Follow the NLF on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. 

If you’re looking to see how close things are between New Jersey rivals Seton Hall Prep and Delbarton, consider this. The last three games between the two have gone to overtime, with two of them needing multiple extra frames to decide a winner.

For the second straight year, the Pirates fired the opening salvo by taking home the regular-season battle between the two. Senior attackman Christian Schweiger made sure of it, with the Air Force commit snapping a bardown rip to complete his hat trick and give Seton Hall a 9-8 win in the rivalry.

“That’s what you come to Seton Hall for,” Schweiger said. “For these types of games and for that type of moment, and we capitalized.”

Advertisement

Indeed they did. Nolan Sabel (Leading Edge / Villanova) led the Pirates with four goals, none more important than his tally with 3:59 to play in regulation to draw Seton Hall even. The Pirates won the first overtime faceoff and had an incredibly-long possession but couldn’t find the back of the net. Delbarton finally got the ball late in the first overtime but couldn’t generate a good look in the waning seconds.

Luigi Pantano did the honors again. The Stevens-bound senior was up and down at the faceoff stripe throughout the day, but he came up with both overtime faceoff wins for the Pirates. After winning the second, Seton Hall called timeout and set up Schweiger’s heroics. Ballgame, and the suddenly red-hot Pirates finally had a signature win to their name.

“It was an electric environment that we had here, but it is just another regular-season win. It’s something that we’ve had for the past couple of years that we can’t finish, so we’re looking forward to the end of the season until we get to playoffs because that’s when it really matters. A win in the regular season matters a lot and getting that win over them is a great feeling, but it’s just as important to win that one at the end of the season.”

Can SHP Do It Again #WhenItMatters?

June has not been kind to the Pirates in recent years. Sabel knows it, Seton Hall knows it, and, ah, yes, Delbarton certainly knows it. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a Green Wave player who can’t utter the mantra #WhenItMatters, a nod to Delbarton’s ability to win when the stakes are higher and a poke at the Pirates’ inability to take home a championship in recent years despite some loaded teams. The Green Wave won last year’s playoff matchup in triple overtime.

Seton Hall’s got its sights set on changing that.

“We’ve just got to focus on one play at a time,” senior LSM Patrick Quinn (Leading Edge / Drexel) said. “We can’t look past anybody, because when we look past anybody, that’s when we lose in the playoffs, so we just have to focus on one play at a time.”

Seton Hall Prep vs. Delbarton Standouts

Sean Hayes ’26, LSM, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) 

Hayes was all over the field for the Pirates, finishing with a goal, an assist and a half-dozen ground balls. It felt like he was around the ball on every play, and he finds a way to get involved all the freaking time. He had a great double team that led to him causing a turnover, getting the ground ball, running it down the field and burying a shot for Seton Hall’s first lead of the game. Earlier in the game, he set up Nolan Sabel‘s second tally of the game in transition, drawing attention to himself before finding the Leading Edge standout on the wing.

Bo Popham ’25, defense, Delbarton (N.J.) / Team 91 Maryland – Notre Dame

The four-star Irish verbal might have been the best player on the field, regardless of team. Popham was in total control all game long. He drew the tough assignment of covering senior standout Tyler Juhlin and held the skilled lefty entirely off the scoresheet. A thick, solidly-built righty, Popham has drawn just about everybody’s No. 1 this spring and he has thrived. Against the Pirates, he had a vicious takeaway and ground ball near the sideline that helped led to five-star LSM Will Pedicano (Leading Edge / Virginia) setting up Asher Testa (Leading Edge / Colgate) for his third goal of the game for Delbarton’s last lead of the game.

“Every week, I have a tough matchup, so when you’re able to play well in a game like this, it really gives you the confidence going into the next one,” Popham said. “It’s not just me. It’s everyone else that just owns their matchup, which allows me to play more free. I can relax. I don’t have to be worried because we have a great goalie (Leading Edge‘s Pat Roelke, a Lafayette commit) and I’m out there just doing my part and everyone else is working well with me.”

