The Asbury Park 6th-8th grade Middle School Soccer team went 9-1 in the Monmouth County Intermediate School Soccer League (MCISSL), winning the Liberty Conference and Liberty F Division championship. This team completed a stellar season from a 0-9-1 record in 2021. This is the first championship in more than 25 years since being a participant in this league. All the pieces were put together with key players joining the team to fill a roster of 22 players. The team completed the 2022 season on top after setting the goal to win it all. Their hard work and commitment started in June with skills camp, July position training and August team play.
The team ignited an explosive turnaround since coming back from a canceled season due to COVID-19 in 2020. In 2021, this group faced controversy as a young group, giving up 37 goals and scoring 17. This past year, the bar was set even higher with a winning record and amassing 39 goals and givng up 7 for the season. Striker Brandon Joseph and Mid-fielder Edgar Escobar contributed nine goals each for the season. Goalkeeper Yoexsi Nicolas-Ortiz had three shutouts and 14 saves. The low number of saves was due to a stringent defense from stopper Jessie Cifuentes Hernandez, sweeper Gustavo Noyola-Merino, left-back Adrian Sanchez Jimmenez and right-back Victor Gomez-Casarubia. The midfield made some strong stops and controlled the center in preventing teams from pressuring throughout the game.
The playoffs were contested at home. The semis yielded a 5-1 victory against St. Leo’ Catholic School of Lincroft. The championship final versus Freehold Intermediate was a heart-stopping battle. The first half had both teams challenge each other’s strength of defense to a 0-0 tie. The second half produced several scoring opportunities with near misses and crossbar shots. With 15 minutes left, Asbury Park applied pressure on Freehold’s right flank to then switch to an open left. The combination of passing plays of Edgar, Carlos Valdiba, and Brandon opened the field up for midfielders Ever Villanueva, Ulysses Noyola and Isias Villas. That attack produced the only goal of the game by Brandon Joseph. With 12 minutes left, Asbury Park team rotated players and built seven-man defensive wall in keeping a determined Freehold team from crossing midfield. Final score of 1-0 brought the trophy home and completed the dream season for the Blue Bishops.
The team was coached by Roberto Perez. Members of the team were: Jessie Cifuentes-Hernandez, Armando Cruz, Edgar Escobar, Carlos Valdibia, Hiram Flores, Lickerson Garius, Victor Gomez-Casarrubia, Jeshua Jose-Ruiz, Brendan Joseph, Amelia Kelley-Diaz, Dylan Montoya, Yoexsi Nicolas-Ortiz, Gustavo Noyola-Merino, Ulises Noyola-Merino, Kain Perez-Bautista, Nery Ruiz-Mejia, Adrian Sanchez-Jimenez, Ashley Sanchez-Jimenez, Daniel Serrano-Ruiz, Herventz St. Vilus, Isaias Villa-Hernandez and Ever Villanueva-Tomas