SPF Players Past and Present Reflect on Brez, Union County's Soccer Coach of the Year

If it had been one of those formula Disney sports movies, then the boys' soccer team would have won the Group 3 State Final in dramatic fashion, and carried its emotional coach off the field with his 600th career victory. But the Raiders' Cinderella run through the state tournament ended in a Sectional Finals loss to Chatham, and Thomas Breznitsky will return for a 37th season in 2011 just four wins shy of becoming the fourth coach in New Jersey history to reach the 600 mark.

Ironically enough, in a season where the Raiders finished with a pedestrian 10-8-7 record, there were many that thought Breznitsky did one of his finest jobs. He took a team that had only three experienced players, and molded it into a squad that nearly won the county title – it lost in overtime in the finals – and won three road games to make the section finals. Last Friday, The Star-Ledger named Breznitsky its Union County Coach of the Year.

"It's hard to say if it was the best coaching job or not," said Joe Mortarulo a former player in the 1980s who has been an assistant coach the past 17 years. "The way it turned around was dramatic, but every year just as much work goes into the job. He is incredibly passionate about the program and spends all his time thinking about the team and what he can do to help improve it.  He is without a doubt the most dedicated high school coach I have ever known." 

Breznitsky said that he is not motivated by career wins numbers, but by the challenge and enjoyment of molding a new group of young men into a successful unit. "This season I could not be happier for the boys," he said. "They did a great job all year and were an absolute pleasure to coach." He added that he has no plans to retire.

Breznitsky's biggest challenge this season may have been getting his young team to believe that they were good enough to win. "We had a very young and inexperienced team," Mortarulo said. "We had been working so hard in the first half of the season, and each game we found a way to give away a positive result. We never took our eye off the next opponent. And that kept the entire group focused."

Breznitsky coached his first varsity soccer game in September 1975. Amazing as it may seem today, he thought he would coach soccer only until he could become head baseball coach, a sport he said he was much more knowledgeable about.

"I figured I would keep coaching junior varsity baseball and eventually take

over as head coach, but the coach never left," said Breznitsky with a chuckle.

While seemingly as intense as ever, Breznitsky seems to have his imminent achievement in the right perspective. "600 wins tells you have had some longevity and you've been lucky enough to have had some great players," he said.

It took Breznitsky some time to build the soccer program into the dynasty it is today. He credits an exceptional group of players led by three-time all-state player Lino DiCuollo, who Breznitsky considers his best student-athlete.

In addition to DiCuollo, who was a college All American at Rutgers, other key members of his first state finalist team in 1985 were such Scotch Plains legends as Victor and Alex Passucci as well as Mortarulo. In their first game of the 1985 season, they made a major statement by winning 3-1 at Wall, one of the state's top soccer powers, before a packed house.

"Coach told us that we had nothing to fear and we played with a lot of confidence," Mortarulo recalled.

Although DiCuollo was an exceptional talent, it was still considered a novelty when he started as a freshman. "[Breznitsky] was ahead of his time," said DiCuollo, who now works as a Player Personnel/International Business Director for Major League Soccer (MLS) in New York. "Nobody put freshmen on varsity at that time but he was not afraid to play his best players not matter how old they were."

After playing professionally in Germany, DiCuollo enrolled in law school and practiced at a private law firm in Newark before being hired by Champions World. At SPF, he was the first three-time member of the Star-Ledger All-State First Team and led his team to the 1987 Group III title.

DiCuollo was recognized as one of the nation's premier forwards during his career at Rutgers. He was a 1989 All-America choice following a year where he was also named Atlantic 10 East Division Player of the Year. In his four years, he led Rutgers to a 71-15-8 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances. He stands third on the Rutgers career points list with 122, fourth on the goals scored list with 48 and fourth on the assist list with 26.

"We had a great time in high school and a big part of it was the coach letting us play and realizing that we could use our individual skills within a disciplined system," DiCuollo said. "It is not surprising to see what the program has become over the last 25 years.

The sophomore-dominated team would lose to West Deptford in the state finals. Breznitsky considers the 1986 team perhaps his best ever, but that squad was upset by Randolph in the sectional finals. Finally in 1987, Breznitsky broke through, defeating Wall 4-0 for the first of his seven group championships. That team outscored its opposition by an astounding 120-6, and nine of the 11 starters wound up playing at Division I universities. 

If DiCuollo is the Number 1 player in SPF history, then Todd Moser (1995-8) may be Number 1A. His most impressive feat was playing in four consecutive Group III championship games, losing only in the finals his sophomore year.

As a freshman in 1995, the Raiders shared the title and won in 1997 and 1998. The 1998 team set a still-standing school record of 24 wins. Moser was named all state junior and senior years and was voted the NJ State Player of the year. He was also voted as one of the top ten players of the 1990's decade by the Star Ledger.

Like DiCuollo, Moser also went on to play college soccer at Rutgers from 99-03. He was team captain for three years and was voted All Big East and All American in 2001.

Moser currently work in logistics for Dotcom Distribution as a Sales Manager and also coach youth soccer at the Players Development Academy (PDA) in Zarepath, N.J.  His wife, Amanda teaches at SPFHS and he is the father of a nine month old son.

