West Orange defeated Mount Olive, 2-1, to win its first sectional title since 2022
As the free kick from just inside midfield off the foot of Mount Olive’s Ramy Youssef floated through the West Orange evening sky, an entire half of dominance from West Orange hung in the balance in the game’s final seconds.
When it started dropping near the top right corner of the net, hearts started to drop on the West Orange side. That near moment of panic turned to jubilation when the kick went off the cross bar.Once that kick went behind the net, the celebration was on for top-seeded West Orange, No. 2 in the NJ.com Top 20, with a 2-1 win over third-seeded Mount Olive to win its eighth sectional title in program history. “That ball felt like it was in the air for the whole game,” West Orange senior Denis Banegas said. “To be honest, it was just not dropping. I think the Lord first and foremost. We got the dub today.”“It feels amazing,” senior Carl Hall said. “I remember freshman year we did it and it was sweet. This one was hard-fought. I can’t even describe it. It felt like an eternity on that last ball. I had so much trust in our defense. They’ve never failed us this season." Despite West Orange being the top-ranked public school team in the state, Mount Olive played the Mountaineers essentially evenly in the first half. Banegas scored early when Marcus Williams dribbled down the right wing and put a perfect crosser in the air, which Banegas headed into the back of the net in the seventh minute. “In that exact moment, I saw the ball in the air and knew I had to go get that,” Banegas said. “I jumped, closed my eyes, and when I opened them it was a goal. It felt great." Mount Olive tied the score with five minutes remaining in the first half when Cristiano Bivono sent a crosser on the ground to Chris Pintado right in front for the easy goal. The shots were even in the first half, but West Orange came out in the second half looking like the team it has been all season. Their pressure was relentless, but Mount Olive goalie Jayden Castro stood strong as did the back line of the Marauders. Finally, one fell home for West Orange on a beautiful free kick execution. Marcus Jackson got the first head on the ball and it went over to Darius Millington on the far post. Millington then put his head on the ball to cross it over to Hall on the other post, who converted to give the Mountaineers a 2-1 lead with under 15 minutes remaining. “We love to create chaos in the mix," Hall said. “I was prepared for that type of chaos. It could have been anybody, but I was just happy we got it done." “The final 10 minutes we had a similar thing against Montclair," West Orange head coach Doug Nevins said. “The scary thing is you know one mistake or one lucky bounce could cost you. They were fantastic in the first half, give them credit. The second half we controlled the whole half, and to only have a one-goal lead was a little nerve-racking." This season is certainly not over for West Orange. The Mountaineers have the talent to win two more games and are ready for the challenge to try to win Group 4. “This team is not only super talented, but they absolutely love each other,” Nevins said. “They’re such a fun group that coming to practice every day is a joy. What I love is that they don’t want the season to end. They want to keep playing because they enjoy being together so much."Assists: Cristiano Bivono, Darius Millington, Marcus WilliamsMatt Bove is a high school sports reporter for NJ.com and has been covering high school sports in New Jersey since 2015. Seven of those years have been with NJ.com and three with the New Jersey Herald. In 2018,...If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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