On Oct. 22, the Norsemen captured their first league title since 2018 and the fourth in school history. They also won the league title in 1974 and 1975. 

Robert Romeo, head coach of the boys varsity team, labeled the league that the Norsemen play in as the toughest division in North Jersey soccer. 

“In the national division, you have four teams – Old Tappan, Demarest, Pascack Valley, and Tenafly – that are ranked in the Top 8 in North Jersey soccer every week,” Romeo said. 

 A league title didn’t seem possible at the beginning of the season. 

“As the season unfolded, we lost a lot of games that we felt like we could’ve won. We were not scoring when we needed to,” Romeo said. “We were so good at creating chances but were never able to put the ball in the net during high-pressure situations.”

 Andrea Cantatore has been a part of Norsemen soccer for the last two decades. 

 Cantatore’s main goal for the season was to develop men and allow the players to be active participants in this process. 

The team’s character was tested throughout the season, especially during a run of three consecutive losses to Old Tappan, Ramsey, and Pascack Valley. 

“We went to PV on a cold and rainy Monday night knowing we needed to win to keep our league hopes alive. Unfortunately, we laid our only egg of the season,” Cantatore said. 

“As coaches, we did not come up with a clear enough message of what needed to be done and made assumptions about what would be remembered from the loss against Ramsey – it wasn’t enough,” Cantatore said. 

Romeo and his coaching staff addressed the challenges head-on and worked on improving their goal-scoring. 

The Norsemen sure did improve. They finished the league season with four consecutive wins in which they scored 17 goals and conceded none. The Norsemen also tied the record for most shutouts in a row (six) set last season. 

“Our confidence levels went up, our team chemistry improved and goals were being scored. We were taking our play to the next level,” Romeo said. 

The highlight of this winning streak was a 4-0 win against Old Tappan that prevented the Golden Knights from winning the league title at Norsemen stadium for the second year in a row. 

“A close look at the schedule told us we actually still had a glimmer of hope to win the league,” Cantatore said. 

“Based on all the lessons we learned, we knew that we could win our three remaining league games and push the league title decision towards the final day. This put us in a very parallel situation to when we were league champions in 2018,” Cantatore said. 

At 12 PM on Oct. 22, Demarest took on Tenafly. Pascack Valley took on Old Tappan on the same day at 1 PM. Demarest had to win and hope that Old Tappan did not prevail against Pascack Valley. 

Demarest took care of business against Tenafly in a 3-0 win. Joe Monaco scored early in the first half and Andrew Dunne finished the game off with a brace in the second half. 

Dunne was nominated for North Jersey Soccer Player of the week for Oct. 17-23 for his stellar performances against Old Tappan and Tenafly. Dunne also received league and county awards for the season. 

“The games against Old Tappan and Tenafly were the best games we’ve played so far this season. We have some key players missing due to injuries, and the players who filled in were immaculate,” Dunne said. 

“In my three years playing for the varsity team, we haven’t won the league until this season. The fact that we won it my senior year just shows that all of the work the seniors have done in their time in the program has paid off,” Dunne said. 

Matt Marinich, a four-year varsity starter, was very proud of how the team finished their league season. 

“As a group, we collectively did our jobs. We played like a team with unity and that was what drove our success. I was proud of every individual that stepped on the pitch. We all gave our hearts and it showed in the results,” Marinich said. 

Quickly after the game, players and coaches from the team rushed to Old Tappan to catch the final minutes of the Pascack Valley vs. Old Tappan game. 

“Seniors rushed to their cars, stuffed underclassmen in, and drove to NVOT to cheer on Pascack Valley,” Dunne said. “Sure enough, with our support, PV got the job done. The moment was magical.”

The Panthers won 3-2 at Old Tappan and clinched a co-league championship with Demarest. Both teams finished with a 7-2-1 record and tied on 22 points. The Norsemen finished with 12 wins in total, the first time that they had more than 11 since 2004. 

“It has been our long tradition to play for the immediate goal of winning games and titles. That said, success and satisfaction are drawn from the process of trying to do that as a team – not whether there are trophies in the end,” Cantatore said. 

The Norsemen finished their season on Nov. 3 after losing the North 1 Group 2 State Sectional semifinal against Ramsey.