The Mountaineers pose with the sectional championship plaque.
The West Orange High School boys soccer team has simply been dominant this season.
The Mountaineers captured the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state championship. Senior Carl Hall scored the tie-breaking goal with under 15 minutes left in regulation to lift the top-seeded Mountaineers to a 2-1 win over No. 3 seed Mount Olive in the final on Friday, Nov. 14, at Lincoln Field at WOHS.
The Mountaineers survived a Mount Olive shot that clanged off the crossbar as time expired, setting off a raucous West Orange celebration.
In the first half, senior Denis Banegas scored off a header seven minutes into the first half to give West Orange a 1-0 lead. Mount Olive tied it with five minutes left in the half.
West Orange, which defeated fifth-seeded Montclair 2-1 in the semifinals on Tuesday Nov. 11 at Lincoln Field, improved to 22-2 on the season.
The Mountaineers are ranked No. 2 in the state. They also are ranked No. 11 in the nation by United Soccer Coaches. Both losses came against St. Benedict’s Prep, the No. 1 team in the nation. WOHS lost to SBP 2-1 in regular-season play on Oct. 18 at Lincoln Field. The Mountaineers fell to SBP 1-0 in the Essex County Tournament final on Nov. 1 at Livingston, on a goal with under one minute left in regulation.
In the past 23 seasons since 2003, West Orange has won eight state sectional titles under head coach Doug Nevins, who has been at the helm for 26 seasons since 2000. Nevins won his 400th career game this season and now has 412 victories.
The Mountaineers were scheduled to visit North Jersey, Section 2 champion Scotch Plains–Fandwood in the Group 4 state semifinal on Tuesday, Nov. 18, after press time. The Group 4 state final is Saturday, Nov. 22, at Franklin High School in Somerset.
In a Nov. 17 email to the West Orange Chronicle, Nevins said, “I am very proud of the team for the sectional title. It was a great team effort to secure the win. This team worked so hard in the summer to prepare and their hard work paid off. While we are very happy about the championship, we will now turn our focus to the Group 4 semis and save the celebration for after the season. Our seniors were especially important in the game, Marcus Jackson in the back, Alex Deza in the midfield, and Carl Hall and Denis Banegas at forward, who both scored in the game.”
About the Author
