Nutley freshman Mackenzie Albert works the ball as a West Orange players defends in the Raiders’ home loss earlier this season.
NUTLEY, NJ – The Nutley High School girls’ varsity soccer team is enjoying a stellar season.
The Raiders, under head coach Mike DiPiano, are one of the best teams in the county.
Nutley, seeded No. 2, made a good run in the Essex County Tournament. The Raiders defeated No. 15 seed Bloomfield on Oct. 18 and No. 7 seed Columbia on Oct. 20, both by 1-0 decisions with the goals by freshman Mackenzie Albert, to advance to the ECT semifinals.
Samantha Gabriele, a junior, had the assists on Albert’s goals. Junior Sarah Cortese and senior Alessandra Santoriello each had three saves against Bloomfield at Father Glotzback Field in Nutley. Cortese made four saves and Santoriello made two saves against Columbia at the Park Oval.
The Raiders unfortunately were eliminated in the ECT semifinals against 11th-seeded Glen Ridge in a penalty-kick shootout at Belleville HS on Oct. 24. After a scoreless first half, Glen Ridge scored to make it 1-0. Nutley tied it with 10 minutes remaining on a goal by Natalie Rufino. The score was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. Following two overtimes, the score remained tied 1-1 and went into a penalty-kick shootout. Glen Ridge won the PK shootout, 5-4. Nutley moved to a 10-2-2 record.
Nutley hoped to make a strong run in the postseason. The Raiders, seeded No. 5, were scheduled to host No. 12 seed Belleville in first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 3 state tournament on Oct. 30. The result was past the deadline for this publication. The winner faced either No. 4 seed West Morris or No. 13 seed Chatham in the quarterfinals on Nov. 2. The semifinals were to take place Nov. 6 and the final, Nov. 9.
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