Montclair boys soccer finally was able to get by Montclair Kimberley this season.
The top-seeded Mounties took care of the fifth-seeded Cougars, 2-0, on Tuesday at Livingston High School in the Essex County Tournament semifinals.
With the victory, Montclair set up a repeat of the 2018 and 2019 ECT finals with second-seeded Seton Hall Prep. The Pirates defeated third-seeded East Side, 1-0, also Tuesday in Livingston.
In 2018, the Mounties defeated Seton Hall Prep in penalty kicks, 5-4, at Millburn High School, where the 2023 final will also be held on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m.
“It feels great,” said Montclair senior Derek Lacey about repeating the 2018 title. “We’re trying to do that again and bring it back to Montclair.”
Unfortunately, Montclair lost 1-0 to the same Seton Hall Prep team in the 2019 ECT finals. Coming into the 2023 final, the Mounties have nine ECT titles, while the Pirates have eight.
And in Tuesday’s 2023 semifinal game between Montclair (12-1-3) and MKA (7-5-2), the two teams coming in came off a match in September that went 100 minutes without anybody scoring in the 0-0 tie at Montclair Kimberley.
The Mounties finally ended that stalemate on Tuesday in the ECT semifinal as Lacey’s powerful shot from 20 yards out went to the right of Cougars keeper Alex Provost, handing Montclair a 1-0 lead and ending the goal drought between the two teams at 111 minutes. Lacey’s strike would turn out to be the game-winner.
“It felt good to get one early; that is what we were set on doing,” said Lacey, who added about the strategy this time compared to the first match against MKA. “Last time we were holding the ball too much and this time we wanted to get shots on goal this time. We have been much better with that recently.”
Montclair put on the pressure in the first half as they dominated and sat in the Montclair Kimberley end of the field for almost the entire half. But Provost was rock solid in the nets, considering the constant barrage of shots that the junior faced, especially in the first half.
“He shut us down last time and we were able to get a couple in on him this time,” said Lacey. “He’s a very good goalie.”
Montclair Kimberley head coach Robert Leather praised his junior goalie and added that Provost was the reason the game was only 1-0 for almost the entire match.
“Provost was absolutely unreal in goal,” added Leather. “The level of some of his saves were top drawer. I am not surprised, though, as he has been doing it all season. It was just on a bigger stage last night. He kept us in the game and showed great leadership under pressure.”
One of the most controversial calls came with 17 minutes remaining in the match after a potent midfield free kick from Provost that sailed into the goal, bounced around, and Montclair Kimberley knocked it in for what the Cougars thought was a 1-1 tie. However, the midfield referee called a handball and disallowed the goal. After looking at the film of the game, Leather explained what he was told about the disallowed goal.
“The referee told me at the end that our player handled the ball on the ground before scoring,” said Leather, who credited Montclair with getting the better of the play. “The film is inconclusive, and it was a long way from where I stood. It was a big moment in the game, but sometimes they go for you and sometimes against you. With 17 minutes to go, it would have given us something to defend, but Montclair had the vast majority of the play and a lot of attempts on goal.”
While Provost continued to hinder the Montclair attack, senior Maxwell Maromek put the match away with nine remaining minutes when he smacked a shot to the right of Provost and gave the Mounties a 2-0 lead.
Maromek credited Julian Provost for setting him up while going down the visitor’s side of the field.
“I saw our guy Julian (Cauvin) come down the wing,” said Marmomek. “I made sure I got into position and got in front of the guy. He (Provost) dived for it, and it went top right.”
Montclair Kimberley adjusted during halftime, allowed the Cougars to get out of their backline and put some moves on Montclair senior goalie William Tobin. But Tobin came through with some key saves in the second half.
Leather explained a change during the first half, but he re-emphasized his team during the halftime talk.
“We had made a small tactical adjustment during the first half, which we felt was helping to contain the middle of the field,” said Leather. “We reinforced that. We also wanted our midfield to step higher and, at times, compete higher up the field. We identified a few players who we felt we could pressure. The game was 1-0 at half with all to play for, so we just tried to reenergize the focus on the task at hand and implore them to make the most of their attacking opportunities.”