BY FRANK PAPEO
Sports Photo Editor
The boys’ soccer team defeated three-seed Long Branch and six-seed East Brunswick in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tournament, showing they had a lot left in the tank,
On October 22, the seedings the tournament came out, with Old Bridge announced as the 14 seed. The boys knew they had challenges ahead of them but felt they could do some damage as the underdog. “We went into every game thinking it would be our last, and this would motivate us,” said senior captain Anthony Reitano. “Nobody wanted to lose and that made everyone step up.”
The game against Long Branch came down to the wire. The game remained a 0-0 at the end of regulation, but the boys kept fighting for the golden goal to complete one of the biggest upsets in the tournament. “Going into OT we were all hyped and knew what had to get done,” said senior goalie Christopher Liberal, who had seven saves in the game.
Six minutes into overtime, on a free kick, Liberal came up clutch with a beautiful pass to forward Anthony Reitano as he headed the ball in to finish off Long Branch. “It was electric. The goal, the last-minute winner, even the celebration with kicking the corner flag and having everyone run toward me. It all felt great,” explained Reitano. “Scoring an overtime winner in an upset is not something many people can say they did!”
“We had nothing to lose but everything to prove,” said Zach DeLuca. “Taking down the third seed was a huge accomplishment for us and fueled us throughout the playoffs.” With that win putting the Knights on the map, they officially begin their Cinderella run and advanced to face division rival and six-seed East Brunswick on the road.
In another close game, freshman Aadit Sawant scored a goal off an assist by Deluca. “It felt amazing; we needed to score the first goal in that game, so scoring the goal for my team made me happy and boosted the team’s confidence,” said Aadit.
The Knights rolled with momentum on their side after that first goal, but drama soon stirred up as Liberal, after having an outstanding ten-save day, received a red card for stepping out of the box. Sophomore Justin Morrissey stepped into the spotlight. “It was very nerve racking, I have never played in a playoff game until that moment,” said Morrissey. “I knew I had to play well for the seniors, my coach, my teammates, and the people that came out to watch.”
Morrissey stepped up and kept the hope going with a performance one could only dream of, making five saves to close out the win. “I had the mindset that I could save any shot that came my way, which is what ended up happening,” said Morrissey.
Another playoff goal by Reitano cushioned the lead and made the final score 2-0. “The feeling of knocking out top seeded teams was amazing,” said Liberal. “There were teams in the top five that won all their games except when they played us, so we knew from the start that anything can happen on any given day.”
Unfortunately, the astonishing run came to an end in the semifinals with a 3-0 loss to second-seed Howell. “The squad this year is like a second family to me,” said DeLuca. “It was amazing playing with them, and next year they have big things coming.”
Posted on 11/27/23
Photos by Ritee Karmacharya
Knight Life 