West Orange (blue) vs. Seton Hall Prep (white) in ECT quarterfinals
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep soccer team won three matches last week to raise its record to 11-4-1. Among their victories were the first round and the quarterfinals of the 50th Essex County Tournament.
On Saturday morning, Oct. 19, the sixth-seeded and four-time reigning champion SHP Pirates traveled to Lincoln Field to face No. 3 seed West Orange in the quarterfinal round of the 50th Essex County Tournament. The Pirates won 1-0.
Senior Jack Driscoll scored his first career goal with 19:00 left in the second half on an assist by senior Daniel Ariza to give the Pirates the 1-0 lead. Ariza crossed the ball and it hit off of a West Orange defender right to Driscoll, who hit a shot into the left-hand corner of the goal.
After the game, Driscoll said, “It is an awesome feeling to score the game-winning goal. I have been working very hard all year and today it paid off.”
Junior goalie Michael Klimas, who made six saves to record his fourth consecutive clean sheet of the season, said, “It feels amazing and I had great help from my defense in front of me this morning.”
Senior defender Matthew Maceri said, “The whole team worked hard and played as a complete unit today and fought to the end.”
SHP head coach Marty Berman commented about the victory. “It was a hell of an effort today. It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty and tough all game. It is a tough venue against a tough team, but we came out on top.”
Sophomore goalie Agustin Arrieta had six saves in goal for West Orange.
On Thursday, Oct. 17, in the first round of the ECT, senior Benjamin Mills scored his 11th goal of the season on a penalty kick with 2:13 left in the first half to give Seton Hall Prep a victory over No. 11 seed Millburn at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange. Klimas had two saves as the Pirates outshot Millburn 10-2.
On Monday, Oct. 14, the Pirates hosted Montclair Kimberley Academy and defeated the Lions 4-0. In the first half, junior Sebastian Cempron scored on a header on assists from seniors Graham Anderson and Mills just 9:21 into the match. With 11:18 left, Cempron scored off of a scramble on assists by Driscoll and Mills.
In the second half, Ariza scored just :30 into the half on assists by Anderson and senior Daniel Dashkevich. The final goal was scored by junior Bernardo Tinajero with 13:29 left on an assist by Dashkevich. Klimas had six saves, as the Pirates outshot the Millers 10-6.
Seton Hall was scheduled to face No. 7 seed Columbia at Millburn High School in the semifinals of the ECT on Wednesday, Oct. 23, after press time. The other match will be top-seeded St. Benedict’s against No. 4 seed Montclair Kimberley Academy. The final will take place at Livingston HS at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Pirates were seeking their 10th consecutive appearance and 15th overall appearance in the ECT final.
Photos Courtesy of Seton Hall Prep
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