New Egypt head coach Matt Carroll during the boys soccer game between New Egypt and Florence at New Egypt High School in New Egypt, NJ on 9-10-19. Florence won 4-2.Scott Faytok | For NJ Advance Media

After turning New Egypt into a perennial contender among small schools in New Jersey, Matt Carroll has been named the boys soccer coach at Burlington Township.

Carroll was officially approved by the district’s Board of Education on Wednesday night.

“I grew up down the street in Mount Holly so I know the area well and some of my former New Egypt coworkers and teachers are here as well so it definitely made the idea of transitioning easier,” Carroll said, noting that former coach Alec Golini asked him if he’d be interested in taking his place. “In addition I see the Burlington Township program as a very unique opportunity in that it’s a great school with phenomenal talent that plays against some of the most competitive public schools in the state day in and day out.”

In seven seasons at New Egypt, Carroll amassed a record of 64-64-6 (and that includes 2021 when the Warriors struggled through a rebuild in a 2-16 season), reaching at least the quarterfinals of the Central Jersey, Group 1 state tournament in six of those seven seasons, including a trip to the sectional final in 2018.

“I think at New Egypt what made us contenders was our ability to adapt and develop,” Carroll said. “I think the hallmark of the program at New Egypt is that each season we came into states in our best form, and a lot of that came down to mentality. We pushed each other and made mistakes, and were willing to do so, with the knowledge that it would pay off come tournament time.”

At Burlington Township, Carroll inherits a program that has plenty of promise, but hasn’t produced a winning season since 2015. It’s certainly a step up from Group 1 in terms of manpower, support and resources, but also brings with it enhanced expectations.

Expectations, by the way, never seemed to limit New Egypt’s ability under Carroll.

“From speaking with the players, coaches, and alumni I think sometimes the players at Burlington Township have looked at other schools and made comparisons between themselves, and not always in a positive light,” Carroll said. “I think that is the biggest challenge to overcome at the moment is to get us to the point where our main focus is us.”

At New Egypt, Carroll helped develop some of the best players the program has ever seen, watching Chase Sempervive break the school’s scoring record and helping Lucas Sample thrive on a young team in the midst of a rebuild. But he also had a knack for finding those under the radar players — even if he had to beg them in the hallways to come play on the team — something he likely won’t have to do at Burlington Township as a Group 3 school.

“At New Egypt we didn’t have the numbers and support that Burlington Township has, so sometimes we were pulling kids out of the hallway and begging them to fill spots, and that paid massive dividends for us a number of times,” Carroll said.

One of those players, Jonathan Oliveria, ended up playing a major role for New Egypt under Carroll’s watch, scoring a hat trick in his varsity debut and, later on, scoring the goal that sent his team to the sectional final in 2018.

That mentality, from a coaching perspective, will certainly carry over at Burlington Township, which last qualified for the South Jersey Coaches’ Cup in 2015.

“I think when you work with smaller budgets, and smaller squads you have to get creative and you are constantly reminded that every player in the program provides value,” Carroll said.

The foundation that Carroll helped build as an assistant coach at New Egypt before taking the reins as the head man seven years ago, already exists at Burlington Township thanks to the work of Golini, he said.

“A draw to coaching here was how much of the framework is already in place,” Carroll added. “Just seeing the talent we have walking around this place, the leadership each of these guys exhibit on and off the field, and the culture that already exists we are going to have the bar set very high. I don’t like to throw around ‘we will win this or that; but I definitely think we should enter every match we play this season with the idea that if we commit to the values and ideas we are putting in place we can walk away with a result.”

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Brian Deakyne may be reached at bdeakyne@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianDeakyne.

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