It was a tale of two halves for fifth-seeded Middlesex in the NJSIAA Central, Group 1 semifinals on Tuesday afternoon.
In the first half, 16th-seeded Florence forced Middlesex to sit back and defend as the Flashes pressed on offense, but the Blue Jays’ defense held tough and the game went to halftime scoreless.
| 11/11 - 2:00 PM Boys Soccer | Final |
|---|
| Florence | 0 |
| Middlesex | 3 |
In the second half, Middlesex’s offense came to life and it was the Blue Jays’ turn to press en route to a 3-0 victory and a berth in Friday’s sectional final.
“Honestly I think it was our five-back sticking into that position, nobody pushing up too far or coming back too far,” Middlesex’s Dominick Vincent said. “We really had a solid defensive line the first 10 minutes, definitely. Once we started playing in the second half and we had our midfielders in and they stayed in their position, we dominated them after.”
The win propelled Middlesex back into the sectional final, where it will face second-seeded Delaware Valley. The Terriers defeated third-seeded Dunellen 3-0 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
The Blue Jays advanced to the sectional final last year for the first time since 2021 and fell to Brearley 2-0.
“We have to get revenge for last year, that’s been the goal the entire time,” Middlesex goalie Kevin Rand said. “Last year, we lost in the final and this entire year has been building up to this moment. We have to get it back for our seniors last year.”
On Tuesday, Josue Guaman scored the first goal for Middlesex on an assist from Vincent in the 50th minute for a 1-0 lead. Jhosstin Guaman scored 11 minutes later on an assist from Brandon Williams for a 2-0 lead, and in the 67th minute Josue Guaman connected with Vincent again for the 3-0 final.
“We were talking at halftime and it was about how people were in the midfield but nobody was actually playing their position,” Vincent said. “Once our midfielders stuck to their position, our attack was just brilliant. We scored three goals back-to-back.”
Rand finished with nine saves for Middlesex as Florence outshot the Blue Jays 6-2 in the first half. It was his 13th shutout of the season and third-straight. Michael Habingreither made three stops for Florence.
“Honestly we thought we had just as good a chance as anyone, and to be honest throughout the course of the game our confidence only got higher,” Florence head coach Kyle Ballay said. “The first half we had a lot of opportunities, I thought we had more of the possession, and the goal was to carry that into the second half.
“(Middlesex) stayed really disciplined, they prevented us from getting any real great chances, top quality chances and they were able to counter on us and capitalize on their opportunities. Although we obviously thought we had a chance to win and we thought we had a great chance, hats off to them as well.”
Florence was playing in its first semifinal since 2022 when the Flashes fell to Shore in the sectional final. As the No. 16-seed, Florence upset top-seeded Manville 2-1 in the first round, then took out ninth-seeded Point Pleasant Beach 4-3 in the quarterfinals.
The Flashes started the season 3-7-3, and after a 1-1 tie with Nottingham on Oct. 18, Florence went on a six-game win streak.
“We knew all year long, even when we were struggling kind of in the middle patch, that we were better than a 16-seed and our goal was really just to battle and make sure we could get into the playoffs and then hopefully be able to make something happen,” Ballay said. “We knew it would be an uphill battle but I couldn’t have been more proud of how we finished the season. Just the leadership on our team, the resilience that we showed at the end there, that’s something I haven’t really experienced as a coach and I’m super proud.”
Middlesex will meet Delaware Valley for the second time this season after the Terriers picked up a 3-2 victory back on Sept. 13. In that meeting, the Blue Jays jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Delaware Valley rallied for three-second half goals.
“Same thing as we did the past two games, one game at a time,” Rand said of preparation for Friday’s final. “It’s that mindset where as soon as you’re there you’re only thinking about the game and this game and how you can play your best.”