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<p>For nearly three decades, Nanticoke boys soccer hasn&#8217;t had a head coach besides Mark Matusek.</p><p>That will come to an end for the upcoming season as Matusek, the longest-tenured coach in the Wyoming Valley Conference, informed Nanticoke Area athletic director Ken Bartuska that he would not be returning for his 30th season as head coach of the Trojans.</p><p>Matusek, who couldn&#8217;t be immediately reached for comment on Thursday, piled up more than 250 wins since the program&#8217;s inception in 1989.</p><p>Matusek racked up several division titles in his 29 seasons, with Meyers being runner-up to the Trojans on a few occasions, and the Mohawks getting the best of Matusek a few times as well.</p><p>&#8220;Any time you have a coach with that kind of tenure, you have a great coach,&#8221; said Meyers coach Jack Nolan, now the longest-tenured coach in Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference. &#8220;Any time you have a coach that&#8217;s been around a long time, he gets the best out of his kids.</p><p>&#8220;I was actually a little upset because they are going up to Triple-A this year and up to Division 1, and we wouldn&#8217;t get to play them. &#8230; Him leaving is going to be a big loss for the league and the program and the sport.&#8221;</p><p>Even when the Trojans didn&#8217;t have a division-winning team on the field, Matusek&#8217;s teams were always tough to beat.</p><p>Just a few years ago in 2016, the team finished with just seven wins in the regular season but managed to win two matches as the No. 9 seed in the District 2 Class 2A Tournament. That included ousting top-seeded Blue Ridge to reach the semifinals before losing a one-goal game to Wyoming Seminary.</p><p>&#8220;We all have those couple years when we&#8217;re rebuilding and you know it&#8217;s going to be a struggle, but Mark was always competitive,&#8221; Nolan said. &#8220;And you always had to have your team prepared because you knew it was going to be a tough game.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a testament to Mark and his knowledge of the sport and how much he gets out of the kids. He&#8217;s put a lot of time and effort into it and deserves all the accolades he&#8217;s received, and the time off in his retirement.&#8221;</p><p>The Nanticoke Area athletic department is currently accepting applications for the open position until May 22.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Long-time Nanticoke boys soccer coach Matusek won’t return for 30th season