Oratory Prep Soccer just finished a magical Union County Tournament run where they made the semi-finals for the first time in school history by beating #12 seed Roselle Park, #5 seed New Providence, and #4 seed Summit, all of whom were away. Despite losing to both New Providence and Summit in the regular season, the Rams still managed to scrap out wins whether the game was primarily offensive or defensive. However, that was all ended with a loss at ALJ Highschool to Scotch Plains (ranked NO. 8 in the state by NJ.com) 2-0 in a hard fought game. Despite all the recent success the Rams have not managed to win a game in their conference yet, looking to get their first one against Planfield on the road.
The Rams have played 4 games in just 7 days, leaving them very tired, in pain, and all carrying a certain injury. Star CDM, four year varsity starter, and captain Brody Henderson was unavailable for this matchup. Although a key player was out, the boys were still determined to strike hard in this game. Max Cook opened up the scoring with a free kick that went under Planfield’s defensive wall to put the boys in front 1-0. Fast forward to a minute left in the half, George Fagan came up with a clutch save to keep it scoreless. Griffiths then received the ball off Fagan’s punt and played a beautiful pass to Max Cook, setting up his second goal of the game and 13th on the season. Although the Rams were up 2-0 at halftime, Coach B was still a bit disappointed in their efforts saying that the boys were not running hard and wanting it enough. To get the boys motivated Coach B said that if the Rams played well in the 2nd half and showed a bit more effort, they would get the day off the following day. It looks like this may have worked out as the boys would score 5 goals in the second half to receive a “mercy rule” win, 7-0. Eric Devomecourt and Charlie Spiegel erupted with a brace as Anthony Costa bombed a banger Trivela goal. Both Devomecourt and Spiegel scored their 3rd goal of the year, while Anthony Costa earned his first career varsity goal. Eric Devomecourt earned MOTM by being a key factor in this big win. George Fagan had 9 saves in net and earned his second clean sheet of the season. The Rams are now 7-9 and play Woodbridge on Saturday.
