With only seven wins, and just two of them on the road, the Brearley Bears boys soccer team knew that if it was going to have state tournament success for the third straight year it was going to have to be done away from home, away from its new field surface in Kenilworth.
Brearley was in the North 2, Group 1 final the past two seasons and won it for the fourth time under present head coach Vinny McGowan 12 months ago en route to making it all the way to the Group 1 final for the first time since last winning it in 2015.
"This year's team was different," McGowan, head coach of the Bears since 1997, said. "We graduated 10 seniors and one of our top returning players, senior Rashon Thorne, ended up missing the entire season."
McGowan said that Thorne suffered an ACL injury in June.
"It was a complete tear, so he was done for the season," McGowan said.
Thorne, Brearley's center forward, scored the game-tying goal on a header in Brearley's North 2, Group 1 sectional final win at North Arlington last year and played a key part in Brearley's lone goal during its 1-0 win at North 1, Group 1 champ Mountain Lakes in last year's Group 1 semifinals.
This year Thorne is just as valuable to his team despite not being able to play. He helps his teammates warm up and is also at midfield before every game involved in the coin toss.
"He's a remarkable kid," McGowan said. "His spirit is huge. He's a great teammate.
"To be able to do what he does knowing he can't play shows what kind of character he has."
Thorn was not in the lineup Friday, Nov. 15 when Brearley was playing in a third straight sectional final, but, as always, his presence was felt and he gave his team a lift.
Goals scored in the second half by senior midfielder Evan Skaff and later by junior center midfielder Luiggi Cedeno and a shutout posted by senior goalkeeper Gabriel Jorge propelled ninth-seeded Brearley to a 2-0 triumph at third-seeded Middlesex in Friday's Central Jersey, Group 1 sectional state championship game played at higher-seeded Middlesex.
Brearley captured Central Jersey, Group 1 for the first time, repeated as a sectional state champion for the first time under McGowan and it was the fifth sectional title McGowan led Brearley to in this his 28th season at the helm of the Bears.
"It was a smaller field, so there was a lot more contact and tackles," McGowan said.
Brearley won all four sectional games on the road, outscoring the opposition 10-1. The Bears won at top-seeded Shore 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Brearley fell to Shore 1-0 in overtime in last year's Group 1 state championship game at Franklin.
Brearley won its seventh straight match to improve to 11-5-1 and will next face South Jersey, Group 1 champion Haddon Township in the Tuesday, Nov. 19 Group 1 semifinal at Haddon Township. Winners from the sections North 2 and South Jersey get to host the boys soccer group semifinals this season.
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