Sports
Dayton Boys Soccer Advances to State Sectional Semifinals
Dayton boys soccer play Tuesday at Glen Ridge with state sectional final berth on the line
The third time was the charm for Dayton's boys soccer team. Now they have a date in the state sectional semifinals.
Sophomore Eytan Boclin, a substitute, scored on a header off an indirect cross by Andrey Zuniga with five minutes remaining to snap a 2-2 tie and lift seventh-seeded Dayton over second-seeded Harrison in the sectional quarterfinals of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 in Harrison Friday. Zuniga added two goals and sophomore Brendon Moss made eight saves for Dayton, which has won three straight and four of its last five games.
Dayton (14-6) had previously been eliminated by Harrison (20-3) from the state tournament in each of the last two seasons. In 2008, Dayton lost on the road, 2-0, in the sectional semifinals and 3-2 (5-4 in penalty kicks) in the sectional final in 2007.
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"The kids were not intimidated," said Dayton coach Felix Fabiano, who has been at the helm since 1996. "Mentally, we had approached this game a little differently. We were down 1-0 and then they had tied us 2-2 and the team showed some heart and personality. The reaction of the team, when they tied, was no different. They didn't panic."
Dayton will now visit third-seeded Glen Ridge (14-3-2), which has won four straight games, on Tuesday in the sectional semifinals. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. The winner plays in the sectional final on Friday.
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Four years ago, Dayton lost to Glen Ridge 4-1 in the sectional semifinals. This is the first meeting between both schools since then.
Junior midfielder Kenny Pereira leads the offense for Dayton with seven goals on the season, despite playing with injuries. "Perriera has played well and has come along the past couple of games for us," said Fabiano. Last season, Perriera scored 13 goals.
Junior forward Jesus Montes is second on the team with five goals, but has not played since mid-season due to injury.
"We have had 11 players score for us this season. It has not been one guy leading us, every one is chipping in with contributions," added Fabiano.
Sophomore goalkeeper Brendon Moss, who took over for senior Jordan Sack after the first game of the season, has had six shutouts for Dayton. Sack tore his right ACL in a 2-1 road victory against South Amboy on September 14.
"We like to play our game," said Fabiano. "We will make some minor modifications prior to Tuesday, but we don't really change according to the team we play."
