Huzar a perfect fit with North Penn

TOWAMENCIN >> Over the last three years, Jared heard a lot of recruiting pitches at North Penn.

From pick-up games, to summer league to just walking the halls from class to class, Huzar heard it over and over again. His friends who played for the Knights boys soccer team knew he’d only make them better, but playing for Continental FC’s academy team in Conshohocken, Huzar couldn’t join them.

This fall, for his senior year, Huzar joined the Knights and has seamlessly fit right in.

“I’ve been lucky enough to know most of these guys for a while, we hung a lot just playing scrimmages together so it was a pretty easy transition,” the senior midfielder said. “I just wanted to enjoy my senior year, play with my friends and represent my school.”

Huzar scored a goal and assisted on another as North Penn topped Souderton 4-0 on Monday night to improve to 11-0-0 on the season and 7-0-0 in the SOL Continental as the Knights chase a third straight conference title. An extremely fluid player on the ball, Huzar slid right into the Knights’ first XI and meshed with his buddies turned teammates.

Knights coach Paul Duddy also heard plenty about Huzar the past few years, including plenty from former Knight Matt Murphy. Murphy, who graduated last year, and Huzar have been friends for years and Duddy, citing Murphy and his family’s character, said that was all he needed to know.

A handful of people told the veteran Knights coach he should try to persuade the midfielder out for the high school team. Duddy never felt compelled to go that route, saying every player needs a different environment but if Huzar ever changed his mind, he was welcome with the Knights.

Of course, he’s sure glad Huzar came over this fall.

“He’s very quiet but you watch him play and our whole team understands now what he does and how it helps this team,” Duddy said. “He’s been friends with them and gone to North Penn, he just played for club teams. His talent, I can’t coach that talent, he’s got it, I just have to get him in the right place.”

As a team, the Knights are playing terrific soccer with the ball humming around the field and Huzar has played as key a role in that as anyone. Duddy said one thing that was apparent early on was that Huzar wanted to be a facilitator and put his teammates in position to score.

On Monday, Huzar played a lovely ball up to Knights striker Luke McMahon for the team’s second goal, then got his goal by following up a shot by Carter Houlihan for a rebound. Houlihan, North Penn’s junior dynamo midfielder and Huzar formed a quick chemistry and the senior-to-senior fix with McMahon didn’t take long either.

“I think it just came naturally,” Huzar said. “We all are unselfish players and we can link up well with each other. It fits well for me, they share the ball, I share the ball, it’s all come together well.”

Coming over from academy to high school, Huzar said there was an adjustment with the uptick in physical play. Duddy said the midfielder has handled it well and all the North Penn coaches had to tell him was to not get frustrated when he was getting used to it.

Huzar said the refs at the high school level let a little more go, and with the more condensed nature of the high school season, he’s been careful about recovering his body better each week.

“He’s been an absolute plus for our program, the boys love him and he’s a real good kid,” Duddy said. “He’s so good and so quick on the ball that, and I don’t want to use the term loosely, it’s like magic when he’s on the ball.”

Duddy joked about the only thing Huzar doesn’t do is talk. While the senior has gotten a little more assertive on the field, Duddy has been trying to get Huzar to open up a little more when he’s off the field.

“I sit down next to him and say ‘come on man, you can talk to me,’” Duddy said. “I don’t need to know anything confidential, but I’ll ask him ‘what do you think?’ I have asked him if he’s having fun yet and he always says ‘Yeah, I’m having fun.’”

Huzar is part of a large senior core for the Knights which includes McMahon, midfielder Aiden Jerome, defender Chris Caputo, defender Christian Snyder, keeper Brett Schwengels and many more who have big goals for this season.

A little more than halfway through the season, Duddy thinks the best is yet to come for Huzar and expects the clutch moments will bring out the best in the senior. Huzar said he hasn’t finalized plans for the future and isn’t sure if or where he’ll be playing in college yet but is instead more focused on the present.

“Our depth, all the players on roster whether bench or starters have been really contributing,” Huzar said. “It’s been a lot of fun. We’re just looking to win the next game and trying to stay humble.”

BUILDING BLOCKS

Souderton coach Matt Benner expected some growing pains this fall.

On Monday, he started five freshmen or sophomores plus two more juniors, so there’s been an influx of youth on the Indians side this season. Souderton stands just 1-8-1 (1-4-1 SOL conference) on the year after the loss to the Knights, but there have been a lot of one-goal games on the Indians’ resume.

“We’re doing what we can each game,” Benner said. “We’re trying to get better with each game and really try to make sure we balance good, strong results this year and competing in the league this year while also looking toward next year. We’re going to make some mistakes, but down the road, these players are going to gain valuable experience.”

Benner noted that while the SOL Continental is tough, it gives his underclassmen valuable game experience and every year, one of the teams that finished at the bottom of the table the season prior makes a big jump up the standings. There’s definitely skill within this group, and Benner is expecting another solid freshman class in next year.

For the second half of the season, Benner is hoping his team learns how to close out games and turn a couple of those prior one-goal losses into positive results.

While seasons like this can be difficult on upperclassmen, the Indians seniors have handled it exceptionally well. Guys like keeper Mitchell Race, center back Luke Atiyeh, defender Kyle Russell and forward Robert Shea have been in the program for a few years and have put their efforts toward passing the torch.

“My seniors are amazing, a lot of them have started for three years and they’re great kids,” Benner said. “They come to training every day and are positive, they’re welcoming to the younger kids and they never stop, which sets a great example for what we want the program to be.”

SOUDERTON 0 0 – 0
NORTH PENN 4 0 – 4
Goals: NP – Luke McMahon (Jared Huzar), Jamie Stewart, Jared Huzar (Carter Houlihan), S own goal.