WEST ORANGE, NJ — On Wednesday night, Sept. 24, the Seton Hall Prep soccer team traveled to West Orange High School to take on the Mountaineers in a Super Essex Conference–American Division contest.
In a unique situation, SHP head coach Marty Berman, who is in his 40th year as the Pirates head coach, had the distinction of coaching against two of his former players – WOHS head coach Doug Nevins, who is a Seton Hall Prep graduate, Class of 1991; and WOHS assistant coach Freddie Christian, an SHP graduate, Class of 2002.
In a physical game with a lot of hard plays by both teams, senior and UCLA commit Marcus Jackson buried a penalty kick with :54.46 left in the second half to give West Orange – ranked No. 6 in the state by nj.com – a 1-0 victory over No. 7-ranked Seton Hall Prep, handing the Pirates their first loss of the season. Seton Hall junior goalie Liam Collins had nine saves, while West Orange junior goalie Agustin Arrieta had five saves.
Following the game, SHP head coach Marty Berman said, “Missing six starters, I loved the way we played. We had to play a bit of an ugly game at times and I thought we played their style better than them at times.” To Berman’s credit, that adaptability threw Nevins and his team for a loop, as the Pirates’ stout defense and strong goalkeeping kept Seton Hall Prep in the game. Head coach Doug Nevins said, following the game, “We thought they would try to play and then we could press them into mistakes, but they were smart and they played really good defensively.”
On Saturday, Sept. 27, the Pirates traveled to Gary Kehler Stadium in Westfield and defeated Westfield High School 2-1 to raise their record to 6-1-1 on the season. Trailing 1-0 in the second half, freshman Brody Angevine scored to tie the match at 1-1 on an assist by senior Cian O’Connor with 12:37 left. Seton Hall took a 2-1 lead with :12 left on a penalty-kick goal by senior Damian Ramirez. Seniors Jack Snyder and Rocco Quillici each recorded three saves.
The Pirates will visit St. Anthony, of South Hunterdon, N.Y., on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. and visit Newark Academy on Monday, Oct. 6, in Livingston at 6 p.m.
SHP football falls to Delbarton
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