MILLBURN, NJ — On Saturday, Oct. 21, in the championship game of the 49th Essex County Tournament at Millburn High School’s Dr. Keith A. Neigel Field, the Seton Hall Prep soccer team came from behind and defeated Montclair 2-1 to capture its ninth ECT title. It was also the Pirates’ fourth consecutive title and ninth consecutive appearance in the title game, as well as their 14th appearance in the title game. SHP improved to 14-2-1 on the season.
Montclair took a 1-0 lead with 10:51 left in the first half. The Pirates tied the match when junior Benjamin Mills crossed the ball into the box, where junior Jeremy Munoz headed it inside, where senior Nicholas Lapczynski drilled a low shot from 8 yards out with 31:03 left in the second half. Just 4:50 later, junior Lucas Mendes gathered up a clearing pass from the Montclair defense and unleashed a blast from 30 yards out to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
With the lead, it was now up to the backline of seniors Wil Bauer, Brady Longstreet and Roan Sullivan, and a host of midfielders in seniors Whye Li Ong, Max Williams, Munoz and Mills, as well as senior goalie Ray Bonanno, to defend and protect the lead, which they did.
Following the match, Bauer said, ‘It’s just about staying focused the whole game. We talked a lot about how we want to play a full 80 minutes and I think we definitely did that today and got the job done.”
Lapczynski added, “We were intent on being dominant today and that is how we played, especially in the second half.” About his game-winning goal, Mendes said, “I was about 30 yards out and I wanted to put it on target and then the ball goes in and what a great feeling it was.”
SHP head coach Marty Berman, who is in his 38th year at the helm of the Pirates, said after the match, “These feelings don’t get old. They’re new teams and circumstances each year. Today, we had to come from behind. Each year brings new challenges in terms of putting kids together and getting the skill in the right places. We have come a long way this season, especially in the poise factor, and I am just happy we stuck to our game.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 18, in the semifinal match at Livingston High School’s Allen “Jake” Jacobson Field, the Pirates defeated East Side 1-0. At 5:06 in the first half, Mills hit a free kick to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. The defense played outstanding against a very skilled East Side Red Raider offensive attack.
With 22:03 left in the second half, Bonanno made an outstanding diving save to his right to prevent East Side from leveling the match. It was Bonanno’s sixth clean sheet of the season and the Pirates’ 10th. Following the match, Bonanno said, “I was comfortable tonight as our defense played great.” About his great save, Bonanno said, “My body just reacted to the shot and I knocked it away.”
Berman commented after the match. “It was a great win to get tonight. We played really hard and put ourselves in a great position to reach the final.”
On Monday, Oct. 23, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Soccer Committee met to seed the state tournament. The Pirates were seeded No. 2 and will play the winner of the No. 7 seed DePaul and No. 10 seed Hudson Catholic on Tuesday, Oct. 31, at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the Non-Public “A” North section.
Seton Hall Prep soccer team wins fourth straight Essex County Tournament title added by Jeff Goldberg on
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