November
18, 2006
EWING – Shawnee has been as dominant as any boys’ soccer team in recent memory this season. Not only did the Renegades come into Friday’s Group 3 state final as the state’s only unbeaten and untied team, but also they have also rarely been tested throughout their dominant run, outscoring their opposition in the state tournament 11-1. Last night was supposed to be more of a coronation than a close game, but just 12 minutes into the contest, Ramapo put them on alert and put them in a position that they had not been all season long.
John Fiorenzo and Robert Santaniello each tallied early goals to give Ramapo a surprising 2-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Green Raiders, that only seemed to awaken a team that was clearly on a mission.
Brad Franks made his return from a four-game suspension for disciplinary reasons a memorable one. He scored two goals over the next three-and-a-half minutes and teammate David Drake scored the game-winner for Shawnee in the second half as the Green Raiders fell short in their bid for an upset with a 3-2 loss.
“We started exactly the way we wanted to, the outcome just didn’t end up in our favor,” said Ramapo head coach Evan Baumgarten. “Against a team like Shawnee, you can’t ask for much more than scoring two goals in the first 12 minutes. But they got them back quickly and we had to start from square one again.”
The first time Ramapo got a chance to play the ball into Shawnee’s end of the field, it resulted in a goal. Off of a long free kick, John Fiorenzo got enough of his head on the ball at the top of the box to flick it back towards the net and in to give the Green Raiders a surprising lead just 91 seconds into the contest.
Fiorenzo also had his hand in the second goal when his cross somehow got through a bevy of Shawnee defenders in the box. Santaniello was there to collect the ball and drill it just inside the far post to put Ramapo up 2-0 in the 12th minute. It was the largest deficit Shawnee had faced all season.
“We were in shock, but we never put our heads down,” said Franks, a senior captain. “After having to sit out for the suspension and being down two goals, I had to step up and be a leader. We knew we could come back, we just had to keep putting pressure on them.”
The momentum Ramapo built up over the first 12 minutes did not last long. Less than a minute later, Franks jumped on a loose ball in the box and buried it to trim the lead to 2-1. Three minutes later, he struck again to tie the game. He made a run into the box and headed a cross from Chris Edelschein just inside the near post to knot the score at 2. Remarkably, the four goals came on the first four shots of the game.
“As I was making a run, I saw the goalie cheating towards the middle of the box so I took a chance,” added Franks. “I knew noone was on me so I was able to head it towards the near post. When it went in, I knew the game was ours to lose from there.”
From that point on, Shawnee controlled play with several spectacular rushes up the field resulting in near goals. The Renegades finally broke through to take the lead just over six minutes into the second half. This time, it was Drake who took a pass from Franks and slipped it past the Ramapo goaltender Roman Popov. One of the Green Raiders’ defenders just got a foot on it before it went into the net, but he was unable to knock it out and Shawnee had a 3-2 lead. Drake’s 36th goal of the year leads all South Jersey players.
Ramapo was reeling since scoring the first two goals, but bounced back to apply pressure over the final 23 minutes of the contest. The Raiders had two legitimate scoring chances, but neither found the back of the net and Shawnee capped its unblemished season with its seventh state championship.
Shawnee’s 27 victories set the record for wins in a season by a public school. The Renegades held only a 10-8 shot advantage and a 6-4 edge in corner kicks, but had the better of play in the possession game. Popov finished with three saves for Ramapo (19-2-1), which also got solid play from Fiorenzo, E.J. Alvarado, and Tim Decilveo.
“We were right there, we just couldn’t put one of those chances in during the second half,” added Baumgarten. “I’m happy with the way we started and the way we came back after they took the lead. I thought we might have been able to steal one here. But a lot of the time, when you face a team as skillful as they are, they are going to come back and make you pay for your mistakes. That’s what they did and that’s why they are going to walk out of here as champions.”
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