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Boys Soccer Notebook: County tournaments rolling into quarterfinals

Lauren Knego
@laurenknego

The Hillsborough High School boys soccer team is starting to get hot at the right time.

Heading into the second round of the Somerset County Tournament last weekend, the 11th-seeded Raiders had only won two games all season. But that didn’t stop them from upsetting sixth-seeded North Plainfield 2-0 and dealing the Canucks their first loss of the season.

“It was an important win. It was on the road, and we were the lower seed, so it was a good feeling,” Hillsborough coach Eric Puma said. “We’ve been struggling to get results, so it’s always a good feeling to get a win, and in the county tournament we’re having success, so it meant a lot to us.”

Andrew Patterson scored both goals for Hillsborough, and the Raiders defense came through in a big way as goalie Robbie Degaris only made one save. Patterson leads the team with six goals and seven assists so far this season.

Hillsborough, which defeated No. 13 Rutgers Prep in the first round of the tournament 3-1, will travel to face third-seeded Montgomery on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

“We played two games, and I think the team that’s been waiting, Montgomery, they’re a very good team, but we feel good that we’ve won two games and we rolled on Saturday so to speak, and we’re hoping we can keep that going,” Puma said.

Montgomery defeated the Raiders 2-0 on Sept. 29, but the fact that Hillsborough has seen the Cougars once already should help to an extent.

“I think there’s certain things you can try and use to your advantage. We’ve played them before, but it’s difficult for any team,” Puma said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Montgomery or not, it’s only natural to feel confident and more relaxed, and hopefully we can capitalize on that. But it’s all about who plays better that day, and I’m sure they’re going to come ready to play.”

Here’s the schedule for the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday:

8-Ridge at 1-Pingry, noon; 5-Bernards at 4-Bridgewater-Raritan, noon; 11-Hillsborough at 3-Montgomery, 11 a.m.; 7-Watchung Hills at 2-Gill St. Bernard’s, 10 a.m.

Union County Tournament: There are only eight teams left in the Union County Tournament, and the quarterfinals will be played Saturday.

Second-seeded Scotch Plains-Fanwood, the defending champion for the past four seasons, will play its first game of the tournament, along with top-seeded Westfield, fourth-seeded Union and third-seeded Plainfield.

The Cardinals (8-2-1) have been having one of the better seasons in recent memory, tying Summit 2-2 on Thursday. The two teams will meet again Saturday in the quarterfinals, with Plainfield hosting the sixth-seeded Hilltoppers.

Here’s Saturday’s quarterfinal schedule:

9-Brearley at 1-Westfield, 10:30 a.m.; 5-Elizabeth at 4-Union, 1 p.m.; 6-Summit at 3-Plainfield, 10 a.m.; 7-A.L. Johnson at 2-Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 2 p.m.

Accolades for Hunterdon Central: Hunterdon Central was recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America with the 2014-15 High School Team Academic Award on Wednesday.

The award “recognizes high school soccer programs that have excelled in the classroom, in addition to their performance on the field.”

To qualify, the Red Devils had to have a minimum grade-point average of 3.25 for the entire academic year.

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com

COURIER NEWS TOP 10

1. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (12-1-1)

2. Gill St. Bernard’s (10-2)

3. Pingry (8-2-2)

4. Montgomery (7-1-2)

5. Westfield (5-5-1)

6. Watchung Hills (7-3)

7. Hunterdon Central (7-4-2)

8. Plainfield (8-2-1)

9. Bernards (8-2-2)

10. Bound Brook (9-1)

Records through Thursday.