It Could Be Competitive Title Race
As SEC Girls Soccer Takes Shape

New coaches throughout the Super Essex Conference, including at two of the top tier programs, plus player personnel changing for some teams after heavy graduation losses last June.

It all adds up to a possible very competitive quest to capture the 2026 Super Essex Conference-American Division championship and also an Essex County Tournament title.

Livingston, the defending Group 4 state champions, has a new coach in former, longtime Glen Ridge head man Oscar Viteri, who had the Ridgers as an annual mainstay in Group 1 for many years.

The Lancers do return one of the county’s top players in senior forward Emily Fernandez who scored 15 goals and had 10 assists last fall when her team finished 20-3-1 and edged Cherokee, 2-1, for the overall Group 4 state crown.

Gone is all-stater Dina Bojkovic (Rutgers), but there are solid players still in tow for Viteri to continue to mold in addition to Fernandez in standouts such as as senior back Daisy Cheng, sophomore midfielder Stella DiFrancisco and senior goalkeeper Ayla Sherman.     

Defending ECT champion Mount St. Dominic also has a new field general in first-year head coach Jordan Alexander who replaces the now retired Angelo DelVecchio, while the Lions also adjust to the graduation of two high-scoring standouts in all-stater Lena Tusche and the very consistent force Gianna Camporeale, who combined for 57 goals last fall.

The Mount, which was a sparkling 56-10 the past three seasons, including defeating a strong Livingston side, 4-1, in the 2025 ECT final, and capturing a Non-Public, North A state sectional crown with an upset of Immaculate Heart in 2023, still has a wealth of talent to work with including with the return of veteran senior goalkeeper Isabella Raju, a deep midfield with seniors Tatiana Cunha, Sophia Giordano and Reina Casas and junior Bella DeLorenzo and youngsters to watch such as sophomore forward Madison LaBrunda.  

Montclair, one of the historically-strong programs in Essex County, looks to be much improved this fall under coach Rob McOmish, who is now in the second season of his second tour of duty with the Mounties.

His 2014 side captured the school’s first and only Group 4 state title and he returned last fall after an absence from high school coaching to guide the Mounties to a respectable 10-9-2 record last fall.

Montclair, which earned a hard-fought, early-season 0-0 tie at Livingston to get this fall off and running, returns key players such as potent scorer Reina Ali, along with fellow senior forward Autumn Donegan and sophomore midfielder Logan Kostick.

It hasn’t been too long since the Mounties last won a state sectional title which they achieved in 2024 with a 2-1 win at Livingston in the North 1, Group 4 final during a 16-5-1 campaign.

The Mounties’ neighbor, Montclair Kimberley Academy, is another SEC-American Division team to watch as the Cougars return a solid nucleus from a team that reached the Non-Public, North B state sectional final vs. DePaul last fall.

Dangerous scorer Shirley Rivera, a junior forward, is back along with other standout athletes such as senor midfielder Bebe Scuorzo and promising youngsters such as freshman forward Ngozi Dike, the younger sister of MKA boys soccer standout CJ Dike.

An SEC-Liberty Division team to watch is Verona, which won the N2G1 title last fall with a 2-1 victory over Essex rival Glen Ridge before being edged by perennial Group 1 championship contender Shore Regional, 2-1, in the overall Group 1 final.

Coach Teddy Niziolek has a strong young nucleus back this fall including juniors Natalia Ross, Emma Smith and Ella O’Donnell, all of whom can be potent scorers and also earn their fair share of assists. Ross, who had 17 goals and 9 assists last fall, had 9 goals and 4 assists in her team’s first four matches this fall.           

 Follow Steve Tober on 'X' @Chattermeister