UNION- As Seton Hall Prep’s standout defenseman Jagger Zemachson raced down the field in the Non-Public championship game’s final seconds with the Pirates looking to complete a furious comeback with a tying goal, fans of the storied rivalry between SHP and Delbarton would not have been surprised if the game had wound up deadlocked to conclude regulation.
After all, when it comes to SHP-Delbarton through the years - whether it be ice hockey, football, soccer, baseball or definitely in lacrosse – epic finishes seem part and parcel of the mosaic.
In other words, a classic, nip-and-tuck ending is pretty much expected when the two longtime North Jersey rivals meet in any sport.
As it turned out, Tuesday night’s (June 9) Non-Public state final would see Delbarton (20-6) emerge an 8-7 winner over the defending champion Pirates (14-8), while the Green Wave captured their 19th state title and first since 2023 to conclude a spirited showdown on Kean University's Alumni Field.
SHP had won nine in a row before Tuesday night's narrow setback and was terrific in performing with gusto until the very end to complete a truly oustanding stretch since early May.
"Our team played their butts off tonight," said Pirates head coach John Svec. "I am proud and grateful of each of the players. They had each others backs all year whether we were 1-5 to start the season or in the run we went on to end the season."
Delbarton needed big plays at the end to help seal the narrow victory.
Sophomore long-stick midfielder Max Melchionni, who was one of the Green Wave standouts during the entertaining contest, managed to apply a strong check and thus disrupt any chance of a miraculous last-second Pirates goal as time expired.
Delbarton players celebrated with full gusto as the much-anticipated 2026 Non-Public state final was completed, but not before a very spirited comeback thrust generated by SHP as senior attackman Owen Dunleavy scored a pair of goals in the game’s final 58 seconds, first wing a well-placed shot from the right wing with 1:15 remaining, and then again, also from the right side, this time with a difficult angle to cut the Green Wave’s lead to 8-7 with just 17 seconds left.
Delbarton avenged a 9-7 regular-season loss at SHP back on April 18. Six of the last seven meetings between the two archrivals have been decided by no more than two goals and four of those contests were determined by 1-goal final margins.
Along with key contributors such as Melchionni, with his strong work in scooping up ground balls, senior attackman Chase Houser with 2 goals and an assist, and senior midfielder Christian Troczysnki’s game-winning goal with 2:33 remaining to make it 8-5 Green Wave, the Morris Township lax power also had an important edge in the critical face-off department with Notre Dame-bound Kane Quenault winning 9-of-11 in the ‘X’ with strong support from Johns Hopkins University junior commit Jesse Denegri (1 goal), who won 5-of-7.
Delbarton goalie Matty McGuinty came up with 8 saves to back up his close defense.
Still, SHP gave a yeoman’s effort right up to the final second of the action-packed contest, led by Dunleavy’s late-game heroics along with another strong offensive effort from junior attackman Jack Merklinger (1 goal, 2 assists), opportunistic goals from seniors Alex Ante (Stony Brook) and Declan Farrell (Middlebury for football), impressive end-to-end work by the junior Duke commit Zemachson, and solid work in goal by senior Brennan Lyons (9 saves).
The Pirates kept plugging away after Delbarton took a 2-1 lead after the first quarter and 5-3 at the half. Even after the Green Wave’s Jack Sheridan scored to give his team a 3-goal lead early in the fourth quarter, SHP roared back again as Jack Merklinger scored to make it 7-5 with 4:33 left.
