UPDATED: Belleville HS boys soccer team has strong experience this season

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Belleville High School boys soccer team, under head coach Gary Polewka, features a strong group of seniors this season. 

The Buccaneers have enjoyed a good start to the season with a 4-1 record through Sept. 20. They defeated East Orange Campus, 10-0, in the season opener at home on Sept. 9. After losing at Barringer, 4-1, on Sept. 12 in Newark, the Bucs defeated West Side, 7-1, on Sept. 15; Orange, 3-0, on Sept. 17 at home; and Science Park, 3-0, on Sept. 20 in Newark. 

Returning seniors:

• Adonys Aguirre, midfielder.
• Gerber Coreas, defender.
• John Paul Crespo, forward.
• Ivan Garcia, midfielder and captain.
• Logan Kutlu, goalie.
• Favio Moreno, midfielder.
• Isaiah Mosquera, defender and captain.
• Jason Penaloza, goalie.
• Nicolas Rios, defender and midfielder.
• Leonardo Salomone, defender and captain.
• Justin Vicuna, defender.
• Jonathan Villa, forward.

Returning junior:

• Joshua Nodong, defender and captain.

Returning sophomore:

• Eric Castillo, defender and midfielder.

The newcomers are:

Seniors:

• Julian Meyer, forward.
• Henry Rivera, defender.

Juniors:

• Adrian Muniz, defender.
• Aiden Rodriguez, goalie and defender.

Sophomores:

• Nicolas Bustios, midfielder.
• Jorge Carrion, defender and midfielder.
• Charlie Chabla, midfielder.
• Wilberto Solorzano, midfielder.

Freshmen:

• Rafael Alves de Carvalho, forward.
• Sebastian Sierra, forward.

Polewka highlighted the leaders of the team.

“Ivan Garcia is our creator in the middle, Gerber Coreas solidifies the defense and cleans up any issues at the sweeper position, and Rafael Alves de Carvalho causes problems for defenses up top,” Polewka said. 

Polewka also has high hopes for sophomores Jorge Carrion and Wilberto Solorzano. Carrion is a center defensive midfielder, and Solorzano is an outside midfielder.

Crespo has a team-high six goals with one assist, Garcia has a team-high five assists to go along with three goals, and Sierra has three goals and one assist through Sept. 20.

The Buccaneers are solid physically and boast much depth. 

“We are a very fit team and (have) a much deeper bench than we usually have,” Polewka said. “We have fresh legs up top and at mid, which is going to help us out this year. We are senior heavy, and this group has been together for many years.

“We expect to compete for a division title (Super Essex Conference–Colonial Division), make a run in the county tournament and hope to earn a home state game and see what noise we can make.”

Here are upcoming games. 

• Oct. 1: at Payne Tech, 10 a.m.
• Oct. 4: vs. Technology at Clearman Field, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 6: at West Orange, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 7: at Newark Central, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 17: at Glen Ridge, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 20: at Cedar Grove, 4 p.m.
• Oct. 24: vs. Verona at BHS field, 7 p.m.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with the team’s won-loss record.

  Belleville High School boys soccer