photo by Peter Warren
 
Two first half goals were all the second-seeded Scotch Plains-Fanwood boys soccer team needed to advance past the tenth seeded William L. Dickinson Rams in the North Jersey II, Group IV sectional quarterfinal matchup at Wexler Field on Nov. 6.
 
Senior co-captain Zach Halma scored the first goal when he headed the ball past the advancing Ram keeper about four minutes into the game.
 
Fellow senior co-captian Ari Rosenzweig doubled the Raider lead with 16 minutes left in the first half when he scored off of a Jordan Cimring cross.
 
While the Raiders did get two goals on the day, they had a multitude of opportunities to add to their lead but could not deliver.
 
“We didn’t do a good job of finishing our chances,” coach Tom Breznitsky said, “but we did get two and in the game of state tournament it is all about winning and advancing.”
 
The Raiders kept attacking in the second half. About ten minutes into the half, a Dickinson defender received a red card after illegally slide tackling Halma on the right wing. Halma came off after the foul, but was able to return later.
 
The Raiders will play third seeded Elizabeth on Tuesday Nov. 10 in the sectional semifinal. It will be the fourth meeting between the Union County foes this fall. SPFHS has won the three previous matchups, including a 2-1 OT victory in Elizabeth on Oct. 20 and a 1-0 OT victory in the Union County Tournament final on Oct. 30.