Grossman hat trick guides Montville into second round

MONTVILLE — Back in preseason, not even junior striker Ethan Grossman thought Montville would win a NJSIAA Tournament match. Just reaching the postseason seemed like a huge goal for the rebuilding Mustangs.

Grossman had a hat trick as Montville surpassed its own expectations, defeating Vernon 3-1 in a North 1 Group III opening-round game. The Mustangs will visit top-seeded Northern Highlands on Friday.

"They came out fire, and we came out flat," Vernon coach Joseph Jones said. "It was rough. These guys have played together since they were 5, 6. They had in the back of their minds that the end was coming eventually. They were playing on pins and needles."

While Jones interpreted the Vikings' loose play as nerves, eighth-seeded Montville (9-9-1) seemed relaxed and confident from the start. Grossman tallied twice in a six-minute span. He "still managed to get solid contact" while tumbling forward 20 yards out just 34:51 into the match. For the second goal, Grossman received a pass from junior midfielder Adam Elias, dribbled a Vernon defender, and tucked the ball inside the near post. He wrapped his second shutout of the season midway through the second half, beating diving Vikings goalkeeper Eamon Logue.

William Scheisswohl scored No. 9 Vernon's goal with a solid individual performance, dribbling a third of the field with 5:53 to play.

"Now that we've won a game, we just want to keep going," said Grossman, who seemed taken aback by both his team's achievement and his own.

After the Mustangs started the season 2-6-1, new head coach Kevin Brown could see the enthusiasm draining from his players. Instead of another practice, Brown took the team bowling. He also changed the Mustangs' warmup right after losing to Randolph in the Morris County Tournament. Montville had to win three in a row to be above .500 by the NJSIAA Tournament cutoff.

The Mustangs won five straight, including back-to-back shutouts of Morristown and the Rams. They had lost to Vernon, 2-1, on the road on Sept. 28.

"They had to know they were playing for something," Brown said. "We went from states to a home game. They've done everything we hoped for."

Staff Writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@gannettnj.com; www.dailyrecord.com/writerjane/