By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
@tortreports on Instagram
WESTMONT — Despite losing his top scorer to graduation, Haddon Township High boys soccer coach Nick Hanuscin frequently preached the ‘Next Man Up’ mantra throughout the offseason.
After winning the last two South Jersey Group 1 titles, the expectations are understandably high for the Hawks. But, so far, they have lived up to them throughout the first month of the regular season.
“We talked about it all offseason,” the fourth-year coach said. “We have three goals at the beginning of every year, and it’s a South Jersey title, state title, and obviously making the Coaches Cup and competing in that. But we know to get to those we have to take it one game at a time.”
After going winless in their first three games, Hanuscin’s Hawks haven’t lost since and now own a 6-2-2 record after an impressive 4-1 victory over West Deptford in Colonial Conference Liberty division action on Thursday afternoon.
The improvement from a month ago to now has been extremely noticeable. Numerous players have stepped up, including senior Bobby McIlvaine, who already has 11 goals this fall after scoring 14 goals across a full 23 games in 2025. Others — such as Brody Beals and Danny McIlvaine (Bobby’s younger brother) — have also elevated their performances.
It’s been a rewarding result after the Hawks graduated Eamonn Sheehan, who led the team with 16 goals last fall and finished with 43 across his stellar career.
“Every year, it’s expected to make a state title run no matter what,” Bobby McIlvaine said. “We’re always going to be in the mix for a sectional title and playing in a state semifinal. The expectation hasn’t changed one bit.
“Even with the slow start, I knew we were going to bounce back. I still think we haven’t even touched the surface on how good we can be. There are so many aspects where we can get so much better.”
In this current eight-game unbeaten streak, the Hawks have shown that they’re still the undisputed top program in the South Jersey Group 1 field — and it’s not particularly close.
Haddon Township holds the No. 3 spot in the power-point standings, but the Hawks non-conference schedule compared to the rest of the bracket is extremely challenging, which is something Hanuscin says will prepare his squad for the state playoffs.
However, November isn’t even on his mind. He believes in taking things one game at a time while recognizing that the expectation is to be hoisting a blue — and possibly a gold — trophy in two months.
“If you start looking past teams and look too far in the schedule, or start getting too high or too low with different results, it’s never going to work,” Hanuscin said. “Even before I took over, the standard of this place is the standard. We’re going to compete, we’re going to be one of the top teams in Group 1. Knowing that, even before me, was the standard, we’re going to continue to harp on that every day.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Haddon Township hosts Paul VI on Saturday at 4 p.m. West Deptford hosts Pennsauken Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m.
(Feature Image courtesy of Dom Francesconi)
