Senior forward Chris Unis scored off a Nick Looney throw-in to break a 1-1 tie midway into the second half and the Verona boys soccer team added two more goals on its way to a 4-1 defeat of Nutley on Thursday afternoon at Centennial Field. The Hillbillies, who got seven saves from junior goalkeeper Mike King, are 10-0 on the season.
Midfielder Dwight Tucci gave Verona a 1-0 lead 20 minutes into the game against Nutley (5-6) with a short goal off a rebound of his own shot. With central defenders Patrick Malanga and Tim Kiernan turning away several Nutley attacks, Verona took the 1-0 lead into the halftime break. Nutley tied the match early in the second half and, after a sequence of play controlled by the Hillbillies midfield, Unis took the throw-in from Looney and made a nice move around his defender to get a clear shot at the goal.
Sophomore Troy Carrington made the move of the day around a Nutley defender at the top of the penalty box and then volleyed in the third goal for Verona. Forward Matt Braschi, a sophomore forward, converted a Jonathan Tosh direct kick to close out the scoring with about 10 minutes remaining in the match.
Verona opens play in the Essex County Tournament on Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Newark’s East Side, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, at the Ironbound stadium in Newark. Verona is seeded 11th and had a bye in the preliminary round.
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