The 1997 season was one of the best on record for The College of New Jersey’s men’s soccer team and “one of the better teams we’ve had since I’ve been here” according to head coach George Nazario.
In 1997, Nazario led the lions to a 17-6 record en route to becoming the NCAA Division III runner-up. The college will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of that special season on Saturday, when the current men’s soccer team will square off against Kean university at the TCNJ soccer complex in Ewing.
This season has not gone as well for the Lions as 1997, but this game represents a potential turning point in the season.
“There was spell in there where we were pretty unlucky but lately the guys have been finding a way to play well at the right time” said Nazario.
The impact of this game on this year’s New Jersey Athletic Conference playoff picture has been echoed throughout the week in practice. By now, Nazario is confident that everyone on his team knows that this is an important contest in the conference.
“We’ve been working on the counter-attack stuff and getting the ball out wide, hopefully that pays dividends tomorrow,” said Nazario, regarding his approach to practices.
The phrase “must-win” gets thrown around a lot in sports but it really applies in this context. The Lionscurrently sit at ninth in the NJAC with a total record of 5-7-3 and a conference win percentage of just .357 (1-3-3). A win against a conference opponent like Kean has the potential to save the Lions’ NJAC playoff chances if they can build up momentum for Sunday’s game against Mount Saint Vincent.
“We need a win” said Nazario. “This is obviously a big game for where we sit in the conference. We need three points so we need to find a way to make sure we score more goals than they do in an organized fashion.”
Winning the aforementioned three points would give TCNJ nine total conference points and push them up to fifth in the conference. Currently sitting at fifth in the NJAC are none other than the Kean Cugars, who could potentially lose their conference standing tomorrow.
“A win keeps us alive in the hunt for an NJAC playoff spot” said Nazario, regarding the importance of this game. “A loss and I think were pretty much done, it’s do or die right now in terms of the NJAC playoffs, that’s how were treating it.”
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