The Central Jersey Spartans are please to announce the hiring of John Newman as their new head coach.

Spartans owner Sal Amato is confident Newman is the right coach to take the team to the top of the standing. 

“John is a great coach and we can not be more excited to have him onboard,” said Amato.  “He brings experience, knowledge and a terrific enthusiasm for the game that I am confident will make him a great success in this league and take our club to the next level.”

Newman is the current director of coaching for the Princeton Soccer Association.  He holds a USSF A-License, UEFA A-License and an NSCAA Master Coach certificate.  He began his soccer career in the youth ranks at Bolton Wanderes FC.  He played professionally for Shrewsbury and Southport in England, before moving into the coaching ranks.

“Once you take over a team, the most difficult challenge is to get off to a winning start and getting the players to buy into your beliefs and philosophies as the Head Coach” said Newman.  “As coach I will bring new ideas to the team along with energy, enthusiasm, hard work and a desire to win!”

When asked what his goals for the players were in his first season with the Spartans, Newman turned his focus to style and teamwork.

“My goals are to play an attractive style of soccer while winning games, and striving to finish in a higher position then the teams previous seasons,” Newman remarked.

“The players will need to focus on being a part of the team, creating a fitting-in mentality and having a clear understanding of the game.”

Joining Newman on the sidelines will be the Spartans’ new assistant coach, John Saunders.  Saunders also comes to the club from the Princeton Soccer Association where he was the director technical development for youth programs.  Saunders holds a UEFA B-License and an extensive coaching resume, including time coaching a Liverpool FC’s academy.  He began his playing in youth ranks at Everton and Liverpool, before playing professionally at Oldham Athletic.

“I have known John for a number of years and he is a very well respected youth coach with vast experience in player development,” Newman explained. “He is a former professional player who has been coaching in the US since 2005. He has also gained a number of high level coaching licenses in the UK and USA.”

The Spartans are preparing for their third season in the Premier Development League (PDL) of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), the country’s highest level of amateur soccer.

Monday, December 5, 2011.  TAMPA, Fla. – For the second day in a row the Central Jersey Spartans faced stern opposition and the circumstances remained the same, win or go home. The Spartans squared off with Kendall in one of the U13 Boys semifinals and they would leave as 3-0 winners in a fast and physical match.

Kendall played fantastic in its opening matches in the tournament, highlighted by dynamic offensive play. Central Jersey had to be up to the task.

“I told them to just to get the ball down and play,” Central Jersey Head Coach Michael Nigro said. “We knew that they were a very talented team, individually, and we just needed to get numbers back behind the ball and not dive in.”

Both teams came out eager to test each other and Kendall would be the first team to do that in the opening minutes. Striker Andy Alvarez hit a laser at the Spartan net which Joe Bruno did well to tip over the bar. Alvarez looked active and dangerous early for Kendall, but unfortunately he was carrying and injury and his minutes were limited in the match.

The match became even more difficult for Kendall in the 5th minute when the referee adjudged Alex Alegria to have handled the ball in the box, awarding Central Jersey a penalty kick. Chaz Burnett stepped up to the spot and slotted home the shot in the low left corner to give Central Jersey a 1-0 lead.

Following the goal both sides really struggled to grab hold of the match. The ball was mostly jammed in the midfield as both backlines thwarted many offensive chances.

In the second half things began to change for Central Jersey. The Spartans began to find their groove, possessing and passing the ball much better. Jalil Blalock’s pace and Burnett’s bullish presence on the ball began to cause Kendall problems.

Burnett’s pressure would pay off in the 39th minute, when a failed clearance by Kendall’s backline fell to his feet. Burnett blew by the defense for a one on one at goal and he calmly passed the ball into the net for a 2-0 advantage.

Central Jersey would go on to grab a third in the 67th on a fine Craig Lenczycki finish. That’s the way the match would finish, 3-0 to the Spartans and a trip to the final booked.

After a convincing win, the Spartans plan on using a similar approach for the final.

“We’re going to come out with the strongest team we’ve got, see if we can score early, and just knock it around and play the game on the ground,” Nigro said.

In the other semifinal the Ottawa Fury met the Brandon Flames. The Flames would notch two in the first half and one in the second to book their place in the final. Julian Hall recorded a goal and an assist for the Flames.

