By Andy Loigu

The Hackettstown Tigers will bring a 12-0-1 record into the semifinal round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex boys soccer tournament when they host North Hunterdon on Saturday afternoon. The second seeded Tigers defeated 10th seed Voorhees in the quarterfinal on Oct. 14 by a 1-0 score.

On senior night, senior Cole Reardon received a pass from Sam Giraldo and booted it home at 5:18 of the first half, which held up the rest of the way.

Also honored were seniors Alex Carida, David Rojas, Noah McGreevy, Dennison Blanco, Angel Perez, Eric Garcia, and goalkeeper Bobby White. Carida, the sweeper on defense, broke up a late 2-on-1 charge as Voorhees ratcheted up their intensity. White made three saves while the Tigers’ offense peppered the Voorhees goaltender with 22 shots, one of which hit the crossbar and four which were turned away by diving saves.

Hackettstown won its previous game with Voorhees 7-0 this season. “I told the guys they would be facing a different team this time,” said coach Matt DeMartini. “Voorhees packed it in defensively, to stay close, and got more aggressive late, when they had a chance to win. You expect that from an underdog team in tournament play. It’s survive and advance.”

The Tigers had an explosive start to the season, outscoring their foes 18-1 in the first five games, including a 4-1 win over two-time Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference champion Newton. Their tie came against Belvidere in a rain-shortened game. “We have a very skilled team. It is frustrating when we totally outplay the opponent and still have to fight for our lives down to the wire, but it is that kind of a sport,” the coach said, “nerve wracking but exciting.”

Hackettstown led the North 2 Group 2 section final against Dover by three goals last fall but ended up losing. “We don’t want that to happen again, so we put the pedal to the medal, always attacking,” the coach said.

Warren Hills will visit top seed Hunterdon Central (10-1) in the other semifinal on Saturday. In the quarterfinal, the Blue Streaks defeated Phillipsburg 2-0. Kyle Hackney scored a goal, Joseph Lynch had a goal and assist and Jeremy Slaven contributed an assist. Adam Stanneck stopped six shots.

TIGER FOOTBALL REBOUNDS

In football, Hackettstown defeated Lenape Valley 28-14 on Friday evening, on the road, to improve to 4-2 on the season. It was the first win against the perennially powerful Patriots for Tiger coach CJ Robinson in five tries. “Our kids play their hearts out,” he said. “They are high energy guys. Our takeaway from the last two losses was that you can’t turn the ball over and make penalties against a good team and win.”

Lesson learned. After an early Tigers’ fumble enabled the Patriots to drive a short field to an 8-0 lead, the Tigers started forcing mistakes rather than making them. TJ Sciaretta returned the kickoff for an exciting 84-yard touchdown and the Tigers intercepted two passes as the game ensued. The Patriots lost the ball on downs twice in the fourth period, as the Tigers stopped their vaunted Wing-T offense.

Nimble quarterback Anthony Caputo rushed for two touchdowns and Brandon Kuehner finished a drive with a six-yard rushing touchdown. Now it is on to rootin-tootin Newton for a battle against the Braves on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, Warren Hills is 3-3 after winning a come-from-behind 14-10 battle against Montgomery on Friday night. Garret Koch scored on the ground from the four and the 15, for a pair of fourth period touchdowns to pull the game out for the Blue Streaks, who visit Hunterdon Central this Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.