photo by Peter Warren
The third-seeded Raiders boys soccer team started their state tournament successfully with a 1-0 win on Oct. 31 against fourteenth-seeded North Hunterdon at Wexler Field.
After numerous close shots throughout the game, junior forward John Murphy finally put one in the back of the net with only seven minutes to spare. The goal was scored off a free kick after an aggressive penalty by the Lions.
“It was difficult to get the goal, but we got it in the end,”  said senior Ryan Peterson. “The defense played really well and at this point in the season it is about winning. You win or go home and it was really important to get at least one goal today”.
Overall, the Raiders dominated the game with many shots from a variety of players including senior Patrick Ellman and Andrew Murray and juniors Murphy and Jonathan Schwab.
“I thought we did a lot of good stuff out there, no questions about it, the score was a little unfortunate but there were a lot of shots and I was pleased with their performance,” said head coach Tom Breznitsky. Overall, the Raiders defended strong and only had three shots against them, which were all saved by senior goalie Sean Murray. For the majority of the game, the Raiders maintained possession of the ball and ended the game with a total of 22 attempted shots on goal.
“We are looking forward to getting our shape a little better and getting our attacking movement,” said Peterson. The Raiders improved to 18-3 with the victory. Their next game is against 11th seeded Ridge on Thursday Nov. 3 at Wexler Field at 2:00pm.