Seton Hall Prep soccer team advances in state tournament; finishes runner-up in ECT

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WEST ORANGE, NJ – The Seton Hall Prep soccer team was 1-0-1 this past week to make its record 18-2-3 on the season.

On Tuesday, Oct. 30, they hosted St. Joseph (Montvale) in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA Non-Public “A” North State Tournament at Brenden P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange. Seton Hall was victorious 1-0. Brian Zimmermann served the ball into the box and Aidan Dunphy kept it alive and dished it off to Skyler Storms, who scored from 12 yards out with 21:03 left in the second half. Seton Hall outshot St. Joseph 7-3. After the match, senior goalie Liam Bertrand said, “We survived and advanced. St. Joe’s played us really tough and they are a really good team. We totally dominated them in the second half. It was good to get the shutout (team’s 12th) and (Bertrand’s fourth) especially for the defense.” Storms added, “St. Joe’s was a physical team especially in the back. We overcame it and scored in the second half. We are really looking forward to the ECT final and the next round of the State Tournament.”

The Pirates were scheduled to host Don Bosco Prep in the semifinals on Monday, Nov. 5. The other semifinal pitted No. 4 seed Bergen Catholic at No. 1 seed Delbarton. The final is Nov. 8 at the higher-seeded site.

On Saturday, Nov. 3, the Pirates traveled to Millburn High School and Keith A. Niegel Field to take on Montclair in the championship game of the 45th Essex County Tournament on a sunny and windy afternoon. This was their 10th final appearance and fifth consecutive as they were trying to capture their sixth ECT title. Through 100 minutes, the final score was 0-0 as Seton Hall outshot Montclair 7-6. They went to a shootout where Montclair won 5-4 to capture the title. Zimmermann, Joe Kearns, Storms, and Rafael de la Torre all connected on their penalty kicks.

SHP is ranked in the following polls: TopDrawerSoccer.com – #7 New Jersey, #12 East Region, #45 in the Fab 50/National. USA Today/United Soccer Coaches – #10 Region III

NJ.Com Top 20 – #5, Non- Public Schools – #2 and Super Essex Conference – #2.

Photos by Rich Morris/courtesy of SHP

Seton Hall Prep (white uniforms) vs. Montclair, in the ECT final