GLEN RIDGE, NJ — For the second year in a row, the Glen Ridge High School boys soccer team captured the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 state tournament championship.
The top-seeded Ridgers defeated fifth-seeded Verona 1-0 in the final on Friday, Nov. 14, at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield. It marked a rematch of last year’s state sectional final, won by Glen Ridge 2-1.
Max Fleischer, a junior, scored on a one-timer off a volley with about 18 minutes left in regulation to lift the Ridgers.
Glen Ridge, under head coach Brian Ianni, improved to 18-4 on the season. The Ridgers were scheduled to host North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 champion Waldwick in the Group 1 state semifinal on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at Brookdale Park. The Group 1 state final is Saturday, Nov. 22, at Franklin High School in Somerset.
Waldwick defeated Glen Ridge in last season’s Group 1 state semifinal on kicks from the penalty area, after the game was tied 1-1 following regulation and the two overtimes.
Glen Ridge defeated Verona in both meetings this season. They beat Verona 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 15 at Verona in the fifth game of the season.
Ianni was ecstatic for his team in winning the sectional title for the second year in a row.
“I’m very proud of the dedication and the focus that the boys have put in,” he said in an email to The Glen Ridge Paper on Monday, Nov 17. “This season has truly been a full program effort. We have had 17 different goal-scorers and have shown an ability to play with anyone in the state. The boys have been playing hard and have been laser-focused to have this opportunity again.
“We are looking forward to having the chance of redemption from a year ago.”
In the state sectional semifinals, the Ridgers defeated No. 6 seed Whippany Park 6-0 on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at Brookdale Park.
Ianni has been the head coach of the Ridgers since 2020 and has led the Ridgers to three state sectional championships in his six seasons at the helm – 2022, 2024 and 2025. They also were sectional tournament runner-up in 2021. The Ridgers also won state sectional titles in 2010, 2011 and 2019.
The Ridgers were Group 1 state champions in 2019 in their first appearance in a group state final.
GRHS won a regional tournament title during the 2020 COVID–19 pandemic-affected season in Ianni’s first year.
Photos Courtesy of Julie Stolte
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