Considering the Montclair High boys soccer team’s lack of offensive firepower during the early season, the tally couldn’t have come at a better time.

Senior sweeper Trent Murray ran onto a loose ball in the 39th minute to score the lone goal in the Mounties’ 1-0 win over Belleville this past Monday on Fortunato Field. For Murray, a four-year starter and two-year captain, it was his first goal in an MHS uniform.

Murray, who has roamed the defensive third of the pitch in various capacities since his freshman year, rarely makes runs past midfield. But when the Buccaneer defenders focused solely on Montclair forwards and midfielders during junior Jay Duffy’s direct kick, Murray found a seam and knocked home a deflection from seven yards out.

"It was a good time for the goal, and a good goal," MHS coach Jack Weber said. "Trent works extremely hard on defense, so it was nice to see him get his first high school tally."

While the Mounties earned a win, Weber was disappointed in his team’s inability to finish against Belleville. The Bucs hung with the Mounties by working hard, a virtue Montclair hasn’t displayed enough, or at least up to Weber’s standards, so far this season.

"We have to work harder, and some of our older guys up front have to realize that other opportunities for goals come about by thinking smart and working toward a purpose in games," said Weber. "I’m not so sure we grasp that yet: finding other ways of making it happen and scoring goals."

Weber was confident the team’s overall offensive woes would eventually dissipate. He pointed to the defense, led by Murray and senior goalie Adam Purdy, as the "backbone to any good team, and ours is no different."

MHS entered its match against 5-0 Nutley yesterday with a 3-2 record. It welcomes Bloomfield to Fortunato tomorrow at 4 p.m. before hosting 11th-seeded Caldwell as the sixth seed in the first round of the Essex County Tournament on Sunday at noon.

"It’s a great year for soccer in the county, and we’ve got some work to do if we want to get into the deeper rounds," Weber said Tuesday. "It starts Sunday with Caldwell, but we also have to focus on our league games this week before then."

Play was rough early on Monday, yet the referees didn’t let any of the jostling get out of hand. The Mounties’ first scoring threat came when senior Jakeem Johnson’s header 16:30 into the first half was corralled by the Bellevlle keeper.

Two minutes later, classmate Diego Persico headed a ball off the top half of the crossbar.

"We started practice this weekend 11 guys against zero, just so the team could see how we collectively move as a group," said Weber. "I think it started to happen against Belleville, but there were lapses. When we fully get there, that’s when balls will start finding the back of the net."

Johnson had another opportunity in the 30th minute on the flank before a trio of defenders bottled him up, disallowing him to send a cross toward the crease. Early in the second half, sophomore midfielder George Steuart’s header sailed high.

Purdy sacrificed his body to make a nice save in the 53rd minute; however, his ability to control the rebound was the better half to the save. He made two other saves in the match to earn his second shutout of the season.

Weber infused energy into the MHS offense with freshman Jordan Ellison and sophomore Jake Goldberg, who joined freshman Brian McGuinness, sophomore Kevin McKenna, Persico and Johnson up front throughout the game.

"We’re still trying out different rotations that will best utilize everyone’s strength," Weber said. "We’d like to bring Duffy and Murray up more, but that’s not really a luxury if the game is close. We did a couple of times today, and one of the times produced a goal. If that can happen more regularly, then we’ll be in business."