Verona’s boys soccer team defeated Pompton Lakes, 1-0, on Friday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 tournament.
Playing before the largest crowd of the season at Centennial Field, the Hillbillies scored the only goal of the game midway into the first half when senior midfielder Dominick Gagliano headed a corner kick from Jonathan Tosh past the goalkeeper for No. 8 seeded Pompton Lakes (12-6-1). From there, the Verona defense led by senior captain Tim Kiernan and senior Patrick Malanga in the middle and junior goalie Mike King, kept Pompton Lakes from getting the equalizer.
The Hillbillies, the No. 1 seed in Group 1, Section 1, will play No. 4 seed Waldwick High School in the state semifinal. The game is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Tuesday at Centennial Field. Waldwick is 14-5-1 this season.
Playing again on Saturday afternoon in a regular-season conference game against Science Park, Verona dropped a tough 1-0 decision. Science Park scored its winning goal on a penalty kick by goalie Brandon Pereira. The Hillbillies (17-2 overall) had several opportunities to score and clinch the conference championship, but came up short. Verona has one conference game remaining–against East Orange–which it needs to win to secure sole possession of the championship of the Super Essex Conference’s Colonial Division. That match is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday in East Orange.
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Photos ©Fred Goode. Used by permission.
