By NICK KOSKO
Staff Writer
It takes quite a team effort to record nine consecutive shutouts, approach a school record for wins and become a South Jersey powerhouse.

That’s exactly what the Mainland Regional boys soccer team has become this season. It has been a total team effort, but the Mustangs still feature one standout individual.

Victor Figueroa, in his senior season, currently leads the team in goals, assists, and total points earned. He helped the Mustangs go 11-1-1 in their first 13 games, including 9-1-1 in the ultra-competitive Cape-Atlantic League American Conference. Three conference teams, including Mainland, Egg Harbor Township and St. Augustine Prep, earned invites to the South Jersey Coaches Association tournament, which features the top 16 teams in all of South Jersey. Mainland garnered the No. 7 overall seed in the tournament.
While his in-season accomplishments are impressive, Figueroa said he would not have been able to do it without a tremendous supporting cast.
The ability of high school athletes is generally measured by their stats and physical attributes, but Figueroa puts himself above the rest with the perfect attitude and team-first mentality.
“I like to set the example. It doesn’t matter if I am scoring all of the time because I just want to win and I want to help the guys around me succeed,” Figueroa said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be able to score or do what I do. We need to feed off of each other, and that is why I believe we are so good as a unit.”
At 11-1-1 entering the third week of October, Mainland was just two wins shy of tying the school record for victories in a seaons, and they have been largely helped — and led by — Figueroa.
Head coach John Napoli pointed toward Figueroa’s leadership as a big reason why he is succeeding on the field, along with his teammates.
“Well, he’s played varsity for all four years of high school and that has helped him develop as a player. It also has helped him develop as a leader,” Napoli said. “Victor is the type of player who will always give you that extra effort, whether it’s his second or third wind, he never gives up and plays very unselfishly to set a great example for his teammates.”
Simply put, Figueroa is a leader on and off the field. If a coach needed to create a player to start a team with, Figueroa fits the mold.
Record pace aside, Figueroa said this is his best season yet because he is just having fun playing the game he loves. When the team is winning and you have solid teammates, who wouldn’t be having fun?
“Everyone is just locked into a common goal this year,” Figueroa said. “I love all my teammates and we are playing the best soccer we have in a long time. This is easily the best team I’ve been on, and I’ve been having so much fun doing it the entire year so far. It’s a great way to go out.”
“This has really been a year where Victor has shown true leadership,” Napoli said. “I’ve always seen it within him, but I think with him being a senior now, it’s really shown day in and day out. Everyone on the team feeds off of him and he feeds of them as well. It’s pretty amazing to watch a kid like that be so selfless and care so much about his team.”
His coaches and teammates have noticed his progress, but even Figueroa’s classmates in the hallways have appeared to jump on the Mainland soccer bandwagon. The girls team has had an impressive year as well, going 11-1-2 through its first 14 games while sitting in first place in the CAL American.
Figueroa said he sees a ton of support within the school for himself and the soccer teams, and takes great pride in knowing he can help generate a lot of buzz.
“I love leading. It’s truly important to me and my fellow seniors on this team,” Figueroa said. “It’s like we are the big men on campus right now because we see all of the support from the students because we are playing so well, and that’s pretty awesome. Even if I wasn’t doing as well individually, I would love that support just as much because I care about helping this team win, regardless of what I do.”
“He’s surrounded by many talented players and they bring the best out of him,” Napoli said. “They all give him opportunities on the field and he does the same for them. It’s like a bunch of cogs working together to one finely tuned machine, and I couldn’t be happier with it.”
As for the rest of the season and the future of the team, Figueroa continues to live by the mantra that there is no “I” in team — it’s all about winning and enjoying the game rather than the stats.
“He wants championships. It is as simple as that,” Napoli said.
“I like to win as a team, not by myself,” Figueroa said. “The stats that I have are not possible without my guys. Being a senior now, I just want to help everyone else get better and try to reach our goals of a championship. If we happen to not get there, I want to leave my mark on this team to make sure the guys are after me will be better and constantly improve every year.”
When asked about the remainder of the season, Figueroa had one simple answer.
“Stats are nice but I expect us to reaching for that championship.”