost to state-ranked No. 1 Wall Township 2-0. The Crusaders, who were the second seed, defeated 15-seeded Delaware Valley, tenth-seeded Ewing and third-seeded Bernards (penalty kicks) to reach the finals. All of those three teams have since been moved to other brackets (DV to N2,G1, EWG to CJ,G3, BER to N2, G2).

The Crusaders this year have a group of 14 seniors going after it, with several of them seeing varsity minutes going back as far as freshman or sophomore season. The class includes Nicole Buczynski, Sarah English, Cecilia Puentes, Colleen Sullivan, Camila Howard, Kylee Zawacki, Erica Symzcack and Natalya Torres.

They take the baton over from the 2017 seniors, which included Nicole Cassano, Brooke Vaccaro, Danielle Hartzler, Samantha Ianco and goaltender Tina Palella. The current senior class praised the leadership from last year’s seniors as their turn has come to lead the team.

The 2018 Johnson senior girls soccer players gained experience going as far back as freshman year and hope to build on last year’s 21-2 record and run to the sectional final. Photo Credit: Laura Wiese

“It’s just making sure to create a close bond with the underclassmen,” Zawacki said of qualities taken from the 2017 senior players. “I think how well we all got along and the team spirit they brought to the team always helped to keep us positive throughout games, so that’s something definitely important.”

The Crusaders return a decent number of scorers, including Torres (22 goals, nine assists), Puentes (ten goals, 13 assists), sophomore Lily Gull (ten goals, five assists), Sullivan (five goals, six assists), Howard (three goals, one assist), which will be the strength of the Crusaders.

Johnson head coach Ken Leeder directs his players during a summer practice in the rain during the first day. Photo Credit: Daniel Collins

Ken Leeder and assistant coach Sam Rodrigues watch along the sidelines during the team practice. The Crusaders started last year with a 12-0 record. Photo Credit: Daniel Collins

“They’ve had great offseasons, a lot of them play year-round and they look good,” Leeder said of his returning players. “The important thing is that we stay healthy and focus on winning. I think they’ll do a good job of that.”

Other key players for the upcoming season for Johnson include juniors Jenna Wiese, Jackie Minniti, Grace Gull and sophomore Julianna Romano, with the experience factor from previous seasons leaving the coaches and players hopeful to fuel their aspirations for the fall.

“I’m hoping for another great season,” Torres said. “I feel really confident that we’re going to have a lot of success this year as we did last season.”

The senior class leading the 2018 Johnson Crusaders girls varsity soccer team consists of 14 players excited to get after it. Photo Credit: Daniel Collins

Johnson is situated in the Union County Conference Mountain Division along with other teams such as New Providence, Governor Livingston, Elizabeth, Linden, Dayton, Kent Place and Union Catholic. The schedule presents a task to prepare for the upcoming season, hoping to go a little further than last season.

“I hope we can play well. I think we are capable of being a better team this year than last year, although the record might not indicate it because we’re playing in a more difficult league,” Leeder said. “Hopefully we continue to get better as the season goes along.”

The Crusaders kick off their 2018 season with their season opener at Linden Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. It was rescheduled from Thursday, September 6 because of the extreme heat wave that plagued the state.