UPDATED: West Orange HS girls soccer team ends another great season

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High School girls soccer team made a great bid at winning the North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 state tournament title for the second year in a row.

The Mountaineers, seeded sixth, lost at top-seeded Montclair, 2-1, in the championship game on Thursday, Nov. 7, in a matchup of Super Essex Conference-American Division foes.

Senior star Natalie Nevins closed out her brilliant career by scoring the goal for the Mountaineers, who finished the season with a stellar 16-4 season. Cassidy Joyce made six saves for the Mountaineers.
Montclair, ranked No. 2 in the state, improved to 19-0-2. WOHS was ranked No. 9 in the state.

West Orange began and ended the season with a loss to Montclair. In the season opener, WOHS fell to visiting Montclair, 3-0.
The Mountaineers won the sectional title last year for the first time in program history.

“The girls had a great season, finishing 16-4 and currently are ranked 9 in the state, although that might change,” said WOHS head coach Sean Devore. “After a 1-2 start, the girls finished the season 15-2. We had graduated five starters that were all four- year varsity players, so coming into this season we knew we would have some growing pains. The girls responded great, reaching the county semifinals and the sectional finals.

“As a 6 seed, the team defeated PCTI (Passaic County Technical Institute) 5-0, Livingston, 1-0, and Randolph, 2-0, to reach the sectional final. The team fought hard in a very difficult 2-1 loss to Montclair, who is ranked No. 2 in the state. The coaching staff is extremely proud of the girls and we are all thankful of the support from the school, staff, student body, administration and the community.”

The following WOHS players earned All-SEC-American Division honors this season:

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comments from head coach Sean Devore and the All-SEC-American honors.