Woodstown soccer coach becomes second soccer coach in Salem County to reach the milestone, 60th among boys-only coaches in the state.
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITMAN – Darren Huck has experienced a lot of neat things in his 26 years as the Woodstown soccer coach, but it wasn’t until the occasion of his 300th coaching win Thursday that he experienced one of the most rewarding traditions in all of sports.
For all the meaningful and momentous wins he has collected over the years, Huck had never felt the sweet sting of the water bucket being dumped over his head on a chilly October night.
But after the Wolverines finished off Pitman 2-1 at Alcyon Park and the team ran over to greet their parents and fans the ice bucket brigade emerged from behind the bench and got their head coach pretty good.
And there was even a parade and “champagne” (sparkling apple cider, really) celebration waiting for him when the team got back to town. All they needed was Garrett Stubbs and his locker room goggles and overalls to make it complete.
“Cold, cold, but I don’t even feel it anymore,” Huck said of his reaction to the water bucket treatment. “I’m just very, very happy about this.
“This should lock in the No. 2 seed for us, and that was the whole goal anyway. These guys knew it. I talked to them on the bus. It’s not about me, it’s not about them individually, it’s about the guy next to him, the in front of him, the guy behind him, the guy sitting on the bus. It’s about the jersey and the team and program.”
Huck became the second soccer coach in Salem County to earn 300 career victories with the win and all but locked up the No. 2 seed in South Jersey Group I to boot. He is the 60th coach in state history with 300 boys-only wins and the 23rd all-time in South Jersey to hit the milestone (10th active).
Good friend and neighbor Joe Mannella, the Schalick coach who reached the milestone earlier this season, sent him a note earlier in the day that read in part “enjoy the moment.”
“I sent him a message back and said it would be an honor to join him in the same year,” Huck said. “That was the whole goal of mine because I have a lot of respect for Joe Mannella because he is a true soccer guy. To be in the same conversation with him I think is probably not necessary because he is that good of a coach.”
The Wolverines came into the season needing to win a lot of games if Huck was going to join the club. When they lost to Schalick on Oct. 10 it left no room for error if the milestone was going to happen in the regular season. They haven’t lost since and will take a five-game winning streak into the playoffs, but the Panthers weren’t going to be an easy out.
“I really want him to get it,” his son Cole, a freshman on the JV team, said before the game. “He doesn’t talk about it a lot, but I’d really like to see him get it. Everybody does.”
The Wolverines played what Huck called “a good game” to get the milestone win.
Erich Lipovsky and Nick DiTeodoro scored first-half goals for the Wolverines (14-4), who kept constant pressure on Pitman keeper Joey Zubert.
Both of the goals were from point blank range. Lipovsky took a deep cross from Blake Bialecki in front of the goal 13 minutes into the match and buried a shot into the upper right corner. He missed a wide open opportunity from the 18 earlier and told Bialecki if he got another chance he wouldn’t miss again.
“Composure’s been a problem I’ve been struggling with a lot in the front of the net throughout the season, but I have really learned to get better and calm down while I’m taking my shot,” he said. “Nobody was marking me so I knew I wasn’t going to miss my spot next time. I really took my time on it and I put it right in the spot I was looking.
“This means a lot. Not only is this his 300th win, but if we win this we go to No. 2 in the playoffs. It was a super important game we all know we needed to win and we came to play. That’s what we wanted to do and we’re happy about it.”
Four minutes later, DiTeodoro ran onto a through ball from Bryce Ayars just across midfield and beat Zubert one-on-one in the middle of the box for his first goal of the season. He had come close to scoring several times during the season, but just never connected. He changed his cleats before the game and it changed his luck.
Huck told him he was destined for a big moment this season and the junior delivered the game-winner in a milestone game.
“It’s the best way to score your first goal of the season,” DiTeodoro said. “Especially for a coach who just puts everything on the line for us. I couldn’t have done anything more for him. I feel so great not only to score but also to be able to seal that win for him so he could get big No. 300.
“Him, a couple of my teammates, they were all saying it’s going to come when it matters most and I can’t think of a better time for it to come than right now.”
Jonas Trum scored a curling cross-field goal for Pitman with six minutes left in the half to make it 2-1. Keeper Ben Stengel and his Diamond Dome of Defense (Dante Mistichelli, Dante Holmes, Grant Prater, Jake Lewis) stood strong in the second half as Pitman mounted some serious challenges to tie the match.
“The fact I could be his goalkeeper during his 300th is just huge for me,” Stengel said. “Getting his 300th win is what we’ve all strived for. He talked about it more these last five games and that was more motivation for us. You just want it so bad you’re just scared it’s not going to happen. It was very terrifying (ss the closing minutes ticked by).”
Woodstown 2, Pitman 1
| Woodstown (14-4) | 2 | 0- | 2 |
| Pitman (8-7-1) | 1 | 0- | 1 |
GOALS: Woodstown, Erich Lipovsky (Blake Bialecki), 13′; Woodstown, Nick DiTeodoro (Bryce Ayars), 17′; Pitman, Jonas Trum, 34′. SAVES: Woodstown, Ben Stengel 4; Pitman, Joey Zubert 8.
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