For nearly a decade, Anthony Tavares has seen firsthand the winning DNA that his Ironbound SC U17 team has, dating back to an early age.
Dating back to their first games together as 10-year-olds, this team, which features seven players from Kearny and two from Harrison have won several championships. And to Tavares, that comes as little surprise.
“We have a few Kearny kids, Harrison kids.Those kids can play with anybody and they’re just winners,” said Tavares, the co-head coach of the U17 team, which is based out of the neighboring Ironbound section of Newark along with Michel Absijjon. “Benji Silva started as a freshman (at Kearny), Gabe Gomez was a big part of the team as a sophomore. Last year, August Vieira was a starting right back. They’re just winners.
“They were 10, 11 years old and already playing in high level soccer games.I think in 2017, before they even reached high school, and won a Super Y National Championship, a big tournament down in Florida in December.”
The group of Observer-area players, as well their teammates from around North Jersey continued their winning ways this spring and summer, winning both the U17 State Cup and the Eastern Regionals championships before seeing their run end last week at the USYS National Championships in Orlando.
Ironbound’s season, which went roughly 30 games, also included a first place finish in its group in the Jefferson Cup, which was held in Virginia.
Despite going 2-1 in Group play and having a +4 goal differential, Ironbound did not qualify for the semifinals.
According to Tavares, Ironbound SC’s strength is on the backline with its defense. Silva, an attacking player in the fall with Kearny, was the right back, where his ability on the offensive end still proved valuable.
“I know with Kearny he plays up a little bit,” Tavares said. “But he (mainly) plays right back and he gets up the field a little bit and helps in the attack.”
Harrison’s Frank Barrera was the left back for Ironbound with Nicholas Vaimakis (Tenafly) and Jonathan Genao (Union) in the middle. Kearny’s Christopher Brooks was another who saw extensive time on the backline.
Lucas Varela was the primary goalkeeper for Ironbound. During the Regionals in West Virginia, a short-handed Ironbound team moved Varela to a field position, but didn’t miss a beat with backup Craig Chowanec (Hudson Catholic) taking over in goal.
The Regions saw Ironbound win six games in seven days, culminating in a 4-2 win over West IWA West out of Boston on July 3. Ironbound SC’s offense erupted for 13 goals in the final three games.
Tomas Monteiro, a two-sport star at Dickinson in Jersey City, was Ironbound’s lead striker during its tournament run. Vieira, who in the fall plays back for Kearny, is on the left side and Ethan Geronimo of Newark East Side is on the right side. Jermaine Campbell of Morristown and Marcus Jackson of West Orange round out a deep and talented group up top.
Kearny’s Gomez, Ironbound’s captain, plays in the middle of the team’s diamond formation. Joel Rueda of Harrison and Andrew Gavrilov from Staten Island are key cogs in the midfield and Newark East Side’s Jason Carrillo and Robert Aguirre.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)