When the Nutley girls soccer team arrived back at school following a 6-0 loss at the hands of Newark Academy on Oct. 21, an impromptu, late evening team meeting was needed to help right a season that had suddenly gone off the rails.
The message was taken to heart and Nutley has been undefeated since.
Two days later, the Maroon Raiders tied Clifton, 2-2. Since then, Nutley posted emphatic wins over West Milford, Cedar Grove and Rahway, outscoring their opponents by a 17-1 margin.
Now 12-6-1 on the season has earned the No. 3 seed in the North 2, Group 3 tournament where it will host North Plainfield on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
The third seed is the highest Nutley (12-6-1) has earned since 2021.
“We had a horrible loss. We got back to the gym after a late night at Newark Academy and we didn’t go home. We hashed some things out and people heard hard truths,” DiPiano said. “This team, they didn’t stick their heads between their legs and cry. They took that message from me and (assistant coach) Emily DeAngelo to heart and the next day, at practice, it was a different team.”
“I think that wakeup call that night really, really helped.”
The win over West Milford on Oct. 25 was the 150th for DiPiano, a lifelong Nutley resident now in his 14th season as the girls head coach has a 152-113-6 record. DiPiano has also been Nutley’s head wrestling coach since 2016 and a longtime assistant with softball.
“It’s very important to me. I take great pride in coaching this girls program,” said DiPiano. “Myself and (former Nutley boys coach and current Belleville athletic director) Marcellino Marra, we grew up seven houses away from each other. It means a lot to me to coach here at Nutley and do it all here.”
Sophomore Madison Heal, who had been in a mini scoring slump, erupted for a jaw-dropping 11 goals during the past three games, increasing her season total to 22 on the season.
“Everything she hits has been seeing the back of the net. She’s got the Midas Touch right now,” DiPiano said. “We challenged her at the end of last year to be more creative and get to the goal more and she has.”
Fellow sophomore Selmah Kantor has also scored in each of the three games, while Allyson Roman has added five assists.
On defense, DiPiano praised Sophia McMullen and Daniela Gagliardo for stepping up following a knee injury to standout back Mia Sceppaguercio.
“We are a dangerous team right now,” said DiPiano. “I believe it’s a team that can play for another couple more weeks into November.”
In North 2, Group 2, Harrison (14-3-1) is the eighth seed in North 2, Group 2. The Blue Tide will play their first home state game in nine years when it faces a Bernards team that is a legitimate state title contender despite its low seed, thanks to a grueling Skylands Conference schedule.
Also in North 2, Group 2, Lyndhurst (11-9) is the seventh seed and will square off with Voorhees.
North Arlington (11-5-2) is the ninth seed in North 2, Group 1 and will travel to Whippany Park in the first round.
Kearny (8-6-2) is the eighth seed in North 1, Group 4 and will host Memorial of West New York in the first round. The Kardinals have allowed just four goals in their last nine games. Also, in North 1, Group 4, Bloomfield (12-7) is the six seed and is home to face Morristown.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)