The West Orange boys soccer team won the Belleville summer league championship on Thursday night, July 23. Standing far left is West Orange head coach Doug Nevins.
WEST ORANGE — The West Orange High School boys soccer team, under renowned head coach Doug Nevins, enjoyed one of its best seasons last fall.
This summer, the Mountaineers continued their strong play, winning the Belleville Summer League championship.
West Orange defeated Nutley 8-1 in the championship game on Thursday night, July 23. The two teams won their respective divisions in the summer league.
West Orange won all six games in the league, including in the final, as it scored over 60 goals and conceded only three.
The team defeated Technology, Newark Tech, Hasbrouck Heights, Irvington and Glen Ridge, before beating Nutley.
Nevins was proud of his team, while also giving praise to Nutley.
“Nutley was a very good team and the game was much closer than the score,” he said.
Though they lost a few key players to graduation, including Gatorade National Player of the Year Marcus Jackson, the Mountaineers return 14 of the their top 18 players from a team that was ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 8 in the nation after winning the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Group 4 state championship to cap the 24-2 campaign last fall.
“This team is looking forward to defending its Group 4 state championship,” Nevins said.
Notes – Nevins, a Seton Hall Prep alum, has been the WOHS head coach since 2000. Last season, he won his 400th career game and enters this upcoming fall season with 415 victories, all at WOHS. In his 26 seasons at the helm, the Mountaineers have reached 13 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 4 state sectional finals, winning eight sectional titles in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2022 and 2025.
The Mountaineers also have won three NJSIAA Group 4 state championships in 2006, 2013 and last season. WOHS won its first-ever Essex County Tournament title in 2003, sharing the title with Montclair, and also won the ECT title in 2006. They have reached eight ECT finals under Nevins.
Photo Courtesy of WOHS head coach Doug Nevins
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