In the four years that Mr. Mark Torrie has been head coach of the Varsity Boys Soccer Team, the team has won two State Sectional Titles. In the years before Torrie, the program won zero.

The team captured their second Group 3 North 1 State Sectional Championship title against Ramapo on November 10th in dramatic fashion. To clinch the title after a scoreless tie, senior forward Sam Kang buried his second penalty kick to win 5-4 in the penalty kick shootout. Other key moments of the game included junior goalie Matthew Burstein’s save to set up Kang’s final shot. After winning the title, the team advanced to the Group 3 Semifinals to take on Mendham. However, the boys’ remarkable run ended after a tough 1-0 loss on November 14th.

Between Torrie’s coaching, new additions to the new team, and standout players throughout the roster, perhaps the team should have seen this coming. Before the season even started, the team had a core centered around players like senior captains Dan Oakes, Colin Eifert, and Brett Lafronz who have contributed and worked hard for years. Juniors Danny Yun, Mike Pankauski, and Anthony Contreras and seniors Deenae Sujak and Brad Johnson also figured to make an impact.

However, the team had some big question marks coming into the season. For example, the impact of the addition of senior forward Sam Kang was unclear. Although he is a senior, this is Kang’s first year playing for the school. He said, “My club team prohibited me from playing for the school in the past, but it is my senior year. I had always talked to some of the guys on the team about playing, and I realized it was now or never.”

Kang thrived on the team and meshed perfectly. This integration was so smooth because Torrie has created such a comfortable environment on the team. After all, many of the students know Torrie as either a gym teacher in middle school or as a coach from another team. Eifert said, “Almost all of the seniors began playing soccer under Coach Torrie when we were 9 years old and continued playing together through middle and high school.”

For Burstein, this comfort made his transition to starting goalie very easy. Coming into the year, Burstein “did not even know” if he would start. However, as the season unfolded, Burstein stepped into the roll with no problem. He attributed a lot of this easy transition to Torrie because “he made me work hard and gave me the confidence I needed.” In the end, Oakes agrees that there is no one he would rather have in net. He said, “I love Matt. He knows his job on the team and does it well. He doesn’t try to do too much.”

Overall, Torrie’s impact on the team is clear. Under his leadership, the soccer program has taken a leap forward. Now, after winning their second title in three years, Torrie said, this victory “has elevated our program to elite level status within the County.”

Still, that leap to “elite status” was unexpected for Oakes. Throughout the year, Oakes noted how the team constantly felt counted out. Oakes said, “We were always ranked low down on every newspaper’s statewide rankings. Frankly, as we continued to win and win, that really frustrated us that we did not get the credit we thought we deserved.”

Still, the season did have its mistakes and bumps. According to Torrie, the team used “those moments as teachable moments to learn from those mistakes and move on.” Eifert said, “It has been a growing and learning experience for all of us.”

Now, Torrie looks to maintain that elite status for next year. He said, “The season was a tremendous success at all 3 levels… Overall, I am thrilled with the season and look forward to coming back even stronger next year.”