The Alternative Press

MILLBURN, NJ - In a matchup of two of the top varsity soccer programs in the state, the Millburn High School Millers defeated the Seton Hall Prep Pirates 1-0 on Wednesday night at Millburn's Dr. Keith A Neigel Field.

Junior goal keeper Marc Langendorff made 10 saves, while fellow junior Lucas Weissman scored the game's only goal in the 59th minute leading  the Millers to their ninth win of the year.

"Adversity was the name of this game," Millburn head coach Jason Robinson said. "(It was a) High intensity home game at night. These guys (Millburn) have a lot of seniors back that want to accomplish some stuff this year, so they're playing with their hearts."

Millburn controlled the offensive pace for much of the opening half.  The Millers put five shots on goal in the period, including two attempts that hit off the post and crossbar.

Sophomore Kirk Willens had the first scoring chance for Millburn in the 14th minute when he put a shot into the chest of Prep goal keeper Bert Anty.

One minute later, junior Josh Mata put a ball off the crossbar on a feed from Willens.

Despite the game being scoreless going into the half, aggressive play from both sides kept the intensity high going into the final 38 minutes.

Seton Hall Prep had the first opportunity in the second half, but Langendorff made his third save of the game.

Two minutes later, the Pirates' Joe Morrison deflected a ball towards the net that Langendorff punched away from the net.

On the ensuing Millburn attack, Prep defender Matt Scian saved a goal when he took a ball going towards an empty net off his chest.

After ten minutes of back-and-forth play, momentum slid towards Seton Hall Prep after a series of saves was capped off by a second yellow card and a subsequent red card issued to Michael Sorin for taunting the goalie.

However, despite playing a man down, Millburn took advantage of an offensive zone indirect kick to take the lead.

In the 59th minute,  Weissman received the ball off the Prep foul and kicked it through traffic passed the Pirates keeper Bert Anty.

Langendorff went into the spotlight in the final 17 minutes.  He made four big saves, including a diving stop with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

"I'm happy that (Langendorff) is here," Robinson said. "He was looking forward to being on varsity and now he's on varsity. I was the JV coach when he was in ninth grade and he was my goalie. I expect it from him, whether that is fair or unfair. He played great and that's what we hope for everyday."