Green Wave Take Back the Crown: Delbarton Downs Seton Hall Prep for Non-Public Title

They met once already this season, with Seton Hall Prep winning 9-7 after jumping out to a three-goal lead. Tuesday night at Kean University, Delbarton flipped the script and made sure the rematch ended differently. The Green Wave are Non-Public state champions for a record 19th time, holding off a late Pirates charge to win 8–7 in a game that came down to the final seconds.

Delbarton set the tone early this time, with Pierce Bolger opening the scoring for his 45th goal of the season. Seton Hall Prep answered through freshman Matthew Solomon, who has been a revelation on the big stage, but the Green Wave grabbed the lead back before the quarter ended and never trailed again. Going into the second, Delbarton led 2–1 and had the momentum fully in their corner.

The second quarter was where Delbarton built the cushion that ultimately saved them. Seven different Green Wave players found the back of the net across the game and the depth showed up when it mattered most. Gus Cummings scored off a Chase Houser feed to push the lead to three, Alex Ante answered for the Pirates, and then Jesse DeNegri did something he hadn't done all season, winning the faceoff and taking it the distance for a goal of his own. The Johns Hopkins commit's first score of the year in the state final kept the Green Wave firmly in control. Declan Farrell pulled one back for Seton Hall Prep just before halftime, but Delbarton went into the break with a 5–3 lead and seemed in full command.

Houser put the Green Wave up by three again after three quarters, finishing with two goals and an assist to lead all scorers and close out his senior campaign with a team-best 52 on the year. But Seton Hall Prep had no intention of letting it end quietly. Jack Merklinger, who totaled three points on the night, fired home his team-leading 44th of the season to start a rally, and Owen Dunleavy delivered back-to-back goals in the final minute to cut it to 8–7 with under 20 seconds remaining. The comeback was real and the tension was suffocating. Delbarton held on, ran out the clock, and the celebration was on.

Goalie Matty McGinty finished with eight saves in what was one of the better individual performances of the championship game, coming up with the stops that kept the Green Wave ahead every time Seton Hall threatened to take over.

After the final whistle, Houser spoke on what the title means to a senior class that has poured four years into this program. "Winning my senior year is so special," he said. "Me and all my classmates have worked so hard these past four years and really bought into the program and the team, and we all earned this. This season was so awesome as a whole. We had a bunch of ups and downs but we always bounced back and stayed the course." On the moment he felt the game turning Delbarton's way, Houser pointed to his teammates. "Right when Gus scored that goal I fed to him in the second is when I started to feel super confident. My teammates playing their best made me confident in myself because I knew they were around me supporting me throughout everything."

He closed on what Delbarton means to him beyond the scoreboard. "Representing Delbarton is truly something special and something that made me the man I am today. This school is truly so special and I am so grateful that I was brought into a community like this. The people I met and memories I made are something I will cherish for the rest of my life."

Record 19th title. A one-goal win over the reigning champions in front of a packed house. A senior class that delivered when it counted most. The Non-Public title is back in Morristown for the first time in three years, and Delbarton earned every bit of it.