The last two Colonial Valley Conference teams to reach the now defunct Mercer County Tournament Final are also the first two to meet in the inaugural CVC Tournament championship game. Second-seeded Princeton High (13-2-3) will host fourth-seeded Notre Dame High (16-5) in that new tournament’s final 2 p.m. Saturday at Hopewell Valley High’s Ackerson Field. For those who cannot be in attendance, the game will be live streamed on wbcbsports.com and on the WBCB Sports Facebook page. Head coach Ryan Walsh’s Tigers, who advanced with a 2-0 semifinal win over third-seeded Steinert Thursday, lost to the Pennington School, 2-1, in last season’s MCT championship game before going on to win the NJSIAA Group IV state title. Princeton was also the last CVC school to win the MCT, back in 2016, when it was co-champs with Pennington. Head coach Bryan Fisher’s Irish, who advanced with a 2-0 semifinal win over top-seeded Robbinsville Thursday, reached the MCT Final in 2022, 2021 and 2019. ND is the only other CVC team to have won the MCT in its last 13 years of existence (2013). When the teams met for their CVC Colonial Division clash this season, the Tigers pulled out a 3-2 win over the Irish on a goal by Andre Ansarah with 40 seconds left in regulation Oct. 1. Princeton looks to seniors like Azariah Breitman (19 goals, six assists) and Archie Smith (13 goals, 11 assists) for leadership up front, while senior goalkeeper Nicolas Holmelund and his back line have led the Tigers to nine shutouts this year. Princeton has scored 55 goals, while holding the opposition to 13 in 18 games. Notre Dame has the CVC’s top scorer in senior Will Lynch, who has 29 goals with 12 assists this season. Juniors Luca Ercolano (10 goals, 17 assists), Landon Hoenisch (10 goals, 15 assists) and Tyler Javick (10 goals, eight assists) follow in a line of scorers, which has seen the Irish, who have the most wins in the league, outscore their opponents, 91-17, through 21 games in 2024. Sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Merluse has helped the team amass 12 shutouts this fall. All in all, it should make for an interesting first CVC Tournament Final, whose trophy would be decided by penalty-kick shootout rounds if the championship game remains tied after 100 minutes Saturday. Colonial Valley Conference Tournament Boys Soccer Results Saturday, Oct. 19 First Round Hopewell Valley 6, WW-P North 2 Princeton 11, Ewing 1 Steinert 1, Hamilton West 0 Lawrence 2, Allentown 2 (Lawrence advances on pks, 3-1) WW-P South 4, PDS 1 Notre Dame 8, Nottingham 1 Trenton 3, Hightstown 0 Monday, Oct. 21 Quarterfinals Princeton 2, Trenton 1 Steinert 2, Lawrence 1 Robbinsville 2, WW-P South 1 (OT) Notre Dame 3, Hopewell Valley 1 Tuesday, Oct. 22 Consolations Hamilton West 7, Ewing 2 Hightstown 4, Allentown 1 Nottingham 1, WW-P North 0 Wednesday, Oct. 23 Consolation Hopewell Valley 3, PDS 1 Thursday, Oct. 24 Semifinals (at Hopewell Valley High’s Ackerson Field) Princeton 2, Steinert 0 Notre Dame 2, Robbinsville 0 Schedule Saturday, Oct. 26 Final (at Hopewell Valley High’s Ackerson Field) Notre Dame vs. Princeton, 2 p.m.