New Providence Overcomes Gov. Livingston in County Tournament 8-6

There wasn’t a title up for grabs, a divisional group to clinch or even a last ditch sprint for a winning record.

for these neighbors and local rivals, it was all about bragging rights, as Gov. Livingston traveled to face New Providence in the  in the 2011 Union County Tournament. 

“These are definitely the most intense games we play all year,” said Pioneer forward Rich Nelson, who had five goals in his squad’s 8-6 win over the Highlanders at Leider Field in New Providence on Friday afternoon. “We look forward to these games from day one.”

The teams will be seeing more of each other soon. Both are scheduled to face off again on May 12 in Berkeley Heights at Snyder Park  in a regular season matchup.

With both teams are hovering around the .500 mark,  this game, as expected, was evenly matched, meaning the desire for bragging rights took on major importance.

“They gave us a run for our money and we came up on top,” Nelson said. “We wanted it more.”

While that point is debatable, if motivation to win was a stronger force in either team, it would have likely have been in the Highlanders, who were pummeled by the Summit Hilltoppers on Tuesday, 15-1. Summit, though, is ranked No. 2 in the state and will likely be the runaway victor of the UCT if all goes as planned.

With many young players and a program under development, Highlander coach Tyler Brown said the win could have gone either way. 

“We’re coming off our feeder program and trying to get our best people in the game,” Brown said. “We played hard and our defense played well. Ultimately we lost a lot of offensive opportunities.”

The Highlanders began the game with a strong attack, and with just three minutes elapsed, GL's Nick Enright notched the game’s first goal. 

From then on the teams would flip flop in scoring with a one-goal lead on either side until reaching a tie at 5-5 midway through the third quarter.  Nelson then grabbed his fifth goal of the game to put the Highlanders ahead 6-5 and teammate David Barletta brought the score to 7-5.

GL's Colin Lee tallied a goal which brought the game to 7-6 just after the fourth period began, but the Pioneers were able to hold of the GL's final push, which allowed Pioneer Dan Sullivan to score, giving the home side some insurance in their 8-6 win. 

“This is a big win for me personally,” said Pioneer first year head coach Vinny Carangelo, who went to Governor Livingston High School and was Brown’s assistant coach before coming to New Providence as an assistant coach and now as head coach. “Both sides really get fired up to play each other. Even in situations when one side is having a great season and one isn’t. It doesn’t matter. This matchup, for whatever reason, defines the season.”