After a successful season, the Oratory JV soccer team finished its season 5-2-9. At first, the Rams started strong with a 3-3 tie against a competitive Rahway team. Sophomore captain Xavier Santillan scored the first goal of the season with a free kick. Cody Modeski and George Morgan added to the tally in that game. They followed up that performance with great wins versus Roselle Park and Union Catholic.
However, the Rams failed to stay invincible, losing to New Providence. This added to tough losses to Union, GL, and Cranford.
Sophomore Eric Falcone tells us about this tough part of the season. “It was definitely difficult, but the losses shaped us up and Coach inspired us back to winning ways.”
The Rams went back to winning ways after beating Mount Kimberly Academy, 5-2. They tied their next game vs. ALJ, and they were hot going into one of the biggest games of the season vs. Saint Peters. They lost a heartbreaker 1-0, and this was followed up by another pair of 1-0 losses to Colonia and Linden.
Before the county tournament, the team was determined to win. The team faced a tough opponent in their biggest game of the season, Dayton. This was the first round of the county tournament. Oratory lost to Dayton the last two years, so if they made that three, their tournament run was over.
Before the game, Coach DeHaven had an inspirational speech for the team, saying, “All of your practice has led up to this moment. We lost to Dayton the last two years, and I would like to see us beat them during my time here.”
Team manager Nick Stefanelli described the atmosphere of the bench before the game. “Their focus was unwavering. They were fully focused on the game.”
Brennan McEvoy scored the only goal in the game for the Rams as they won 1-0.
Their next opponent would not be easy. The mighty Rahway was up next, and unlike the first time the team played them, they lost 3-1, with the singular goal coming from Cody Modeski trying to spark a comeback.
The final two games of the season would not be easy as well. A hard-fought defensive game versus Elizabeth ended 1-0.
Before the last game of the season, the Rams wanted to end on a win. The Rams came to West Morris looking to win their last game of the season. It was a scrappy game. Kellen Costello scored an important rebound to secure the lead. In the second half, he assisted James Colonga for the second goal. West Morris scored off a corner to pull one back. The game started to get scrappy. Many fouls against both teams. Coach DeHaven called for the team to calm the game down. The Rams held down the fort for the last stretch of the season, winning the last game 2-1.
We asked Sophomore striker Kellen Costello why he enjoyed this season and what he thought was the best moment of the season. “I enjoyed this season because of the brotherhood and chemistry our team built. The best moment of the season was when we beat Dayton 1-0 in the counties.”
Just like that, the season was over. The season went by in a flash, but many of the players will never forget the memories made from this season.
