On a Friday afternoon marked by beautiful weather and electric school spirit, the number one-seeded MFS Boys’ Soccer team hosted the number nine-seeded Holy Cross Prep in the New Jersey Non-Public B South quarterfinals, supported by a massive turnout of MFS community members.
The matchup followed the Foxes’ first-round bye and Holy Cross Prep’s first-round win against St. Rose, the league’s eighth seed. Click here to see the entire tournament bracket. Before Friday’s match, the Foxes had faced off against Holy Cross twice, having beaten them the first time 5-1 and the second time 2-1 in overtime.
The match was characterized by minutes of back-and-forth action, with both teams repeatedly traveling up and down the field in attempts to score. With a little over five minutes left in the first half, Vikram Verma ’25 was the first to score, putting the Foxes up at 1-0.
Unfortunately for the Foxes, the lead lasted mere minutes, as Holy Cross scored a goal with about a minute left in the first half.
Starting the second half at 1-1, the Foxes fought to score again, with both teams attempting shots on goal multiple times. Jaylen Miller ’25 was the next to score, assisted by Preston Galanis ’25, giving the Foxes a 2-1 lead with only 17 minutes left to play.
Holy Cross scored again minutes later, tying the game at 2-2 with around 15 minutes left to go in the match.
Finally, Galanis scored on a successful play after running past the last defenders, dribbling past the goalie, and shooting into the open net; the exciting goal returned the Foxes to a 3-2 lead with only three minutes left in the match.
In the game’s final minutes, the Foxes’ final efforts were directed towards protecting their goal, an endeavor that was ultimately successful. To a chorus of cheers from MFS community members, the Foxes ran down the clock, maintaining their 3-2 lead to win the Non-Public B South quarterfinal match.
Following the win, members of the team were ecstatic. On the close win, Galanis shared that he “was scared for a second, but we got through it.”
Adding on to Galanis’s sentiments, Dean Simpson ’26 shared that he was feeling “amazing,” while Miller shared that he was “excited to put one in [the goal]” during such an important game.
Although the team beat Holy Cross twice earlier in the season, the Foxes were forced to fight harder for this final win against the opposing team. Miller described playing the team again as “repetitive,” while Simpson explained why the teams’ final battle proved more difficult.
“We’ve played this team twice before, [and] every time we play them again it’s harder. They know how we play, they know our plays, but we worked through it,” said Simpson.
Community members cheering the Foxes on also felt the pressure during the game, including Parveen Verma, parent of team member Verma.
“It was a little nerve-wracking, but they had it in them to win,” she said.
Many younger MFS students, like Chase Kolaris ’30, came out to the fields to watch the game during the last hour of the school day. A frequent watcher of Boys’ Soccer and brother of player Jared Kolaris ’25, he described the game as “scary, but exhilarating.”
Captain Matthew Schlotterbeck ’25 noted some of the Foxes’ areas of improvement after the game. “We have to give more heart … and we need to defend as a team. I think, overall, we just need to try a lot harder than we have. Just because we’re the one-seed doesn’t mean we have the right to the trophy,” he remarked.
Schlotterbeck emphasized the team’s ultimate goal. “We want to be the first [MFS Boys’ Soccer] team to go back-to-back South Jersey champions,” he explained.
Athletic Director Isaiah Coleman described his first experience watching MFS Boys’ Soccer in the playoffs.
“It was just great energy … it was just electric out there.” He noted the community’s attendance at the game, explaining that the match was “a great community moment for [MFS], because people who have been here [and] graduated are still coming back to the school [to watch].”
Coleman described the match as a “phenomenal win,” a thought shared by others watching. As P. Verma described, “[The team] played hard, they played well, and they got the win.”
Looking forward to next week, team member Miles Wilkins ’25 felt confident in the team’s future success.
“I feel like we’ve got great momentum going into our game on Tuesday.” He continued, “I feel like we fought hard, and it was great … go Foxes.”
The Foxes will host the Ranney School, the league’s fifth seed, in the NJ Non-Public B South semifinals on Tuesday, November 12 at 2 p.m.
