Montclair Sports Wrap: Player of the Week!

The Montclair field hockey team faces a familiar foe on Saturday when the Lady Mounties try to score back-to-back Essex County Tournament titles.

The second-seeded Lady Mounties take on top-seeded West Essex at 2 p.m. on the Lady Knights home turf in North Caldwell. Last season, it was a 2-0 Montclair victory for the Lady Mounties first county title since 2005.

For Montclair (7-1-2) they had to battle by town rival, Montclair Kimberley Academy, for the right to go to the finals.

Indeed, MKA (5-7) and the Lady Mounties field hockey teams fought for 80 minutes before Montclair, the second seed, nipped third seeded Cougars, 3-2, in the Essex County Tournament semi-final.

Montclair senior Jillian Alonzo gave the Lady Mounties a 3-1 lead halfway through the second half for a 3-1 lead and Montclair hung on in the tournament game in Montclair.
   
Girls tennis
   
Montclair (5-9) showed that their 14th seed was not appropriate. The Lady Mounties defeated both third-seeded Randolph and sixth-seeded West Orange in 3-2 wins in the first and quarterfinals of the Group 4 North 1 state tournament.

Against West Orange on Tuesday, it was the Montclair doubles team that led the way as first doubles Jenny Goldstein and Sasha Jewett along with second doubles Georgia Pahl and Becca Brown won in straight sets. Sarah Collins also won in the second singles in straight sets. The Mounties travel to second-seeded Ridgewood on Thursday in the semi-finals.

Montclair Kimberley, fourth seed, defeated sixth-seeded Saddle River Day in the Non-Public North B section, 4-1, on Tuesday as Cougars Danielle Charpentier and Madison Rivlin, second and third singles, won in straight sets. MKA travels to second-seeded Dwight Englewood on Thursday in the semi-finals.
   
Girls soccer

Montclair prepared for their first game in the Essex County Tournament with a dominant 7-0 victory over Mount St. Dominic on Wednesday in Caldwell. Maya Pitts led the way for the Lady Mounties with two goals as Montclair opened with a 3-0 lead in the first half. Sophia Lattanzio received the shutout in goal for the Lady Mounties.

The Lady Mounties, the top seed in the ECT, host eighth-seeded West Essex on Saturday at home at noon.

Boys soccer

While the Montclair girls soccer team received a bye in the first round, the third-seeded Mounties boys team (8-4) became the biggest upset so far in either of the soccer tournaments with a 3-2 loss to 14th-seeded Newark Academy. The Mounties lost in heartbreaking fashion with a penalty kick in the second overtime period by Newark Academy's Zak Widmann. Montclair's Ryan Kautz scored late in the second half to get the equalizer at two and send the game into overtime. Montclair had also a tough game in last year's county tournament losing in penalty kicks to Science Park.

Player of the Week

Gabe DiMasi—MKA quarterback DiMasi threw for three touchdowns and 242 passing yards including a 75-yard strike to Max Herrmann in the 40-12 win over Glen Ridge in Montclair on Saturday. Against Glen Ridge, MKA’s Mike Sasso added a pair of touchdowns for the Cougars who are 4-1 heading into Saturday’s game at Newark Academy.