Boys soccer: North Jersey coach hits milestone win, plus latest Top 25 rankings

The milestone meant a lot to Pompton Lakes coach Rob Edgar. The messages from former players touched him even more.

Edgar joined an elite group last Thursday when he collected his 200th career win, and all have come at the small Passaic County school. The Cardinals pushed him over the top by rolling past Hawthorne, 6-0, on their home turf at Lakeside Middle School.

Edgar was appreciative of the Cardinals alum who got in touch with him and the chance to reflect on the number of players who passed through his career.

"You don't always realize what you shared with someone else until it's communicated," Edgar said. "As a coach, you have a lot of great moments in terms of wins and losses, but soccer or any sport is much more than that. It's about relationships."

This is Edgar's 16th season and he has four league titles, two sectional titles and one state championship (2017) to his name. His team has routinely punched above its weight during 12 straight winning seasons. Edgar pins his success on having talented athletes with a passion for winning and supporting each other.

One player Pompton Lakes is happy to have is North Jersey scoring leader Andrew Armstrong. The senior forward came into Wednesday with 15 goals on the season and 66 for his career. That puts him eight back of the school's all-time record held by Carlo Gonzalez.

"There's so many tools in his toolbox," Edgar said. "He's got a great demeanor. He's a competitor. He's got incredible composure and sees things unfold before anyone else. He'll take four shots in a game and score three."

Armstrong is not the only reason why the Cardinals have soared on top of the NJIC Colonial. Senior forward Stefan Jastrzembski (1 goal, 6 assists), senior midfielder Connor Mohan (2 goals, 4 assists) and senior goalie Ben Nakahara (three shutouts) all lead the way for Edgar's club.

Edgar decided to get into coaching during his senior season at Fairleigh Dickinson and asked coach Seth Roland if he could stay on the next year as a volunteer assistant. His timing was fortuitous. The Knights went on a magical run to the NCAA Elite Eight (2001) and gave him an "invaluable experience" on the sideline.

Since coming over to Pompton Lakes, Edgar has looked at soccer as an extension of the classroom. Teaching players to do things the right way counts just as much as the final score.

"Any sport is an avenue to develop and grow not just as an athlete but a person," Edgar said. "I think sometimes that's lost in sports – that it's just a game. There's bigger things to consider as you move forward in life. It is important to have respect for the game, your teammates, the opponent, the referees, everyone who's involved in providing this experience for us."

Top 25 rankings

1. Clifton 5-0-1

2. Bergen Catholic 6-0-2

3. Ramsey 7-0

4. Ramapo 5-1

5. Tenafly 5-0-2

6. Old Tappan 5-1

7. Demarest 3-3

8. Don Bosco 4-1-1

9. Pascack Valley 4-1-1

10. Ridgewood 4-2

11. Pompton Lakes 5-0

12. Cliffside Park 4-1-1

13. Rutherford 3-1

14. Waldwick 4-1

15. Glen Rock 2-1

16. Garfield 3-0

17. Lakeland 7-0

18. Passaic Tech 5-2

19. Mahwah 6-2

20. Lyndhurst 2-1-1

21. Wood-Ridge 6-1-1

22. Wallington 5-2

23. Emerson 4-1

24. Park Ridge 2-2

25. Hasbrouck Heights 4-1

(Records through Tuesday.)

In the news

Three players from Clifton's unbeaten 2019 team were honored this month as conference player of the week: Montclair State's Amer Lukovich, New Jersey City University's Danny Tobon and Monmouth's Eryk Dymora.

Lukovich has scored 13 goals this season and ranks second on the Division III level behind Bergen Catholic graduate/Saint Elizabeth freshman Sebastian Londono.

Dymora has teamed up with Glen Rock alum Ben Zakowski to lead Monmouth to a 4-2-3 record.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ boys soccer rankings: Pompton Lakes coach Rob Edger hits milestone