Columbia HS boys soccer team defeats Livingston

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Senior Sebastian Rios-Valdez scored in the second half and senior goalie Zac Calveric made six saves to lead the Columbia High School boys soccer team to a 1-0 win over Livingston on Monday, Oct. 14, at Livingston in a Super Essex Conference crossover divisional game.

The Cougars improved to 6-4-3 on the season.

In earlier action, the Cougars dropped a tough 2-1 overtime decision to Rutherford on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at Underhill Sports Complex/Lynn V. Profeta Field in an independent game.

Columbia tied West Orange 0-0 on Thursday, Oct. 10, in a SEC crossover divisional game. The two teams played through two overtime periods. Calveric made six saves.

The Cougars, under head coach Ryan Muirhead, received the No. 7 seed in the 50th Essex County Tournament. They will host a first-round game on Thursday, Oct. 17, against the preliminary-round winner between No. 10 seed Livingston and No. 26 seed Technology. If the Cougars win, they will face either No. 2 seed Montclair, No. 15 seed Newark Academy or No. 18 seed Verona in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the higher-seeded school. The semifinals are Wednesday, Oct. 23, at Millburn. The final is Saturday, Oct. 26, at Livingston at 4 p.m.