Boys soccer state tournament preview: Breaking down every North Jersey, Section 1 bracket

GROUP 2 | BRACKET FAVORITE Glen Rock The defending section champs, the Panthers enter this year’s tournament as the top seed and are 12-5 on the year. They’ve won three in a row entering the postseason since losing to Leonia in a shootout in the second round of the Bergen County Tournament. They have six shutouts this year and Drew Carlin (10 goals, four assists) has continued his role as one of the go to scorers for coach Matt Beverin’s group along with Jacob Grinberg (eight goals, six assists) and several other strong supporting pieces. Defense has been a hallmark for Glen Rock, as the Panthers have posted eight shutouts and goalie Charlie Garrett has only had to make 35 saves in 15 games as well. CONTENDERS Ramsey The Rams are the four seed in this year’s tournament and are fresh off winning the Bergen County Invitational with a 3-0 win over a team in this bracket in sixth-seeded Pascack Valley. They have 10 shutouts on the year and of their five losses, three of them came within the first 11 days of the season. They’re 12-2 since then and have good wins over Mahwah, the No. 2 seed in the section, as well as No. 7 seed Westwood, North 1, Group 1 top seed Emerson plus Bergen Charter and Rutherford. Twelve different players have combined for 36 goals and Luke Featherstone has emerged as a strong contributor in net with 67 saves in 12 games. Mahwah It’s been a strong year for the Thunderbirds who are 15-3 and have one of the best records in the Big North. Their only three losses are by one goal to River Dell and Ramsey and a 5-1 loss to five-time defending Bergen County champs Ramapo. Since that Ramapo loss, though, they’ve rattled off five wins in a row, including avenging the loss to River Dell and the Thunderbirds have outscored 18-2 on this winning streak and have done this all without leading scorer Nick Fuchs. If Fuchs comes back for the postseason then he, along with Ethan Northrup (nine goals, eight assists) and Alejandro Parapi (six goals, two assists), give Mahwah a potent offensive unit. West Milford The Highlanders made the section semis last year as part of one of the best years in program history and coach Ray Ferriola’s group posted another strong season in 2025. They’re 13-3-2 this year and are unbeaten in their last five games heading into the postseason, including a 3-1 win over Passaic County champs Wayne Hills. The three-seed in this year’s tournament, they’ve been helped this year by a breakout year from Will Dent (17 goals, three assists) and another strong year from Nick Bognar (one goals, 10 assists) while Donovan Ford has 112 saves and three shutouts in net this year. West Essex Don’t let the Knights’ low seed or sub .500 record fool you. Even at 7-9-2, coach Rob Grosso’s group is well tested with close losses to Columbia, Nutley, Glen Ridge and Seton Hall Prep and they also played MKA, West Orange and Summit, the latter four of whom are all Top 20 teams. While they’ve only scored 28 goals in their 20 games, this offense is a balanced one with 11 different goal scorers and three different players with five-plus goals. They also made the section semis last year and have experience back from that team, but as the nine seed they’ll go on the road to face an Elmwood Park team that already has some big wins this year. BEST FIRST-ROUND MATCHUP 9-West Essex at 8-Elmwood Park

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BOYS SOCCER STATE TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: BREAKING DOWN EVERY NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 1 BRACKET

JAKE AFERIAT

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com | 11/3/2025