Seton Hall Prep senior Joaquin Niehenke watches the ball during a game this season.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep soccer team won three matches last week, to raise their record to 13-2 on the season.
On Tuesday, Oct. 11, the Pirates traveled to the Ironbound section of Newark to take on undefeated East Side at Eddie Moreas Stadium. The Pirates defeated the Red Raiders, 2-1, to clinch their ninth Super Essex Conference–American Division title in the 14 years of the conference’s existence.
Junior Lucas Mendes headed in a corner kick by senior Luca Chirichiello 7:35 into the match to give Seton Hall a 1-0 lead. Just 2:24 later Eddie Krupski took possession of an errant pass and eluded a defender before scoring on a left-footed shot to make it 2-0. East Side made it 2-1 8:29 later.
“We worked all offseason for games like this, which are tough and physical,” Krupski said. “We built up momentum, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes. Then, in the second half, when East Side was pushing us, we played with passion and heart.”
SHP head coach Marty Berman added, “Winning the conference title is always a great accomplishment, but we also have two other goals, the county title and state title.”
Junior Raymond Bonanno made four of his six saves in the second half. In addition, he aggressively left the net to clear away multiple potential scoring chances.
On Thursday, Oct. 13, during a steady rain, in the quarterfinal round of the 48th Essex County tournament at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange, top-seeded Seton Hall defeated No. 16 seed Bloomfield, 1-0, on a penalty kick by senior Joaquin Niehenke with 28:46 left in the second half. Bonanno had two saves to secure the clean sheet.
In the quarterfinal round of the Essex County Tournament, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Oct. 15, the Pirates defeated No. 8 seed Montclair Kimberley Academy, 3-1, at home. Krupski opened the scoring for the Pirates just 8:21 into the match, receiving a long pass from senior Peter Batanjany. Just 1:50 later Mendes scored off a pass from senior Alex Oladapo, who received a pass from senior Karan Chauhan, to make the score 2-0. MKA scored later in the half to make the score 2-1. In the second half, Niehenke scored on a penalty kick with 15:55 left to increase the Pirate lead, with a final score of 3-1. Bonanno had five saves.
The Pirates are ranked in the following polls.
- Star-Ledger: No. 1 in New Jersey, No. 1 in Essex County, No. 1 in nonpublic schools.
- Prep Soccer: No. 16 in the National Top 50.
- United Soccer Coaches: No. 18 in the National Top 25, No. 3 in Region III.
Photos Courtesy of PJ Candido
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