Seton hall Prep junior Lucas Mendes works the ball during the 7-2 home win over Hudson Catholic in the Non-Public North ‘A’ quarterfinals on Tuesday, Oct. 31. (Photo Courtesy of Seton Hall Prep Athletics)
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep soccer team had an outstanding week in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Non-Public “A” North state tournament, winning two matches to raise its record to 17-2-1. The Pirates extended their winning streak to nine matches.
On Friday, Nov. 3, at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange, the second-seeded Pirates defeated No. 3 seed Bergen Catholic 3-2 in two overtimes in the semifinals.
Seton Hall opened the scoring with 17:53 left in the first half when junior Jeremy Munoz hit a 30-yard free kick to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead as the score remained the same through halftime. With just :50 into the second half, Bergen Catholic tied the score at 1-1 on a penalty kick. The Pirates took a 2-1 lead with 14:51 left when junior Benjamin Mills hit a corner kick to Munoz, who headed the ball to junior Lucas Mendes, who scored.
A little over three minutes later, the Crusaders tied the score at 2-2 on a penalty kick. The score remained the same until junior Daniel Ariza scored off of a throw-in by senior Roan Sullivan with 7:35 left in the second overtime period. Senior goalie Ray Bonanno had four saves, as the Pirates outshot Bergen Catholic 8-6.
After the game, Ariza said, “This was the biggest goal of my life, as I never scored a game-winning goal. This is why I came to Seton Hall Prep, to play in games like this. We have been working very hard all season long. This game showed our hustle, grit and determination.” SHP head coach Marty Berman added, “Danny is a hell of a player; glad he got a chance to show it today with the game-winning goal. This says a lot about our program to get back to the ‘A’ North final, year after year (seventh consecutive year). This program has great quality kids and a great coaching staff.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 31, in the quarterfinal round, the Pirates defeated No. 10 seed Hudson Catholic 7-2. Senior Eddie Krupski scored three goals, giving him 27 on the season, while Mendes, Ariza and seniors Miller Nelson and Luke Russomondo each scored a goal. Senior Whye Li Ong had three assists, while Mendes, Ariza, senior Nicholas Lapczynski and junior Daniel Dashkevich each had an assist.
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Pirates traveled to Morris Township to take on top-seeded Delbarton in the “A” North final. Back on Friday, Sept. 8, the Pirates and the Green Wave fought to a 3-3 double-overtime tie at Red Bull Arena in Harrison.
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