Kearny boys’ and girls’ soccer teams move on to Hudson County finals

There’s a good reason why Kearny has the impressive moniker of “Soccertown, USA.”

Soccer has been the predominant sport for ages – and there’s living proof right now with both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams from Kearny High School.

Both the Kearny boys’ and girls’ teams reached their respective championship games in the Hudson County Tournament with wins in the semifinals Sunday in Bayonne.

The Kearny boys defeated neighboring archrival Harrison, 3-0, while the Kearny girls defeated North Bergen, 4-0, to advance to the tourney finals, which will more than likely be played Saturday afternoon at Harrison High School in a championship doubleheader.

The Kearny boys will face Union City in the title match, while the Kearny girls will take on Bayonne. Both teams will be looking to repeat as the county’s best, with the Kearny girls shooting for an incredible and unprecedented seventh consecutive county crown.

For Kearny girls’ head coach Vin Almeida, the winning never gets tiring.

“It’s always pretty exciting,” Almeida said. “And it never gets old. We have a great group of girls who have worked so hard this season. They’re so coachable, so that makes everything easier. We always play like it’s the last game of the season, so there’s always that intensity.” Amber Crispin continued her fine senior year by scoring two goals and collecting two assists in the win over North Bergen.

“What has happened is that we were hoping Amber would become a leader and she has fulfilled our hopes,” Almeida said of Crispin, who now has an astounding 26 goals and 18 assists this season. “Her leadership is tremendous.”

Almeida also credited the leadership of senior goalkeeper Laura Vilar.

“Laura is not on the field often,” said Almeida of Vilar, who had to relinquish her starting goalie spot to Megan McClelland. “She has been fantastic, way beyond our wildest dreams.”

Almeida was asked what has made Crispin so successful this season.

“She just has that nose for the goal,” Almeida said. “She’s very hungry and determined. She’s also fortunate to have a good bunch of players around her, creating more opportunities for her.”

Isabel Fernandes had a goal and an assist for the winners, while Lily Durning scored the other goal. Fernandes now has 12 goals and 13 assists on the season. Merrin Keim had a solid game defensively for the Kardinals, who now own a 14-3 record overall.

“It was just her ability to start the attack from the back,” Almeida said of Keim. “She did a great job.”

Almeida had some apprehension about playing North Bergen again so quickly after facing the Bruins in the regular season. The Kardinals beat North Bergen, also by a 4-0 score, last Wednesday, so they faced North Bergen in back-to-back games, with McClelland recording shutouts in each game.

“North Bergen always likes to play us tough,” Almeida said. “They came out hard (Sunday) and deserve a lot of credit for the way they played. Those kids work hard every second.”

The Kearny boys had to face their neighborhood rival once again, just a few weeks after soundly defeating them in Red Bull Arena by a 5-1 margin.

“There are always the concerns of playing Harrison, but even more so when we beat them the first time,” said Kearny boys’ soccer head coach Bill Galka. “I figured that they would come out harder and play a little differently than the first time. I figured they had the revenge factor on their side. But I was pretty confident with the way we’ve been playing.”

The Kardinals are still undefeated on the season, posting a 15-0-1 record, good for the No. 4 ranking in the entire state.

“I figured that if we played our game, we would be in good shape,” Galka said.

“That’s what we did.”

John Najarro, who scored two goals the first time the two teams played at Red Bull Arena, found the net twice on Sunday as well. The sophomore striker now has 20 goals on the season.

“He scored the first two goals for us and got us going,” Galka said. “Kenny Santos set him up pretty good with nice passes.”

Santos got assists on both of Najarro’s goals.

Juan Zapata scored the other Kardinal goal Sunday. Oscar Alvarado stopped seven shots to earn the clean sheet.

“Oscar has been good in goal,” Galka said. “He didn’t have to make too many saves. He did make one stop early in the game. It was big, because if they scored early, you never know what could happen.”

Galka was concerned about the conditions at Don Ahern Memorial Veterans Stadium Sunday, which is located right on the Newark Bay. It’s always cold and windy there, but Sunday, it was a little more than just cold and windy. It was blustery and borderline December weather, not mid- October.

“It was definitely pretty windy,” Galka said. “The wind was coming across the field, so we had to keep the ball close to the ground. But we have been playing well, so that would never be a bother.”

Galka loves the play of his defensive back unit, with players like Cord Montanino and Damien Kolodziej leading the way.

“We’re solid through the back,” Galka said. “I think that’s the strength of the team. We have a really strong corps back there. Our midfield is also pretty solid. Najarro’s up to 20 goals in the front. So we have a nice unit.”

Galka does have some worries about facing Union City a third time, especially after the Kards knocked off the Soaring Eagles twice already.

“It’s always tricky playing someone a third time,” Galka said. “But we’re playing pretty well, so it’s all good right now.”

And it’s all good for both the Kearny boys and Kearny girls, as they shoot to hold onto the title of being Hudson County’s finest. After all, teams from Soccertown, USA are simply supposed to win, right?