The stout defense of Gov. Livingston boys’ soccer stymied New Providence, leading to a 2-0 win over the Pioneers on Thursday at Lieder Field.

Thwarted by the strong defense of Highlander Chris Marzo, New Providence was unable to penetrate the GL defense with any sort of threat.

“Our guys are really solid back there,” Highlander head coach Bruno Somma said. “We have a really strong back four and we are confident in their ability.”

After a slow start by both teams in the first 25 minutes, where neither side could generate any offense, the Highlanders were able to strike first when Chris Moran bolted down the left wing towards the end line. He delivered a perfect cross into the 6-yard box where Trevor Bachert finished the goal.

“The goal scored by [Bachert] was a really nice hustle play by Moran who was able to send in a nice ball,” Somma said.

Shortly thereafter, GL’s Tiago Paiva wove his way through the Pioneer defense and blasted a shot from 25 yards out, burying it in the back of the net, past the lunging effort from NP goalie Michael Zamora.

The two-goal lead for Governor Livingston going into the second half would be all they needed.

“We’ve had a tough time scoring all season,” New Providence head coach Teddy Niedzielski said. “We have the opportunities but we need better composure in front of the net.”
Pioneer midfielder Sean Regan agrees with his coach.
He said: “We need to work on building up play and be able to finish offensively.”

The inability to score for the Pioneers wasted the strong showing in net for Zamora, who tallied 12 saves on the game. However, his adversary, Jake Topor was even better, shutting out the Pioneers by converting all 10 save opportunities.