R’ville’s Inverso celebrates special night with 3 goals
ROBBINSVILLE >> A game that meant nothing in terms of standings, power points or seedings, meant everything in the world to CJ Inverso.
And to everyone else involved. Thanks to joint cooperation from a group of classy adults and students, the fourth-year, special needs manager of the Robbinsville High boys soccer team was allowed to suit up and play his first official varsity game Wednesday night, and responded with a hat trick to lead the Ravens to a 4-3 victory over Nottingham.
It was a night in which everyone combined to make special — the coaches, officials, players on both teams and the Robbinsville fans, led by the girls soccer team.
Inverso is the son of Rider soccer coach Charlie Inverso and his wife Lynne, who were in attendance. Lynne, a long-time Special Olympics coach, would be the first to say that all special needs athletes deserve the same credit and attention as CJ for what they do, but as a mom she was justifiably proud of her son’s accomplishment on a truly memorable evening. As were his teammates. “CJ is more than a manager,” tricaptain Matt Hevey said. “Seeing him every day brings a great energy to our team. I have never seen him not in a happy mood. Whether it is trying to start a conversation with Fish (coach Jeff Fisher) as we are down 3-0 and the sunglasses are already thrown; or talking about (Assistant coach Dan) Greb’s love life, he’s always there to cheer us up and make us laugh. He’s just a great kid to be around and you can learn a thing or two from him about treating people.”
Asked how excited he was to be on the field, Inverso studied his inquisitor for a moment. “Good question,” he replied. And what’s the good answer? “This was,” he said, “a big moment for me.”
The event was set up by Fisher and his brother, West WindsorPlainsboro-South coach Bryan Fisher. Their teams were supposed to meet and since it was the Ravens Senior Night, they decided to award CJ for his four years of dedication by letting him suit up after he participated in the minimum six practices required by the NJSIAA. Both teams agreed to let him score.
But when the Pirates won their Mercer County Tournament semifinal Tuesday night, they had to pull out because they are in Thursday’s finals and cannot play three straight days according to state rules. Nottingham coach Mike Braender, a former student of Inverso’s when the Rider coach taught at Crockett Middle School, stepped in and was happy to go along with the plan.
“It’s all about that kid,” Braender said. “Charlie was a big influence on me as a teacher, he was the reason I wanted to become a phys-ed teacher, so I was happy to do it.”
And Fisher could not have been happier.
“CJ over the past four years has been such an important part of our team,” the coach said. “He has a way of always making you smile and keeping the important things in perspective. Especially after a tough loss where it feels like things didn’t go our way. CJ is there to make a joke, talk about his dad’s grumpiness, or remind us how many losses we have on the season.
“For me, it’s been inspiring to see the interaction he has with the boys and how much they all care for him. The boys don’t look at CJ as one of the managers, but as their teammate, friend, and brother.”
And their brother surpassed his dad’s career total of goals 16 seconds into the game when George Fotiou centered a ball that Inverso tapped past Pat Luckie. Informed he would be ripped for allowing a soft goal; Luckie laughed and replied, “Yeah I know.”
When Inverso returned later in the match, Braender played it to the hilt, yelling out “Mark number 23! Get on him. He’s their scorer!”
It didn’t help as Inverso stripped a defender and scored on a rebound off his own shot; and completed his hat trick early in the second half off a pass from Faraz Khan.
CJ revealed that the play he and Fotiou teamed up on was called “Code Name Meatball” after the guy who scored it.
“I’m Meatball,” Inverso said, motioning to Fotiou. “George is my good friend. He named the play. He’s Can of Meatballs.” A proud Can at that.
“I can honestly say he’s one of my best friends,” Fotiou said. “He adds a different atmosphere to the team. When we are losing and have our heads down we can always rely on CJ to crack a joke to cheer us up. Whether the joke is about meatballs or how (Assistant Dan) Greb looks like a furry panda he’s always there for us and we’re there for him. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s part of the family here.”
And on a night that meant nothing statistically but everything emotionally, the entire family was bursting with pride. Nottingham (4-10-2) 0 3 — 3 Robbinsville (8-7-2) 1 3 — 4
G: N-Petit, Magbane, Cabrerra. R-Inverso 3, Rosica. A: N-Toe, Pacino, Magbane. R-Khan, Christiansen. Shots: N-11, R-15. Saves: NLuckie 3, O’Lone 6. R-Schreier 4, Gonzalez 3.
Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @Fish4scores