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Mid-season review pt2

Jay Mwamba

1/10/08
 

Standings, results and other stats

At the end of last season, Manhattan Kickers were akin to a sinking ship after hitting rocks in Division One (West).

Once the club had been relegated, influential players such as Jordan Chirico, Ian Pilarski and Randi Lee left in search of First Division football, and for a while even long-time boss and mentor Mike Fitzgerald briefly mulled passing the baton to someone else.

Fortunately, Fitzgerald stuck around, as did veterans Richie Webb and Andy Stern. At the halfway point in the 2007-2008 season, Kickers, the wind back in their sails, have set the pace in Division Two as they attempt to bounce back.

They ended the fall in joint first place with Frosinone, the only team to beat them this season, on the 19-point mark. Kickers (6-1-1), however, have a game in hand.
“Our team is enjoying success playing in the Second Division. We have the depth and experience to be successful,” Fitzgerald said in midweek.

In his 12th season as coach – a considerable part of which he’s spent doubling as first team goalie – Fitzgerald handled his club’s relegation like the experienced pro he is.
Refusing to panic as players jumped ship, he rebuilt the team around Webb and Stern in midfield, with defender Kevin Norman and striker Nick Bill turning out to be two brilliant young additions.

The side responded by going undefeated in the league from September until the second week of December when Frosinone, once a powerhouse in Tri-State amateur soccer, reeled off a 3-0 win.

Acknowledging that Kickers are still far from where they want to be, Fitzgerald anticipates a tough fight for what could be their third title in Division Two, given the strong competition in the 11-team division.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he notes. “And it won’t be easy winning. No team is going to just hand us the championship. Frosinone, Fury and Celtic will all have a shot at the crown and we will need to work harder in the spring then we did in the fall if we really want this thing.”
And if they do clinch promotion, a quality roster will be imperative.

“Yeah, after the 2005-2006 season, when we were competing for first place in the First Division, things changed,” Fitzgerald conceded.
“We lost Hussein (Nasreddin), Jason Extein, Doug Hare and Franco. Then last (season), we lost Ian and Jordan, Oren and Randi Lee. So, needless to say, we are not the same team that we were back then.

“We have a good core of good players and we will do fine in the Second Division but, to return and compete in the First Division we will need to find a few more top quality players. Richie Webb and Andy Stern and getting older (and) we still don’t have a real striker on the team,” he added.

FROSINONE RISING
If Kickers’ campaign falters in the spring, look for either Frosinone Met Oval – the club that produced former U.S. international Chris Armas -- New York Fury or even Manhattan Celtic to take advantage.
Based in Franklin Square, Long Island and playing at the Metropolitan Oval, whose name they adopted when they entered the CSL last season, Frosinone are a young side with a great legacy.

Said GM Donato Franzino: “It is our goal to go into the Division One – we want to bring Frosinone to the level it used to be. We want to compete with the best.”
Franzino co-founded the club with the late Livio D’Arpino in 1969. At their height Frosinone were the best amateur side in the Tri-State area.

“Frosinone was a powerhouse back in the days,” coach Joe Ruberto echoed. “Many talented players played for us like Chris Armas and many others that went pro. We are working very hard to reach that level again.”
Along with Armas, capped 66 times by the U.S., and five by Puerto Rico back in 1993, Frosinone also nurtured Carlo Acquista, the current Adelphi University coach and his assistant David Price. The latter later captained St. John’s and the Long Island Rough Riders.

These days, Frosinone’s young prospects come through the Brooklyn Knights (where Ruberto coaches the Under-20s) and Met Oval systems. They made their presence felt in the fall going 6-2-1 and claiming Kickers’ scalp before the winter break.
Reluctant to single out any individual, Ruberto said Frosinone’s strength has been its desire and passion to get to Division One.

“Our key player is the whole team,” he added.
Should they earn promotion, Ruberto’s lads would have accomplished a remarkable feat by climbing from Metro Division Two, the CSL’s putative fourth division, to the First Division in three seasons. They skipped Metro Division Two by buying a berth in the Second Division.

CROATIAN
REVIVAL
New York Croatia in Metro Div. One are another once great club seemingly on the comeback.
The Croats, who won their last First Division title a decade ago, ended the fall with a five-point lead (6-1-2, 20) over Shamrock in Metro Div. One (East). In the West, Clarkstown appear a shoo-in for the title on account of a massive 10-point edge over Guyana Juniors.

“Croatia has a long and storied history that has been coupled with the CSL for over 20 years,” said Tommy Radalj. “Unfortunately, the team fell on bad times in the late 90s and reformed last year to rejoin the CSL in Metro Division Two.”
Still, the hastily assembled side played well enough to earn promotion
to Metro One.

“The reason for our success this year is that we have a grassroots effort in recruiting players,” explained Radalj. “Everyone is familiar with each. We haven’t simply picked players up off the street.”

This, he added, has led to team cohesion and less individual play.”
Predictably, Radalj and Co. are happy campers this winter break.
“With Croatia in first place at the midway we feel very good with our chances of promotion. We continue weekly practices and play in as many winter leagues and tournaments as we can.”

ENDURING TRADITION
Hoboken FC 1912, also in Metro Div. One, kicked off this season four years short of its centennial. The Jersey side has been giving it a real go this time around after struggling for most of last season.

Coach Bill Marth is pleased with his team’s effort. “Although our record is 3-5-1, we have been competitive in every game that we played with the exception of the Clarkstown loss,” he said, alluding to the 8-1 shellacking last November.

“I think we have a good group of guys on the team who really feel that they want to elevate Hoboken FC to the level that we once were, like the mid-1980s when we won the CSL First Division.”
Then known as Bergen Kickers, Hoboken lifted the title in 1985.

The club received a boost this season from the return of three players; Jason Simmons, Giovanni Battaglia and Sal Carramusa.
“They played on our Bergen Kickers youth teams and also played on our first team in the mid to late 1990s,” Marth said.

Hoboken also have benefited from the brilliant goal-scoring form of veteran Neal Ventola.
“Neal is now in his ninth year on the team and has played 33 games in a row. Neal and Nick Pandoursky have been with me since I started coaching the team,” Marth said.
“We want to continue to improve and eventually win promotion to the Second Division,” he added.

To stay sharp during the winter break, Hoboken have been playing in an indoor league in New Jersey.

The club has a rich heritage.

“Right now we are in our 96th year of playing soccer,” Marth said before Christmas. “We have played longer than any team in the Tri-State area and are the only founding club of the CSL to still field a team in the league.”

Marth’s own soccer roots run deep. His father, the late Fritz Marth, was an outstanding administrator credited with helping advance the sport in the U.S. He served the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, as well as at regional and national level for many years.

And Bill’s brother, Fritz, Jr., is a former coach of Hoboken, who’s still involved with the club while serving as U.S. Soccer Amateur Division Region I Deputy Director.