COLUMBUS — After a slower-than-expected start to the 2025 season, the highly regarded Northern Burlington varsity boys’ soccer team seems to have hit its stride.
At least that’s the way it seemed Tuesday when the Greyhounds raced past their local foe, Florence, 7-1, in 70 minutes under the New Jersey State Interscholastic League’s new six-goal mercy rule in the final 20 minutes of a game.
It was 5-3-1 Northern’s biggest output of the season in the midst of a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1).
The win also made 13th-year head coach Justin Faust his school’s all-time winningest boys’ soccer coach. His 110 victories pushes him past Doug Daniels.
Tuesday was a day for milestones at Northern Burlington as junior forward Elijah Font tied the school record for assists and registered a hat trick to give him a team-high nine goals on the still young season.
“My main goal is the assist record,” said Font, who will surpass Mike Shaw’s career assists record of 28 with his next successful feed. “But the way things have been going, I’m going to score goals up top. Whatever I can do to help the team.”
“Elijah’s value to this team is indescribable,” Faust said. “As good a player as he is, he’s an even better person off the field. He’s a pleasure to coach.”
Three times in the first half yesterday, Font found the back of the net. First, he touched across a pass from junior Brody Sheehan 12:30 into the game to open the scoring. Eleven minutes later, Font finished a feed from his classmate Monroe Castor. The pair teamed up again with seven minutes left in the first half. It was Castor’s third assist of the game after leading Sheehan for a tally a minute after Font’s second goal.
“After our (1-3) start, it took a couple of us to step up and be leaders,” .
.Font said of his team’s turnaround. “Since then, we’ve been connecting well with each other and showing good team chemistry.”
“In our losses early on, we learned that we had a lot to fix,” Faust said. “Mostly, we had to mature. Now the guys are realizing all the little things it takes to win. We’re starting to learn more about ourselves.”
Even Tuesday, it took the Greyhounds a little time to get going. But, after head coach Kyle Ballay’s already injury-plagued Flashes lost the services of sophomore Miguel Sanchez to a leg injury five minutes into the contest, the home team began to straighten things out.
Even down, 4-0, at intermission, the visitors showed the kind of resolve that has fueled the rivalry. Four minutes into the second half, senior Michael Kacsur tapped across a ball put on goal by his classmate, Jordan Borota, to trim the deficit to three goals.
Ten minutes later, Kacsur almost scored again, but missed wide of the far post.
That seemed to awaken Northern, which responded by scoring three more goals in an 11-minute span to end the contest with 10:34 to play. Juniors Joe Stevens and Lukas Kekesi scored with 21:10 and 19:06 left, respectively. Then sophomore Brenden Koz put in a pass from senior Brandon Steele to complete the scoring and keep Faust’s charges heading in the right direction.
Florence (2-5-2) 0 1 — 1
No.Burlington(5-3-1) 4 3 — 7
Goals: Kacsur (F), Font 3, Sheehan, Stevens, Kekesi, Koz (NB); Assists: Sheehan, MCastor 3, Font, Steele (F), Borota (NB).
Shots: 5 (F), 16 (NB); Saves: Habingreither 9 (F), Senf 3, Corso 1 (NB).
