Heavy Hearts: Toms River North Honors Late Coach with Emotional Senior Night Victory

Toms River – Senior Night is normally a time for athletes to celebrate four years’ worth of accomplishments, teamwork and dedication to the program alongside family and friends. On Tuesday night, it meant much more for the Toms River North girls soccer team.

The Mariners were honoring a coach, a father and a husband who had a profound impact on the soccer program and the community at large.

Toms River North honored Michael Veracierta, who passed away on Sept. 27 after a battle with cancer. Veracierta was the father of two Mariners, senior Madison Veracierta and sophomore Gabriela Veracierta. He was also the former junior varsity coach for Toms River North and had a positive impact on all of the players who have been through the program the last few years.

“(Michael) was amazing,” Toms River North coach Tom Miller said. “He always brought such a good and positive vibe to the field. He always wanted the girls to do the best that they could, and he always supported them. The JV girls, the varsity girls, anybody in the program. He did not care who you were, he would always look out for you. He meant the world to us.”

Not only was Toms River North playing with heavy hearts, the Mariners were also playing with a purpose, needing a win against Matawan to secure a spot in the Shore Conference Tournament. The Mariners came out strong and dominated early, though it took some time to break through on the scoreboard. When they finally scored, they kept attacking and wound up putting five goals in the net for a 5-1 victory over the Huskies.

The Mariners’ strong attack created several scoring chances in the early part of the game, but Matawan goalkeeper Elyssa Jamandron kept the game scoreless. Toms River North finally cracked the Matawan defense with 14:20 left in the first half when sophomore Molly Tantum found senior midfielder Sara Caso for the first goal. The Mariners kept a strong attack and scored their second goal 2:30 later. Junior Ella Felicetta scored her first of two goals in the game.

Matawan was able to get one goal back with 6:51 left in the half when Avery Cali put in a corner kick by Rylie Signorile to make it 2-1. Toms River North had a chance to increase the lead when it was awarded a penalty kick in the closing minutes of the half, but the older Veracierta, who plays on defense, sent it over the crossbar.

“I knew that was going to happen,” said Veracierta, laughing about her shot. “I am not a scorer. I am a clearer and send the ball up the field.”

The Mariners controlled the second half and added three goals for a 5-1 victory. Junior Lauren Kuhn scored two goals in the half, with her first coming off her own rebound that was shot so hard that Jamandron could only hit it away.

“It was a very emotional night and the girls responded very well,” Miller said. “They knew the Shore Conference Tournament was on the line, so we had to come out and make sure we played as hard as we could so we could secure the victory.”

Times like this are when playing sports can be beneficial. The team bond and having a shoulder to lean on is what makes high school sports great in win or defeat, on or off the field.

“Everyone has been so supportive,” Veracierta said. “Everyone was very close to my dad, Coach V, and we all felt we had a connection with him. That has helped connect us, and everyone has been so good to me and my family.”

The players and coaches all wore bands with the letters “WWCVD. What Would Coach V Do was what was talked about going into the game.

“We started to say what would Coach V do,” said Olivia Forlenza, who finished with an assist in the game. “Before games and at practices he always hyped us up and gave us the motivation to keep working harder. That is where ‘WWCVD’ came from, and we have always stuck with it.”