Harrison’s girls’ soccer program will look to improve on last year’s 11-9-1
record. Front row, from l., are Chelsy Pineda, Mariah Camt and Marla Rutherford.
Back row, from l., are Lucy Pinto, Tatiana Costa, Ariadene Reyes and head
coach Raphael Viana.
When Raphael Viana took over the Harrison High School girls’ soccer program last year, coming back to coach girls’ soccer at his alma mater, he made some bold predictions that frankly caught some people by surprise.
“You know that if you’re going to play soccer in Harrison, you know what you need to do,” Viana said a little more than a year ago when he took the position as head girls’ soccer coach. “You have to have the kind of program that commands respect. We have to get this program where it should be. I’m not here to be here a year. I’m here to build a program. We’re coming in and we want to win every year. We have to believe we can win a state championship. I’m really excited to think we can do that.”
When Viana said those words, there were a ton of skeptics who thought that he might have been biting off a little bit more than he could chew. Girls’ soccer in Harrison hadn’t been successful in a long time at Harrison, since the days of Tom Carney instituting the program. Maybe it was youthful inexperience that Viana was talking from. Or maybe he really did believe.
Well, the Blue Tide posted a winning record in Viana’s first season. Harrison was 11-9-1 and reached the semifinals of the Hudson County Tournament for the first time ever. That should be enough reason to be excited, right?
“It depends on how you look at it,” said Viana, who began his second season with the Harrison girls’ soccer program last week with a 3-3 tie against Becton Regional. “Being a .500 team is not something we strive for. I thought we were right where I thought we would be. But I want to get past 11 wins. I want to compete.”
Last week, before the Blue Tide faced Becton, the rain howled around the high school complex, but the girls were out there, practicing and posing for pictures. They hadn’t a care in the world. They wanted to play soccer and wanted to get better.
“Of our core group, we only have three seniors,” Viana said. “We have a very young team. We’re trying to get a good mix of the sophomores and juniors. We hope that carries us through the season.”
Viana isn’t running away from the opposition either. This weekend, the Blue Tide faces Glen Ridge. Next Saturday, Sept. 26, they face neighboring rival Kearny at Red Bull Arena.
“I want the schedule to be tough,” Viana said. “I want them to see what it’s like to play the better teams.”
The young Blue Tide is going to learn on the fly.
Junior Tatiana Costa is the team’s goalkeeper. Costa became a goaltender for the very first time last season and handled herself admirably.
“She had to learn on the job,” Viana said. “But she’s an all-year player. She plays club soccer in the offseason. She’s one of our more solid players. I really think she’s going to keep us in games this season with her goalkeeping.”
The Blue Tide has five defenders that Viana can use, especially senior Ariadene Reyes, who is a returning starter from a year ago.
Junior Lucy Pinto is another returning starter that Viana can count on in the backline. “She’s been a starter since she’s been a freshman,” Viana said. “She needs to become an elite player this year.” Junior Mariah Camt and sophomores Jennifer Santos and Tiffany Dunnelle are also solid defenders. Santos was a midfielder last season, but Viana moved her back to the backline to solidify the team’s defense.
Sophomore Marta Silva is the team’s best player. She will play center midfield again this season, where she scored 17 goals last year as a freshman.
“This team will go as far as she takes us,” Viana said. “I expect her to take it to the next level. She’s going to be one of the best players in the county. She has to be able to take this team and make it hers. I’m pretty sure that she’s mature enough to handle it.”
Junior Sade Jimenez is another midfielder who is in the mix.
Senior Jenifer Braz is another center midfielder.
“She came off the bench last year, but she made the commitment to play club soccer in the offseason and did a nice job,” Viana said. “She’s much improved.”
Sophomore Dayana Solona is another talented midfielder.
“She has a rocket right foot and can put the ball in the net from outside the 18 (yard line),” Viana said. “She’s made a huge jump up from what she was as a freshman. We need her to be a main contributor this year.” Junior Betsaida Gutierrez returns to the forward line. “She played JV (junior varsity) to start the year last year, but we brought her up late and she contributed,” Viana said. “She’s super fast, easily the fastest kid we have on the team. She has to get to the ball.”
Senior Raquel Seebeck, who missed all of last season after she tore the ACL in her knee, has recovered after rehabbing the injury and has returned to the forward line.
The Blue Tide have a tough week of regular season action, facing off against tough competitors New Milford and Lyndhurst before facing Glen Ridge in an independent game.
Still, Viana doesn’t waver.
“The expectations have to remain high,” Viana said. “We’re still a young team with a lot of brand new girls starting. But we’re not making excuses. This is a team that can go either way, improve or go backwards.”
Count on Viana to lead the program the way he sees fit, the way he learned when he was a standout goalie for the state champion Harrison boys’ program.
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”