Union City's girls represent Hudson's last standing team

When the high school basketball season began a few months ago in early December, the Union City High School girls' team found themselves in a bit of a predicament. The Soaring Eagles lost their first five games of the new season. A year after having to miss a majority of their games due to COVID-19, the Soaring Eagles were on the wrong side of the ledger five straight times to begin the new campaign. A lot of other teams might have folded up the tents and given up on a season after five setbacks to start the season. But a lot of those teams aren't coached by Carlos Cueto. Cueto, the former St. Anthony High School and University of Richmond point guard, had made stops along the way coaching with the famed St. Michael's CYO program in his adopted hometown of Union City, where Cueto was raised. He then also was the head boys' coach at Secaucus High School before taking the position as girls' basketball coach in the district where he has been a long-time teacher. Cueto remained determined even after the brutal 0-5 start to the season. "The girls were all surprisingly upbeat even after the 0-5 start," Cueto said. "They just kept showing up for practice, kept their heads up and kept working hard. They never once quit. That says a lot." Sure does, because the Soaring Eagles made it all the way to the recent Hudson County Tournament finale, where they lost to Bayonne, 39-23, in a shocking offensive freefall. It was almost as if someone put a steel lid on top of the Soaring Eagles' basket and kept the ball from falling through the nets. That loss was on a Saturday afternoon. "We had not much time to be down on ourselves," Cueto said. "It was such a quick turnaround from Saturday to Monday." The Soaring Eagles earned the No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA's North Jersey Section 1, Group IV bracket, so that was good news. "We were the top seed, so it meant that we never had to leave playing at home," Cueto said. "We could just stay home and relax." Well, the Soaring Eagles didn't exactly take it easy in the postseason, taking their game to the state sectional without having to climb on a bus. They defeated Barringer, 62-32, in the opening round, then moved on to knock off Columbia of South Orange/Maplewood, 53-36 in the sectional quarterfinals, beat Paterson Eastside, 52-41, in the sectional semifinals and finally handled Morristown, 48-37, to capture the first-ever state sectional girls' basketball championship in school history.

Cueto gave credit to his senior class for making the state playoff run. "They showed a lot of leadership," Cueto said. "I think they deserve a lot of the credit. They kept winning and said, 'Why not us?' They believed in themselves." And now, later today, the Soaring Eagles will now have to board a bus to face Section 2 champion Westfield in the overall state Group IV semifinals at Franklin Township High School in Somerset. Game time is 5 p.m. The Soaring Eagles have now won 21 of their last 23 games, easily the hottest team in the Group IV bracket. True, Westfield defefated Bayonne in their sectional semifinals, so that doesn't play well for the Soaring Eagles. But that doesn't deter the Soaring Eagles in their quest for state immortality. "I think they saw what the boys did a couple of years ago (the Union City boys' team won the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV crown in 2020) and wanted to do the same," Cueto said. "I love my team. I love these kids. They have stuck together all year to get to this point." Senior Erika Mercedes has been the team's leader. Mercedes is averaging 15 points per game in her third straight All-Hudson County type of season. Fellow seniors include point guard Elainy Pichardo and forward Fernanda Young. Sophomore Jaylyn Orefice has been a solid second scorer, averaging 13.8 points per contest. Orefice tossed in a team-high 19 points in the sectional championship victory over Morristown. And another key contributor is Cueto's daughter Alyssa, a solid playmaking guard. So whatever happens later today happens. Nothing will ever take away the state sectional title the Soaring Eagles captured after the inconspicuous start. The rest of Hudson County's hoopsters have gone home for the spring. One team remains. All hail the Soaring Eagles.