The Pioneers took on an early October slate of games filled with rivalry matchups and county tournament implications. Here’s a recap of what went down.

Football

The football team had a rare Thursday night game when they traveled to Springfield to take on Dayton. The schedule change didn’t affect NP, as they defeated the Bulldogs 38-0 behind five rushing touchdowns, including three from senior Charlie Barth. The Pioneers came out successful in this rivalry game, and now look forward to a home game against Roselle Park on Friday night.

Girls Soccer

The girls soccer team faced 2 challenges last week. They began the week with a dominating 6-1 victory on the road against Union Catholic. The girls then faced their biggest challenge of the season, and fell to GL 1-0 on the road. The game was an intense one, handing the Pioneers their first loss. Although it was a tough result, it showed the improvement of this team as their last time facing GL, last season, they fell 6-1. The girls turn their focus to the county tournament with a home date against Elizabeth in the first round. That game is on Thursday.

Boys Soccer

The boys soccer team had their hardest week of the season to this point. Despite playing well in both games, the Pioneers ended the week with two losses. A tough 2-0 loss to GL on Thursday, followed by a 2-1 loss to Hanover Park on Saturday, put a dampener on what’s been a successful start to the season. The squad was also supposed to have a premier non-conference game on Monday against South Plainfield, before thunder delays presented other ideas. Looking ahead, it’s county tournament week for the squad as they host Johnson on Wednesday with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line.

Volleyball 

The girls defeated Oak Knoll 2-1 in an intense 3-set match to open the week. The next day the girls fell to SPF 2-0. After a rest day, 2 more games concluded the week. On Thursday they defeated Johnson 2-0, and Friday saw the annual Dig Pink fundraiser. The girls fell to Summit 2-0, but won the day overall with the fundraiser being so successful. Looking forward to this week, the girls county tournament run begins with a road trip to GL on Tuesday.

Girls Tennis

The girls tennis team is in full NJSIAA State Tournament mode. They defeated Roselle Park 5-0 in the quarter finals, then beat Spotswood 5-0 in the semis. They now face Shore in the sectional finals on Tuesday with a trophy in sight. For a program with storied success, it seems to be another deep tournament run for the Pioneers. 

Cross Country

The cross country squad has their biggest meet of the season to this point. On Thursday the team travels to Clark for the Union County Conference Championships. The Pioneers will look to bring home a UCC-Mountain championship, competing against schools like GL, Cranford, Elizabeth, and Oak Knoll. Looking at the schedule, every meet from here on out is a championship meet, so it’s trophy season for these runners, and it all starts Thursday.