The Saint Peter’s Prep soccer team quietly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the state of New Jersey.  The soccer team, at one point ranked in the top 15 teams in the state, finished with an impressive record of 17-3-2.   While the offense had an array of skilled scorers and players, a major reason for the team’s success was its stellar defensive play.  Senior goalkeeper, Nick “Big Red” Cipriano, anchored the talented Marauder back line.  Big Red amassed 12 shutouts on the season, the most by any goalie in Hudson County.  In fact, the Marauders only conceded 14 goals this season—an average of less than one per game.  Coming into the season, Nick had the difficult task of replacing Ryan Baird, who is currently playing at Rutgers, but he met the challenge.  Although he always helped to provide comic relief during practice, Nick was all business during games.  He was very vocal from the goal line and did a great job of putting his defenders in the best position possible.  In the team’s state game against rival Don Bosco Prep, Big Red made an incredible diving save to preserve the shutout and give Prep a chance to take the lead.  The near impossible save proved to be crucial, as the Marauders went on to win 1-0 in overtime.  When asked about his success, Nick humbly passed on the credit to his defense, saying “Our defense has done a great job this year.  Dan [Mahler], Matt [Halchak], Owen [Sirianni], and Rob [Cordeiro] make my job a lot easier.”  While the defense usually played well, it was Big Red who bailed them out with highlight worthy saves when they make mistakes.

“Up Close” with Nick:

Favorite Soccer Memory:  Winning the County Championship last year

Favorite Sports Team:  New York Yankees

Favorite TV show:  SportsCenter

Dinner for Four:  Ronaldo, John Wooden, Derek Jeter, Adam Sandler