State Tournament time is upon New Providence,  The Pioneer squads have made it to the best time of the year. It’s win or go home time, and here’s how the teams fared last week. 

Football

The football team received the 5th seed in their bracket, meaning their journey began with a road trip to Delaware Valley. The hour drive didn’t derail the team, as they came out of the gate flying, taking a 21-0 lead into halftime. New Providence played good defense, and ran the clock out, to glide to a 35-13 victory. The next task is a semifinal date with Point Pleasant Boro, under the lights on Nov.12. The boys will look for some more long road trip magic.

Girls Soccer

The girls team has put together a very successful regular season, resulting in a first round bye. The extra rest gave the Pioneers a boost for their quarterfinal game against Verona. A 0-0 halftime deadlock was broken by two quick goals from sophomore Gillian Poiesz. Both of her goals were off of free kicks, and scored less than three minutes apart. The stingy Pioneers defense held out, and the girls advanced to the semifinals with  2-0 victory. North Arlington awaits on Nov. 9. 

Boys Soccer 

The boys soccer team traveled to Wall early in the week. The team found themselves down 1-0 early, but continued to fight against the higher seed. The Pioneers couldn’t quite find the goal, and a late Wall goal sealed their fate. The boys fell 2-0 to close out their season. It was a successful one for New Providence, putting forward their best regular season in four years, and finishing just shy of a conference title. 

Volleyball 

The volleyball team was awarded the 5 seed, which also resulted in a first round bye for the team. They used the extra rest to propel themselves to an upset victory over Highland Park on the road. The 2-0 win sent the Pioneers to the sectional semifinals against top seeded Delaware Valley. The Pioneers fell 2-0, but pushed the top seeded Terriers to the brink on both sets. It was an extremely successful season for New Providence, as they continue to build on consecutive deep tournament runs.

Cross Country

The Cross Country team had their biggest meet of the season, with their sectional tournament race taking place last week. The boys team saw extreme success, with juniors Matt Zimmerman and Hayden Singer finishing in the top 11, including Singer finishing 2nd in Group 1. Senior Matt Macauley also put a top 20 finish in for the boys, who finished 3rd as a group. The girls team finished second in their group, seeing successful races from all four classes. Every grade produced a top 20 finish, and that depth and success propelled the squad to advance.  The team now has the group championship on Nov. 13 where they’ll look to continue their late season success.