Delbarton finally topples St. Benedict's, reaches sectional final

MORRIS TOWNSHIP — "It's Monday. We got this."

That's been the mantra for the Delbarton soccer team all year, just switching in the day of each game. Nothing changed with St. Benedict's Prep looming in a NJSIAA Non-Public A North semifinal on Nov. 9.

The Green Wave said the same thing to each other in the locker room, and out on the field. When the game went to first one and then double overtime, the players repeated the same line.

And after sophomore Cortland Martin's second goal hit the back of the net, Delbarton's mantra was proven true. The Green Wave figured out a way to upend St. Benedict's, 2-1, in double overtime, to move on to the sectional final.

It is the Gray Bees' first loss in 57 straight matches dating back to November 1, 2023. It's the first time they lost to a NJSIAA member school since Oct. 22, 2016 at Delran.

Top seed Delbarton will host No. 3 Seton Hall Prep on Nov. 12 with a trophy on the line. It'll be the Green Wave's third straight trip to the sectional final, but the first time at home – and not up against the Gray Bees.

This is just the third time Delbarton (20-1-1) has defeated St. Benedict's Prep in their last 10 matches. Martin has four goals in the last two: an overtime loss and now 52 seconds into double OT for a victory.

The Gray Bees (16-1-1) have only allowed seven goals this season, none since Sept. 23 against Montclair Kimberley. They received the fourth seed in Non-Public A North due to a lower quality strength of schedule, and fewer matchups with out-of-area powers.

"It feels incredible," said Martin, a Newton resident who gave up the opportunity to play for his father to attend Delbarton. "To get the first one, I capitalized on a bit of a mistake, but that got me up for the whole game. (For the OT goal,) I scored off one like that last year against them. It was a free kick that got deflected and fell to me. I was thinking of that play, and then it fell to me again."

Martin highlighted the Green Wave defense, which kept St. Benedict's well under its average of 3.82 goals in the sectional match. Longtime head coach David Donovan highlighted junior midfielder Evan Johnson, who had drawn the assignment of marking speedy midfielder Frank Pah.

Green Wave junior goalie Vayun Swamy came up with seven saves, and got some help from the right post on a shot with about two minutes left in regulation.

"I worked my whole career up to this point just making sure that I'm ready in all aspects of the game," said Johnson, a Parsippany resident. "We had nerves at the beginning. We knew if we cared about this game so much, we would work so hard for it. And we knew we were ready."

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Delbarton finally topples St. Benedict's, reaches sectional final