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Pat Baldiserra and Brad Wescott direct the Chiefs into Friday's South Jersey Group II quarterfinals Buena's midfield maestros Their relationship can be linked all the way back the Newfield youth recreational leagues, over a decade ago. Like most children their age, Brad Wescott's and Pat Baldiserra's parents threw their boys out onto a soccer field. An hour each week, Wescott and Baldiserra would run up and down the pitch, kicking and chasing and kicking again. By the time they were in U-10 ball, they were teammates, and, slowly but surely, a lethal bond was developing. "We were always both good players, and we've always had confidence in each other," Baldiserra said. "But now, it's at an even higher level." Wescott and Baldiserra have been teammates since U-10, playing in the Franklin Township youth leagues, indoors at Gaetano's Soccer Complex and most recently on the Cape May Express club team. Now, as central midfielders for the Buena Regional varsity boys soccer team, Wescott, a senior, and Baldiserra, a junior, have become one of South Jersey's most dangerous combinations. The two have combined for 45 goals and lead the Chiefs (14-3-2) into the sectional Group II quarterfinals 2 p.m. Friday against the winner of Thursday's Haddon Township-Woodstown game. It is Buena's first trip to the state playoffs since 1999, and a 180-degree turnaround from last season's 4-14-1 campaign. "I knew, even as the season progressed last year, even at the beginning of the season last year, that they would be our (offensive) catalysts this year," second-year Buena coach Nick DiMatteo said. "They certainly haven't disappointed me." What separates Wescott and Baldiserra from most teammates is their innate knowledge of where the other is and what his next move is. When Baldiserra gains possession in the midfield, Wescott knows what run to make toward goal, and the ball is almost always played there. When Wescott corrals the ball, it works the same way. "We have almost a telepathic connection on the field," said Baldiserra, who has 21 goals after scoring only seven a year ago. "He's the most important key to my success, and I think me for him. I guess it's just a sense we have together." Last year, Wescott quietly broke onto the scene with 14 goals. This season, he has an area-best 24 goals, and he credits much of the added scoring to Baldiserra's jump to an offensive force. "It's really nice to have another finisher. It takes the pressure off me," Wescott said. "Pat is more confident, more mature on the field than he was as a sophomore, and he's putting the ball in the back of the net. "Most of my goals I get on passes from him, and vice versa. When he's in a certain spot, I know where he's going to want to play it and where to get without a second thought." Wescott and Baldiserra say a lot of credit to their success also goes to forwards Nick Cocca and Matt Petrie. Their diligence checking back to the ball and opening space for Baldiserra and Wescott to make runs is the key to the Buena offense. "They do a lot of work that doesn't always get noticed," Wescott said. Despite the gaudy statistics -- Buena has scored 72 goals in 19 games, an average of 3.8 per game -- the third-seeded Chiefs aren't getting much publicity, nor given much of a chance to win the wide-open Group II bracket. One of Buena's opposing coaches said if teams overlook the Chiefs, and their midfield tandem, they might be sorry. "Buena has the best set of halfbacks we've seen all year. Those two can play for anyone," St. Augustine Prep coach Les Heggan said of Wescott and Baldiserra. "If you forget about them for a second, the ball is in your goal. They're very dangerous." That from a guy with more than 300 wins to his name. DiMatteo said Wescott and Baldiserra have taken a leadership role on this year's team, with Baldiserra doing it more by example, while Wescott is the more vocal of the two. With that addition to their game, it's hard to find a flaw. "Brad's only weakness is that he's 5-foot-9. If he was 6-foot, he'd be unstoppable," DiMatteo said. "Pat just needs to hit the weight room and get a little stronger." Near the end of the summer, Baldiserra left the Cape May Express to play for the South Jersey Barons of the United Soccer Leagues' Super-Y League, where he'll return once high school season is over, putting he and Wescott on separate teams for the first time in a long time. "It's going to be weird not being on the same team as him," Wescott said. But there's still the playoffs, and the Buena faithful are hoping Wescott and Baldiserra have a few more games to play together.
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