Steinert clinches CVC Valley crown
HAMILTON >> This was no Mercer County Tournament consolation game.
Even though the Steinert High and Hopewell Valley High boys soccer teams lost in the MCT semifinal round Tuesday, their meeting Friday had much more riding on it.
In their final regular season game, the Spartans and Bulldogs found themselves battling for the Colonial Valley Conference Valley Division crown.
It made for an aggressive lead-in to Monday’s New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament. And just like the rest of the regular season in Mercer County, it contained a lot more defense than scoring.
In the end, head coach Anthony Tessein’s Steinert squad held on for a 1-0 victory to keep head coach Ed Gola’s club from earning a banner for the first time in six years. Hopewell had been a fixture atop the CVC’s now defunct Patriot Division before the league decided to return to a two-division format this season.
Though the Spartans (12-5 overall, 9-4 CVC) had the better of the game’s possession and more constant pressure, these clubs were about as even as could be.
The game ended up being decided on a penalty kick whistled six minutes into the action. Steinert senior midfielder Aidan Klein stepped up to the line after a Bulldogs defender was called for a handball in the box.
“I was a little surprised, but I saw it happen, so I hollered for it,” said Klein, who then saw Hopewell Valley sophomore goalkeeper Liam May deny his initial attempt.
But Klein had the presence of mind to follow his shot and deposited it into the back of the net to put the home team in front early.
“I think being on grass played to our advantage,” Klein said, noting how the Bulldogs play their home games on turf. “We were holding on to the ball, and I think that helped tire them out.”
With Hopewell (10-9-1, 7-5-1) having 10 seniors on their roster, it was not about to go down without challenging the Spartans, who also have 10 seniors.
“We need to maintain our intensity for the entirety of the game,” Hopewell Valley senior back Pat Mormile said. “When we do that, our offense and our defense play well. We’ve got to want it more in the box than the other team. We weren’t communicating as much as we needed to be in the first half. We did a better job of it in the second half.”
Even though Steinert senior Max DiPierro broke through and ripped a shot just over the crossbar 30 seconds after the break, the visitors settled down and began to make strides in the final 25 minutes.
When Luke Tartaglia took a corner kick with 23:33 left, CJ Colt came out of a scramble with a shot headed for the goal before the Spartans’ Frank DiNatale cleared the ball.
Five minutes later, Tartaglia led Kevin Murray on a break, only to see Steinert junior goalkeeper Trevor Giordano make a diving save.
The Bulldogs also had a goal by Eric Goldberg erased because of an offside call with 13:30 to go.
The Spartans’ defense would not crack, upholding Klein’s goal to make it a happy Senior Day for a team which will finish with a divisional title and a winning record for the first time since 2015.
HopewellVal(10-9-1) 0 0 — 0
Steinert (12-5) 1 0 — 1
Goal: Klein (S).
Shots: 9 (HV), 11 (S); Saves: May 9 (HV), Giordano 8 (S).