Patrick Quinn ’24, LSM, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) / Leading Edge – Drexel

Quinn was, in a word, exceptional for the Pirates. The younger brother of Sean Quinn, Drexel‘s all-time leader in caused turnovers, the future Dragon showed his versatility and ability to take away the rock as well. He got in on the fun early by taking the ball away and smoothly snagging the ground ball right away. Later, he put the ball on the carpet while guarding his man at X, which can often be no man’s land for an LSM in coverage.

Quinn made his presence felt on the faceoff wings with his stick, but he also had an outstanding hustle play where he rode Delbarton’s faceoff and forced him out of bounds after the Green Wave had secured possession. Quinn was constantly communicating with his teammates, and he was the driving force behind Seton Hall Prep’s defense.

Nolan Sabel ’25, attack, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) / Leading Edge – Villanova

Sabel’s been best-known on the club circuit as a midfielder, which is where he played for the Pirates last year. This time, he burned the Green Wave operating at attack, where his quickness and shiftiness gave Delbarton’s defense problems all game long. When Seton Hall’s offense was stuck in neutral early on, it was Sabel who basically singlehandedly kept the Pirates within striking distance. He scored three of Seton Hall’s first four goals and also added one in the second half to finish with four tallies.

Sabel had a huge goal with nine seconds left in the first quarter to bring the Pirates even. He was also the one that brought the Pirates even at 8 with 3:59 to play in the fourth quarter to set up overtime. The Wildcat commit snapped home a turnaround low-to-low rip to even the game.

“From the X spot, we need a guy who’s going to be a feeder and have that vision, and at the same time, be able to take it himself and produce for himself, too,” Sabel said.

Jack Sartorius ’24, midfield, Delbarton (N.J.) / Leading Edge – Williams 

Sartorius gave the Green Wave a major jolt by burying a hat trick, including a pair of lefty finishes for the natural righty. He started the season on the second line but was recently elevated as a result of some injuries, and it’s paying off for Delbarton. Sartorius isn’t big, but he was able to give Seton Hall fits with his quickness and elusiveness.

He got on the board in the second quarter with a split dodge from up top that he finished off with a high-to-low rip. Four minutes later, Sartorius beat his man off-ball down the middle and cashed in on a Gavin Romweber feed. He finished off his hat trick in the third quarter with another split to his left, punctuated by a perfectly-placed shot into the low corner.

“I try to use my speed and I try to use both hands,” Sartorius said. “If they overplay one side, I go to the other. I’ve worked on the left hand a lot because I wasn’t always the biggest or the fastest kid, so I had to.”

It shows.

Christian Schweiger ’24, attack, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) – Air Force 

A quick jitterbug type at attack, Schweiger had a quiet first half. He more than made up for it in the second half and overtime, tallying three times, including the game-winner. Schweiger got loose up top on a pick and cranked home a bardown blast for the game-winner. He was instrumental in getting the Pirates their first run of the afternoon, scoring twice in a row after LSM Sean Hayes got Seton Hall its first lead of the game. Schweiger scored on a gorgeous twister down the alley for his first marker of the day. Less than three minutes later, he snapped a low-to-low shot around the defenseman and into the net. The future Falcon was a jolt to the Pirates’ offense when they really needed it.

Asher Testa ’25, attack, Delbarton (N.J.) / Leading Edge – Colgate

The big righty showed a deft touch around the cage and finished as Delbarton’s leading scorer with a hat trick. He’s at his best working off the ball and finishing as an end-of-play guy. Testa’s hat trick was his second in the past four games, a sign that he’s coming into his own with a higher comfort level for the Green Wave. He got the scoring started with a rip from the low wing, then finished off a Sartorius feed on the crease in transition. It was also Testa that gave Delbarton its final lead of the game when he finished off a Pedicano feed in transition.

Advertisement

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR