Seton Hall Prep soccer team, at 18-0-1, advances to Non-Public A North final

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WEST ORANGE, NJ — The top-seeded and unbeaten Seton Hall Prep soccer team defeated No. 8 seed Oratory, 8-0, last Thursday, Nov. 4, in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA Non-Public A North state tournament at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange. 

Senior Drew Ligotti opened the scoring on assists by seniors David Schuster and Charles Giordano with 33:04 left in the first half. That was followed by goals by Schuster twice, sophomore Eddie Krupski twice, senior Joaquin Niehenke and junior Luca Chirichiello to make the score 7-0 at the half. 

Senior Aiden Guarneri connected in the second half on an assist by junior Gideon Zalis. Other assists recorded in the match were Ligotti twice, senior Brian Sheehan twice, Chirichiello, and seniors Zaiden James, Niehenke and CJ Bubniak. Senior Aidan Batista and junior Aidan Donovan in goal recorded the team’s 13th clean sheet of the season.

The Pirates bested No. 4 seed Bergen Catholic, 2-0, on Monday, Nov. 8, in the semifinals, improving to 18-0-1. They will face Delbarton in the final on Thursday, Nov. 11.

SHP is ranked No. 3 in New Jersey and No. 4 in the East Region by Prepsoccer.net; No. 7 in the Fab 50 National Poll; No. 4 in Region III by the USA Today/United Soccer Coaches; No. 25 in the Super 25/National Poll; and, from the Star-Ledger, No. 2 in the Top 20 state poll, No. 2 in Non-Public School Group, and No. 1 in the Super Essex Conference.

Photo Courtesy of Rich Morris/SHP