Emerson defeats Old Tappan and strengthens top spot in charity play

The New Jersey soccer community rallied in support Molly Mack from Whippany Park, who was involved in a car accident earlier this year.

Initially published on Facebook and with the intention to limit participation to the boys and girls teams at Whippany Park, word of the accident spread and teams from all over North Jersey gathered together.

Examples include Emerson and Old Tappan. Besides being simply a cross between the Big North and the NJIC between the top two schools in the conference, the game also had a purpose.

Both teams and spectators donated about two garbage bags worth of winter coats to a separate coat drive and raised about $500 for Molly Mack, Emerson coach Rich Compagnone said.

In the match itself, Emerson, which is in first place in North 1 Group 1 for the first time in years and had a record of 16-2-1, defeated Old Tappan 3-0.

Emerson moved to 17-2-1 with goals from Leo Mandile, Matt Sabatella and Michael Graf, and goaltender Brayden Blanken made six saves in his 11th game of the season and fifth straight.

The Cavos begin their state tournament on Tuesday when they host 16th-seeded Hopatcong.

Old Tappan, which is the No. 5 seed in North 1 in Group 3, hosts 12th-seeded Roxbury and the overtime drops to 10-7-1.

Jake Aferat can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow him on @Jake_Aferiat.

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