Chatham High Boy’s Soccer Thrives on Senior Day with Win Over Mendham

On senior day, Chatham High School (N.J.) Boy’s soccer team used three goals from three seniors to propel past Mendham, 3-1, on the pitch Friday evening at Cougar Field.

It was the final contest of the regular season for Chatham, who posted an overall 10-8-1 record in 2024.

With the game dedicated to the seniors on the Cougars’ squad, head coach Mark Maka made it a point to play every senior, and they did not disappoint, he noted.

“It was great,” a happy Maka said of the way his team performed. “It was senior day today, so it was nice to see them (seniors) come out. All the seniors played, and they played well. And we got the result we needed today, so it was good.”

Milind Talwalkar set the tone for the game, scoring early in the half for a 1-0 Chatham lead.

Declan Leahy, another senior, used a header to find the back of the net, which extended the Cougar’s advantage to 2-0 with 6:53 to go in the first half.

Demir Centikaya capped Chatham’s scoring with a tally of his own with 20:50 remaining in the tilt.

The Minutemen (5-9-4), however, finally broke through with a goal a little over a minute later, snapping the Cougars’ shutout effort.

Senior Danny O’Brien returned to action after missing over a mouth due to a mouth injury that required 40 stitches and three surgeries to heal. To that end, he played well and registered an assist regardless of the rust he experienced because of lack playing time.

But, as winded as he said he became during the affair, you would be hard pressed to erase the smile from his face after the contest.

Asked how it felt to be back on the field after the injury, O’Brien said, “It felt great. It was a nice going-through-the-motions game, so I’m ready for states now. I got 65 minutes straight (playing time). That’s all I wanted. I wanted to get my cardio going. I got really tired at the end, but it’s for the better (for me). I just kept playing.”

Chatham host Middletown North Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in the first round of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) state tournament.

— Jerry Del Priore