Pirates Down St. Augustine 14–9 to get Head to the Finals

Seton Hall Prep fell to the Hermits earlier this year. On Saturday they made sure there would be no repeat, pulling away in the third quarter and holding on through a furious St. Augustine push to punch their ticket back to the state final.

These two programs know each other well at this point, and every time they meet it seems to produce something worth watching. Saturday's NJSIAA Group Tournament semifinal was no exception. Seton Hall Prep defeated St. Augustine 14–9 in a game that went back and forth through two and a half quarters before the Pirates finally took control and never gave the Hermits enough runway to catch them.

SHP came in with the target on their back as returning state champions, but they also came in with a score to settle. St. Augustine had beaten the Pirates earlier in the season, and that loss had been sitting with this group for a while. From the first whistle on Saturday, it was clear Seton Hall came ready to answer for it.

Quinlan Oakes got the Pirates on the board first, assisted by Alex Ante, and Owen Dunleavy followed to make it 2–0 inside the first three minutes. St. Augustine responded with back-to-back goals from Mason Raucci to tie it at two before the quarter ended. The tone was set immediately. This was going to be a game decided by which team wanted it more when the pressure was highest.

The second quarter was the wildest stretch of the afternoon. Six different players scored across ten goals as the lead changed hands multiple times and neither team could hold a cushion for more than a minute or two. St. Augustine went up 3–2 through Sal Urbano. Seton Hall answered, went ahead, got caught, went ahead again. Raucci scored his third and fourth goals of the game to keep the Hermits in it. But the Pirates kept adding on. Jack Merklinger, Derek Sabel, Drew Merklinger, and Alex Ante all found the back of the net as SHP closed the half on a 5–2 run to take an 8–5 lead into the break. The sequence at the end of the second was the turning point. Once the Pirates strung those goals together, the momentum felt like it had shifted for good.

The third quarter removed any remaining doubt. Seton Hall scored six times to just one for St. Augustine, pushing their lead to 12–6 before the Hermits could slow things down. Bryce Pfeffer, Oakes, and Matthew Solomon all contributed as the Pirates played their best lacrosse of the game when the stakes were highest. Gavin Martin's goal with under a minute left in the third made it a six-goal cushion heading into the fourth.

St. Augustine refused to go quietly. Ryan Wodazak scored twice in the fourth and Sebastian Varallo added another to pull the Hermits within four at 13–9 with under six minutes remaining. The lead that felt comfortable suddenly felt a little less so. But Seton Hall had an answer. Owen Dunleavy, who had scored in the first quarter to help the Pirates jump out early, came through again late with the goal that made it 14–9 and officially ended any hope of a Hermits comeback. Final score: Seton Hall Prep 14, St. Augustine 9.

Jack Merklinger was the engine for the Pirates, finishing with four goals and an assist across the afternoon. Oakes contributed two goals and an assist. Raucci was relentless for St. Augustine with four goals of his own, and with Ryan Diamond and Varallo running the offense, the Hermits were never easy to defend. But Seton Hall had too many answers on a day when they needed to play like a championship program, and they did exactly that.

The returning champions are back in the state final. The early season loss to St. Augustine is firmly in the rearview. Seton Hall Prep is playing their best lacrosse when it matters most, and whoever stands across from them in the final will have to be ready for a team that has been here before and knows exactly how to win.