Pennington chasing 3rd straight county crown
The Pennington School boys soccer team will be chasing its third consecutive Mercer County Tournament title when first-round play begins Thursday.
Coach Chad Bridges’ Red Raiders enter the tournament with a 10-3 record after getting recognized as the top team in the nation in the preseason.
Pennington enters the tournament off one of its best victories yet. For its homecoming last Saturday, the Red Raiders defeated Hopewell Valley, 2-1, to give Bridges the 100th win of his eight-year career.
That is important because Pennington will be the No. 2 seed for this year’s MCT, while Hopewell (13-3-1) is the top seed.
Coach Ed Gola’s Bulldogs responded to the Pennington loss with their own 2-1 victory over third-seeded Princeton (10-3-1) Monday. Both of those games for Hopewell Valley came after the county pairings had been announced.
Any of those three teams have a good chance of making this season’s final, but fourth-seeded West Windsor-Plainsboro South (10-3-1), fifth-seeded Trenton (10-4-1) or sixth-seeded Allentown (85) will do everything in their power to deny that opportunity, along with the rest of the remaining field.
Quarterfinal play will be Saturday with the semifinals set for Monday, Oct. 23 at Notre Dame High (5 & 7:30 p.m.). The MCT boys championship is scheduled to be played at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 at The College of New Jersey. Notre Dame at Allentown, 2 p.m. Nottingham at Princeton, 3:45 p.m. PDS at WW-P North, 4 p.m. Robbinsville at Trenton, 4 p.m. Steinert at WW-P South, 4 p.m. Hamilton at Hopewell Valley, 5 p.m. TCA at Pennington, 6 p.m. Lawrence at Hightstown, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals Times TBA
PDS/WW-P North winner vs. Hamilton/ Hopewell winner Robbinsville/Trenton winner vs. Steinert/ WW-P South winner
Notre Dame/Allentown winner vs. Nottingham/Princeton winner Lawrence/Hightstown winner vs. TCA/Pennington winner
Consolations Times & Dates TBA
Hamilton/Hopewell loser vs. TCA/Pennington loser Robbinsville/Trenton loser vs. Notre Dame/ Allentown loser Nottingham/Princeton loser vs. Steinert/ WW-P South loser Lawrence/Hightstown loser vs. PDS/WW-P North loser
Semifinals at Notre Dame High
5 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Final at The College of New Jersey
7:30 p.m.