WEST ORANGE, NJ — In the past week and a half, Seton Hall Preparatory School’s cross-country team defeated West Orange and West Essex, while the soccer team defeated Life Center Academy. The football team recorded a loss against St. Joseph Regional.
Cross country
On Oct. 6, the Seton Hall Prep cross-country team traveled to Branch Brook Park in Newark to compete in their first regular season Super Essex Conference race. They defeated West Orange (18-37) and West Essex (15-47). They were led by senior Co-capt. Kevin Harvey (16:27), senior Co-capt. Chris Gizzo (17:16), junior Anthony Bottino (17:58), senior Gabe Ferriero (18:03) and junior Danny Collum (18:41). Their next conference opponents will be Montclair and Newark Academy.
Soccer
On Oct. 5 at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field, the Seton Hall Prep soccer team improved to 2-0-1 when it defeated Life Center Academy 6-0. Life Center is located in Burlington County and came into the match with a 4-1 record before the loss.
In the first half, the Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead when junior Drew Ligotti scored on an assist by senior Nick Palangio with 23:59 left. Senior Lucas Ross made the score 2-0 on an assist by junior Charles Giordano with 10:17 left and Ross added a penalty kick with 5:03 left.
In the second half, Seton Hall added three more goals. Sophomore Karan Chauhan connected on assists by junior David Schuster and senior Curran Regan with 19:48 left. Chauhan scored again with 18:05 left on an assist by senior Chris Carmagnola. Junior Liam Dunphy scored the final goal of the match on an assist by junior Dan Spezzacatena.
Senior goalie Tomas Hut had one save while junior goalie Aidan Batista had two saves, giving the Pirates their second shutout of the season.
“At first I was nervous when I got on the field but calmed down as I continued to play,” Dunphy said about scoring his first career varsity goal. “When Dan passed the ball to me, I slowed down and imagined the ball going in and it did when I shot it.”
“It felt awesome,” Chauhan said about scoring his first career varsity goal. “I have to keep working hard to earn more time on the field. Everyone had confidence in me, which made me comfortable out there.”
Later in the week, the United Soccer Coaches, along with the association’s High School Coaches Advocacy Group, announced the recipients of the fourth annual High School Coach of Significance Award. This award recognizes members who are coaching for character and using the soccer field to teach life lessons at the high school level. It is an opportunity for each state, in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches, to recognize coaches who are making an impact within their schools and communities well beyond their records of wins and losses.
The 2020 New Jersey High School Coach of Significance Award went to the Prep’s Marty Berman.
“It is an incredible honor to be cited by the United Soccer Coaches, especially in New Jersey where there are so many great coaches,” Berman said. “I have been blessed to have the opportunity to coach so many excellent young student-athletes at Seton Hall Prep and to have so many superb assistant coaches to work with. This award is proudly shared with all those current and former players and coaches.”
Football
On the beautiful afternoon of Oct. 10, the Seton Hall Prep football team traveled to Montvale to take on St. Joseph Regional. They dropped a 49-21 decision to the Green Knights.
Down 7-0 early in the first quarter, the Pirates drove 80 yards in 11 plays as senior PJ Penders took a direct snap and ran it in from 2 yards out and junior Nick Conforti kicked the extra point to make it 7-7 with 5:58 left.
After St. Joe’s took a 21-7 lead, Seton Hall drove 80 yards in seven plays and scored when junior quarterback Brady O’Sullivan hit junior wide receiver Nick Dunneman with a 7-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone and Conforti’s extra point made it 21-14 with 9:14 left in the second quarter. Later in the quarter, St. Joe’s extended its lead to 28-14 before the Pirates drove 53 yards in five plays and cut the deficit to seven points, 28-21, when Junior quarterback Jaden Craig hit Dunneman on a 53-yard scoring pass down the left sideline.
St. Joseph scored the last three touchdowns of the game.
Craig was 7-14, 133 yards, 1 touchdown; O’Sullivan was 5-9, 86 yards, one touchdown. Dunneman caught seven passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, junior linebacker Jackson Collins had 14 tackles, junior safety Matthew Monteleone had 13 tackles, and senior cornerback Giye Jenkins had 12 tackles and one interception, while senior lineman Jeremy McKenna had one sack.
This coming Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m., at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field, the Pirates will host DePaul Catholic High School.
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