West Orange Detective to Coach Township High School's Soccer Team

West Orange High School girl's soccer team will have a new head coach in the fall. But it will be a familiar face leading them. And he's off to a great start.

Lou Mignone, a detective in the juvenile bureau with the West Orange Police Department, recently led West Orange to a championship at the annual Montclair State University Summer Tournament. West Orange, which went 6-0 in the tournament, beat West Essex 6-1 in the championship game.

Mignone is entering his 24th year on the force. "It's very encouraging to say the least,'' said Mignone, a 1986 West Orange High graduate, who's born and raised in the township. "We have a very good group of players. I certainly had it in my mind to win the tournament, however, we weren't the favored the team.''

Nubia Rodriguez scored two goals in the title game and Raven Edwards, Jamie Straus, Ariel Almodovar and Allison Mejia had the other goals. West Orange trailed 1-0.

"This was a nice win,'' Mignone said. "The girls worked hard and deserved it.''

Mignone, who started off as a youth trainer, said he enjoys working with children and being part of the community. He played center forward and was captain for the West Orange soccer team when he was in high school.

The tournament was held on six consecutive Thursday nights. The teams were separated by two groups and the winners of each group — West Orange and West Essex — played for the title. West Essex is in the American Division, while West Orange is in the Liberty Division.

"Our kids did a great job,'' said Mignone, who has two sons — Louis and Joseph. 

Mignone spent the past five years coaching at Mount St. Dominic Academy in Caldwell. He has also spent much of the past decade expanding his soccer credentials and currently holds a B-license with the United States Soccer Federation.