Boys Soccer – SSN Player of the Year: Eamon Kitson, Rumson

Rumson-Fair Haven senior Eamon Kitson started his soccer career with two goals in his first varsity game as a sophomore in 2011, a difficult act to top for even the best players.

Three years later, Kitson proved that debut was indeed a sign of things to come by blossoming into one of the top players in the Shore Conference while leading his Bulldogs to its best season in the recent history of the program. After posting the best season of the three he spent on the varsity team, Kitson is the Shore Sports Network Player of the Year.

Kitson capped his career with 15 goals and five assists for a Rumson team that advanced farther in both the Shore Conference and NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II Tournaments than any team in program history. In three varsity seasons, Kitson scored 33 goals to go with 11 assists while Rumson accumulated a 41-16-3 record over those three seasons.

“The seniors on this team have been working toward this year since we got here,” Kitson said earlier this season. “We had some early success, but last year was a disappointment. A .500 record isn’t a reflection of our talent and our mission this year was to come back stronger and win a championship because that’s what we feel we’re capable of.”

Most of Rumson’s focus this season was targeted at two-time defending Central Jersey Group II champion and three-time defending Shore Conference Class A Central champion Holmdel and the Bulldogs stepped up their game against the Hornets. Rumson won two of the three meetings between the teams and Kitson scored the game-winning goal in the first meeting between the teams in September.

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Kitson scored four goals and assisted on three more during postseason play, including three goals during the NJSIAA Tournament. He scored a goal in a 3-0 win over Wall in the SCT quarterfinals and assisted Pete Martin’s goal in the SCT final against Manalapan, a 2-1 loss. Kitson scored two goals against Monmouth and one against Rahway in the NJSIAA Tournament.

Next fall, Kitson will play for the University of Vermont along with senior teammate and goalkeeper Chris Tierney.