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EWING, N.J.-- The Central Jersey Spartans played the role of spoiler on Sunday afternoon, upsetting Reading United AC 3-2 at Lions Stadium on the campus of The College of New Jersey. With a win, Reading (12-2-2) would have taken the Mid-Atlantic Division crown for the third straight year, but are now forced into a play-in game for their postseason fate this week.  The Spartans (4-8-4) closed out their 2011 campaign by recording points in seven of their final 10 matches.
"It was nothing more than the boys deserved," said Central Jersey’s second-year head coach Sam Nellins. "It’s a nice way to finish the season."
The Spartans did not waste time setting the tempo, as defender Gregory Cochrane gained the left wing on a well-timed run. He dribbled untouched into the far-side of the 18-yard box and played a low, hard cross toward the penalty spot. Central Jersey forward Antoine Hoppenot was there to meet it and guide it in for his team-leading fifth goal of the summer to put the Spartans up 1-0.
Both goalkeepers controlled the large majority of the rest of the first half. Reading’s Brian Holt turned away three shots on the day, while Spartans goalie Zach Carr came up clutch with eight saves.
In the 43rd minute, Central Jersey added some insurance. Midfielder Brayan Martinez zigzagged through three defenders and found himself in a two-on-one situation. He played a left-footed ball to defender R.J. Allen at the top of the 18, and with a nifty sliding kick he beat Holt to extend the Spartans lead to 2-0.
On the match, the Spartans would outshoot Reading 10-9, but the action was far from over following intermission. Martinez recorded a tally of his own in the 63rd minute as Allen returned the favor by finding him in a breakaway situation in front of an empty net to balloon Central Jersey’s advantage to 3-0.
Reading would not go down without a fight. Substitute forward Chris Wheeler scored on a 16-yard shot in the 71st minute and midfielder Stephen Okai would complete a brilliant one-two exchange with Christian Barreiro in the 74th minute to quickly make the score line 3-2 in favor of the Spartans.
"We certainly made it difficult on ourselves,’ Nellins said. "We had them worked out and were getting chances. It was well-played on our end in the first half and getting that third goal was huge. They’re a championship-level team so we expected them to make a push."
Carr would make a flurry of saves in the final 10 minutes to hold off that Reading surge and send Central Jersey to its second win over Reading in the home finale in as many years.
Stay tuned for more information about the Central Jersey Spartans and their players during the Premier Development League offseason by visiting http://www.cjspartans.com.
"We wish all of them luck in their college seasons," Nellins said.

CJSpartans.com caught up with Ted Schneider to talk about his transition from the Spartans to the Red Bulls and MLS.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.-- Antoine Hoppenot scored the deciding goal just after the interval to give the Spartans their second win of the season. 

The Bermuda Hogges (3-6-2) had their three game winning streak ended by the Spartans.  The Spartans (2-7-3) weathered some early pressure from the Hogges who had several chances pass dangerously by Alex Blackburn’s posts.  As the half progressed, the Spartan attack saw more success with Greg Cochrane creating crossing opportunities down the left flank.  When the Spartans got the rhythmn of their passing going, they looked very dangerous.  The Hogges got several counter attack opportunities from errant Spartan passes.  The score was deadlocked at half and neither side had truly laid claim to the game yet.

The second half began brightly for the Spartans.  In the 48th minute, Antoine Hoppenot broke through the Hogges’ defense and put the ball in the back of the net.  The goal caused the game to open up more and created more opportunities for the Spartans.  Hoppenot had another opportunity go just past the outside of the left post a few minutes later.  The Spartans heaped on the pressure for most of the second half with ten shots.  With about five minutes remaining, the Spartans focused on maintaining the victory by killing the clock with possession. 

After the game John Murphy commented, "It was nice to get another one in the win column.  We defended better and were able to kill the game off in the end.  It was a more complete performance than we’ve had recently.  We still left a lot of goals on the field but we’ll gladly take the win."

Central Jersey returns to action on Friday night at 8 p.m., when they travel to the Metropolitan Oval in Brookly to face the Knights.

The GFSC youth players will have the chance to see McCarthy, Whalen and the rest of the Spartans in action tonight at 8 p.m. at Rider University.  Players wearing a GFSC jersey get in for free. 

Listen to all Spartan home games live online with our commentator Dan Breslauer.