Seton Hall Prep’s Lucas Ross works the ball during the win over Millburn in the ECT semifinals at Livingston HS.
WEST ORANGE, NJ (updated Tuesday Oct. 30, 10:53 a.m.) – The Seton Hall Prep soccer team won two matches last week to raise its record to 17-2-2 on the season.
On Monday, Oct. 22, they traveled to Harvey Field in Kearny and defeated Kearny, 5-1. Skyler Storms opened the scoring 9:04 into the first half on assists by Lucas Ross and Aidan Dunphy. Dunphy made it 2-0 on an assist by Ross, Storms scored again on an assist by Ross, while William Monroy closed out the scoring in the half with 1:30 left on an assist by Brian Zimmermann.
Rafael de la Torre scored in the second half on assists by Zimmermann and Dunphy.
On Thursday night, Oct. 25, the third-seeded and defending champion Pirates traveled to Livingston HS to take on No. 2 seed Millburn in the semifinal round of the 45th Essex County Tournament. Scoring two second-half goals, they defeated Millburn, 2-0, to reach the Essex County Tournament final for the 10th time and will go for their sixth title.
Ross connected with 17:15 left in the second half on assists by Dunphy and Brandon Real, while Dunphy scored with :12 left on assists by Storms and de la Torre. Liam Bertrand had two saves and Tomas Hut had no saves to record Seton Hall’s 11th shutout of the season.
Seton Hall will face top-seed Montclair on Saturday, November 3 at 3 p.m. at Millburn HS. The original match was postponed due to a nor’easter that hit New Jersey on Saturday, Oct. 27.
On Thursday, November 1, Seton Hall will host the Non-Public “A” North Quarterfinal Round match against either Pope John XXIII (Sparta) or St. Joseph (Montvale) at p.m.
Following the Millburn match, Ross said, “We were knocking on the door all night. We had a lot of possessions. Dunphy played a great ball to me and I was able to get it and shoot it past the keeper.” Dunphy added, “Playing in the midfield this year from being a forward last season has been a really smooth transition. It feels amazing to get to the finals for the second consecutive season.”
Head Coach Marty Berman gave his assessment of the team. “We are playing really well at the right time of the year and they are looking forward to the State Tournament and the ECT final.”
The Pirates are ranked in the following polls: TopDrawerSoccer.Com: #14 – East Region, #9 – New Jersey, USA Today/ United Soccer Coaches – #12 – Region III. NJ.Com Top 20 – #6 -NJ, #2 – Non-Public Schools, and #2 in the Super Essex Conference.
UPDATED: Seton Hall Prep soccer team jolts Millburn to advance to ECT final added by Jeff Goldberg on
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