Friday, May 27, 2011

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Pat Routh's goal with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave Northern Highlands an 8-7 win over Ramapo and a spot in the Group 2 semifinals.

FRANKLIN LAKES –  Under the circumstances, there was little time for a plan. It was a transition situation for Northern Highlands in the waning seconds of Thursday’s Group 2 state tournament quarterfinal against rival Ramapo and Pat Routh saw an opening and a golden opportunity.

“It was pure instinct. Go to the goal is all that I was thinking. I knew time was winding down,” said Routh. “We still had some time to make something happen and we had to get that goal.”

Routh cut to down the middle, took a pass from DJ Bonafacic slipped into the net from close range to give Northern Highlands its only lead of the game and the only one it needed. Routh’s second goal of the game with 17 seconds left in regulation capped of Northern Highlands’ come-from-behind 8-7 victory that sends the Highlanders, the No. 8 seed, into the Group 2 state semifinals against second-seeded Chatham.

Northern Highlands trailed 4-1 at the end of the first quarter, by 5-2 at halftime and was getting sliced up by Ramapo cutters, who were getting into the passing lanes for quality scoring chances far more than the Highlanders wanted.

Chris Colaneri's goal with 4:17 left in regulation gave Ramapo a 7-6 lead.

“If we had lost this game we would have regretted the effort we put out there in the first half, but the guys made the plays down the stretch,” said Highlands co-head coach Brian O’Rorke. “We switched to zone, they were giving us some trouble, but honestly it just came down to will. Riding, defensively, sticking the big opportunities at the end of the game, the boys really stepped up when it was time to show what they were made of.”

Ramapo took the lead 89 seconds into the game when Zach Hirsch switched from his right, cut to the middle and shot left-handed for the game’s first goal. A give and between Routh and Bonafacic on which Bonafacic scored from in front tied the game at 1, but Highlands would soon find itself behind for the rest of the first half and well into the fourth quarter.

Dan Smith scored from the edge of the crease off an assist from behind the net by Dan Steimel to put Ramapo back in front and they would hold the lead for the next 34:25 of game time. Smith’s goal off a feed from Sal Sassano gave the Green Raiders a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and the teams traded goals in the second quarter to leave Ramapo with a three-goal lead at the break.

Although it was behind, it could have been worse for Highlands, which was outplayed for the better part of the first 24 minutes. And the Highlanders quickly got back into the game in the third quarter.

Highlands' James Temple scored all three of his goals in the fourth quarter.

“It was not tactical, it was all confidence. We just didn’t believe in ourselves in the first half, we came out kind of shaky. At halftime the coaches kind of got into us,” said Routh. “That was when the team started believing and we knew that the second half was ours.”

Highlands keeper Justin Schick made three saves to keep Ramapo off the board for the first 9:06 of the third quarter and allowed his team to close the gap. Mark Collis scored from in close on the power play  1:10 into the second half and Routh wrapped around the net and found a hole to draw the Highlanders to within 5-4 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.

Ramapo scored in transition on a pretty play by Jon Chester to temporarily slow the momentum. Chester went to his knees to corral a pass from the midfield and quickly moved the ball to Sassano who put home the Raiders’ first and only goal of the third quarter. But in the fourth, Highlands resumed the chase.

The Highlanders scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter, the second one from James Temple tied the game at 6 with 6:51 to go in the game. Ramapo took the lead when Chris Colaneri sliced in to put his team up 7-6 with 4:17 to go before Temple scored the prettiest goal of the game to retie it 31 seconds letter.

Sal Sassano goal late in the third quarter gave Ramapo a 6-4 lead heading into the fourth.

Temple came in on the left side and left his feet, diving across the crease and letting the shot go while airborne. It when in the score was all even at 7 with 3:46 to play.

“It was a fastbreak and my guy hazed a little toward the middie coming down. I just dove toward the crease and beat the goalie top shoulder. I’ve seen that type of shot done before and in that second it just came to me,” said Temple, who scored a team-high three goals, all in the fourth quarter. “This was a game that we were looking forward to all year. Ramapo beat us during the regular season, they beat us by two goals in the states last year and we didn’t want this to be the last game that we all play together.”

Both teams had chances in the final two minutes. Ramapo (14-9) had a shot blocked with 1:50 to go, but Northern Highlands, after a timeout, turned the ball over just eight seconds later. Ramapo’s final three possessions ended without a shot on goal and their final chance went by the boards when a pass aimed to start the offense behind the net end up over the end line.

That gave Highlands the ball back and Routh’s goal with 17 seconds left gave the Highlanders their only lead of the game, their 11th win of the season and a spot in the semifinals against Chatham.

“When it comes down to the playoffs it really doesn’t matter what you have done prior. It comes down to 48 minutes and you can’t take your record on the field with you,” said O’Rorke. “We will take our chances. We’ll try to get as much information on them as possible and we are looking forward to mixing it up with Chatham on Friday.”

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