North Brunswick upsets No. 14 Southern, advances to first state final since 1998

North Brunswick’s Cinderella run continues. While the Raiders have been doubted during their playoff streak, the team embraces its underdog status. North Brunswick entered the Group 4 state semifinals, having come out of the state sectional round as a ninth-seed, upsetting each of its opponents including top-seeded Monroe, fifth-seeded Marlboro and second-seeded Hunterdon Central. The Raiders extended their improbable season on Tuesday afternoon. North Brunswick defeated Southern, No. 14 in the NJ.com Top 20, 1-0 in the Group 4 state semifinals in Barnegat behind a strong defensive unit and goalkeeper performance. Raiders’ head coach Michael Rohal discussed how his group has approached the underdog role. “It’s us against the world. It’s that kind of mentality that we’ve had from the jump because the only people that believed in us were the ones inside the locker room.” The Raiders scored their lone goal early in the first half with a strike from junior Ivan Pineda, handing North Brunswick a 1-0 lead. Following the goal, the match turned into a defensive battle on both ends of the field. Southern had a few chances around the net but whenever they got close the North Brunswick defense came through, preserving the Raiders a 1-0 lead at halftime. The second half continued with solid scoring chances for the Rams, but Raiders’ senior goalkeeper Alex Andino established himself as a key reason North Brunswick held onto its narrow lead, finishing with six saves on the day. Four of Andino’s six saves in the match came in the second half. Andino explained, “I stayed confident, calm and I knew what had to be done to keep a clean sheet moving forward.” “We have a love for this sport and we know that we can do this all together if we keep working hard at everything. We’ve been doubted every single game so far and probably will continue to be doubted. We just have a passion to keep on playing and if we play together, we’ll accomplish what we need to.” North Brunswick defenseman Will Tai seconded what Andino said, “We thrive on being counted out and it gives us more confidence to go in there and pull off the upset, especially when we’re away from home. W’ve done it this whole time and every game that we win builds us up even more.” “We knew coming in that they (Southern) had a lot of offensive threats, so we knew whenever they had the ball we needed to be on them. We couldn’t let them get going.” Coach Rohal continued, “We were so dependent on our defense and I never doubted them for a moment. We always try to find that spark plug right from the jump which we’re always really good at catching teams by surprise.” Rams’ senior Brody Nacarlo was called for a red card in the second half for kicking a North Brunswick defender in the ankle after the play was blown dead, and was ejected from the contest. “I knew once we got him (Nacarlo) out of the game it was going to turn the tides in our favor,” Tai continued. In the final 20 minutes of regulation, Andino stopped a free kick, a penalty kick and also made a huge diving save with about a minute remaining in regulation. Coach Rohal praised his goalkeeper. “He (Andino) continues to be lights out for us as a staple and leader in the back behind our front four who are equally just as strong.” “To have not only a really strong keeper, but then four on the defensive back line that are all on the same page and want to do the same thing is what puts us in a comfortable position every game.” North Brunswick (15-9) advances to the Group 4 state finals for the first time since 1998 and will look to win its first state title since 1993 when they face the winner of No. 2 West Orange and Scotch Plains-Fanwood on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Somerset. “We’re putting together a legacy here”, coach Rohal said. ”It’s something that we’re trying to put together with the pieces so that way people of the past can look to people in the future as part of this program and want to be a part of this program." Southern fell to 16-7-2 on the season and head coach John Nafarlo discussed what he believed the difference was in the match. “I thought we played better in the second half down a man. The first half we came out too slow and I think we were on our heels and they (North Brunswick) had the better play through the midfield.”

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North Brunswick Township HS Athletics

NORTH BRUNSWICK UPSETS NO. 14 SOUTHERN, ADVANCES TO FIRST STATE FINAL SINCE 1998

BY REED BECKER | NJ ADVANCE MEDIA FOR NJ.COM

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com | 11/18/2025

PHOTO CREDIT: NBTHS Athletics