"[Breznitsky's] pride in SPF soccer continues to resonate through generations of players," Moser said. "I attended a game recently and there were former players there to watch who had graduated over the past four decades, this is because of him and what he has built. When I was younger I watched my brother's teams and dreamed of playing for the Raiders one day. 15-20 years later you still see younger kids as ball boys with that same dream. It's called tradition, and I do not see it or Coach Brez slowing down anytime soon."

Moser also recalled his contentious relationship with Breznitsky his senior year. "He was pretty tough on me that year," said Moser. "We had a very young team and he wanted me to set an example. He set the bar for me at a very high level and I wasn't always able to reach it, but it made me a better player and made us a better team," Moser said.

He added that he still vividly remembers a rousing halftime speech that Breznitsky gave in the 1997 finals, with the Raiders trailing 1-0. "We were losing and spirits were down," Moser said. "Guys who had played together for 10 years started questioning each other. Brez looked us in the eye and rallied us. We came out, scored two goals, and won the first state title outright since 92."

Moser continued, "Personally, I never had a coach in my entire career that, made sure I gave everything I could. He pushed me, not just physically but mentally too.  Since I graduated SPFHS he has been there for me during the good and bad times, came to my wedding, and is now a good friend.

The new millennium could not slow the Raider soccer express. The 2000 season was the debut of Breznitsky's son Ryan, who would become a three-time all-county player, and a two-time all-state selection, and followed DiCuollo and Moser to Rutgers.

Ryan's' final two games in 2003 were truly special. First, he led the Raiders to the section title in a dramatic double-overtime battle with Middletown South. It gave his father his 11th section title and first since 1998, a major drought for Scotch Plains. Then, in the state semi-finals against Ramapo, Ryan scored two goals to lead the team back from a two-goal deficit in the second half, only to lose in a heartbreaking penalty kick shootout.

 "Coaching my son was a great treat. It was much better than people had said it was going to be," said Breznitsky.

Ryan did not merely survive the pressure of playing for both a high-profile team and for his father, but truly thrived

"It was fun, but also challenging," said Ryan. "I was never given any special treatment by him during training or games. We both knew the microscope we were under and that made it competitive, which made it fun for me. I enjoyed the challenge of being the son of 'Brez,' and having to live up to the expectations."

When it came to choosing a college, Ryan said the choice was easy. "Rutgers was where I was going to end up from the beginning I think," he said. "I had spoken with guys like Todd and Lino about it quite often, and liked what they had to say. I had known Coach Reasso for a long time and knew that he was competitive and wanted to win like I did. Also being a "Jersey guy" I wanted to stay close to home and be able to have my family and friends come to games."

Ryan has followed in his father's footsteps, and now works as an assistant coach at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). At the age of 24, he already has two Division 1 coaching seasons behind him.

"As for my coaching, I don't know if it gives me a head start, but having my father be as successful a coach as he is gives me motivation to hopefully achieve that same success one day," Ryan said.

Another key player on those teams was Michael Hessemer, whose younger brother, Brian, would also make his mark in SPF history. Hessemer anchored the defense for three years and had an outstanding college career at Lehigh. After starting in several games as a freshmen and sophomore, Hessemer was the captain and started every game his junior and senior years. 

"Playing at Lehigh would not have been possible if it weren't for the time I spent playing for and learning from Coach Brez and Joe Mortarulo," Hessemer said. "Coach Brez knows how to push young high school athletes to reach their potential."

Hessemer has remained actively involved in soccer by coaching the U8-U10 teams at PDA, and he plays in the Garden State Soccer League on a team that draws players from Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Westfield, and Cranford, including many former Raiders. Hessemer has worked for the past three years at the Louis Berger Group, a Civil Engineering Consulting firm based in Morristown. Currently, he works in the New York office doing Construction Management for the World Trade Center.

The goalie on the 2003 section champions was freshman Bryan Meredith, who has just completed a remarkable career at Monmouth University and has a very good chance of playing professionally in the Major League Soccer (MLS). Breznitsky had never started a freshman in the high pressure goalie position but Breznitsky was able to look beyond Meredith's youth and relied on what he saw on the field.

Meredith did not allow a goal until his eighth game and led the Raiders to three sectional titles including finals appearances in 2004 and 2005 and was a four time selection to all county and was all state his senior year, But Meredith was even better in college.

As a junior he led the nation in goals-against average, allowing .306 goals-per-game, and he stopped a penalty shot in an NCAA tournament victory over UConn. Meredith was just as good this year, finishing with 11 shutouts and 36 for his career.

From the Passuccis to the Mosers to the Hessemers, Breznitsky has always attracted multiple players from the same family. Sophomore Andrew Leischner, who calmly scored twice in a penalty kick shootout victory in the county semi-finals this year, is the third member of his family to play for Breznitsky. Freshman Christian Zazzali, who showed flashes of brilliance, is followed his older brother, Ed, who graduated in 2004. Their father, also named Ed, played for Breznitsky on the 1974 Junior Varsity baseball team, and was a member of Breznitsky's first soccer team. Ed Senior has a unique perspective on his and his son's coach.

"I guarantee the baseball program would have had all the accolades if Brez had coached baseball," he said. "Kids and parents come and go, but the expectations remain very high, and Brez wants it that way. "