Monday, October 15, 2007

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

George Velasquez and the Bosco attack looked crisp in the 7-0 win over Dumont on Sunday in the Round of 16 of the Bergen County Tournament.

ORADELL -- Don Bosco Prep has had its fair share of success in the Bergen County Boys Soccer Tournament. From 1996 through 2004, the Ironmen were in the county final nine straight times and won three titles in the four years from 2001-04. The Ironmen seemed to own the tournament until two years ago when Indian Hills pulled a shocker in the 2005 Round of 16. Throw in a loss to Tenafly in penalty kicks in last year's quarterfinals and Bosco feels it has something to prove, but does it?

The Ironmen come into this year’s tournament as No. 1 seed and with a perfect 12-0 record. Watching them take apart Dumont, 7-0, in the Round of 16 at River Dell High School on Sunday, they are clearly the favorite to win it all, especially with second-seeded Ramapo, the defending co-champion, falling to Englewood in a stunning upset.

Bosco won’t need any fancy gimmicks and can even withstand a few bad breaks along the way as long as it sticks to what it has done against every opponent it has played this season to date. Against Dumont, the Ironmen scored three times in the first 14 minutes and then dominated possession the rest of the way as they cruised into the quarterfinals.

Justin Licamelli and the Dumont defense were under heavy pressure all game long.

“It’s been the story of our season so far, our ability to get possession and have most of our possessions be quality possessions. What I mean by that is that it ends up in a shot on goal, a save or losing the ball in the final third,” said Bosco head coach Roy Nygren. “All year long that has been the case. We get a lot of guys around the ball getting into good spots and guys on the ball are making good decisions in terms of who deserves the next touch.”

It took a brilliant performance in net by Tenafly’s Ben Pearl to eliminate Bosco from last year’s tournament and it would have taken the same from Dumont keeper Sam Gerais for the Huskies to have a shot on Sunday. Gerais made two spectacular saves in the early going, but the pressure from the Ironmen proved just too much.

Christian Valdivia knocked the lid off the goal and Eric Jorgensen added two more on Bosco’s next two shots, the second a rocket into the upper shelf from 30 yards out 14:15 into the game. Just like that it was 3-0 and Ronny Scardino and Tom McNamara each scored before halftime to put Bosco up
5-0 at the break.

“After last year we know that every game in the county tournament is going to be a challenge and you have to respect every team. For us it is a matter of keeping our composure and staying relaxed out there,” said Eddie Butler, Bosco’s senior defender and a team captain. “We talk about that Tenafly game from last year all the time and they are here now. We hope they win so we can get another shot at them.”

Justin Lees and Bosco moved the ball around the pitch with precision.

And it will happen. Pulling the mother of all upsets against Bosco last year when it survived 100 minutes of pressure and then won in PKs, Tenafly pulled another rabbit out of its hat against Northern Highlands in Sunday’s No. 8 seed vs. No. 9. After another 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, Tenafly made all five of its PKs and watched as the fifth Highlands shooter met with the crossbar and the Tigers advanced into the rematch.

“We know that we can’t be complacent and that we have to bring it every game,” said Zach Morrisey, Bosco’s senior sweeper. “Getting that first goal is so important, it just opens up the game for us. We thought that Dumont might try to pack it in, but once we got that first goal they really couldn’t do that so the first goal for us no matter who we play gives us a big advantage.”

ELSEWHERE IN THE TOURNAMENT:
Englewood’s upset of Ramapo means that three BCSL-American Division teams are through to the Final 8 as third-seeded Cliffside Park (13-0) advanced in the final game of the day with a 1-0 win over Lodi.

It is also the first time that Ramapo has not made the quarterfinals since 1991 when it lost to Cliffside Park in the Round of 16 as the top seed when only 16 teams made the draw. Current Cliffside head coach Jim Fucci was in goal for the Raiders in that game 16 years ago and finished with 19 saves.

Back to the current century, Wanderson Silva scored the game’s lone goal midway through the second half against Lodi to put Cliffside into the quarters for the sixth consecutive year. The Raiders will take on Paramus, the defending co-champion and No. 6 seed.

“I thought our youth and inexperience in the county tournament showed in the first half yesterday,” said Fucci. “I thought we connected better in the second half, but still not like the way we are capable of.”

Englewood’s upset also ensures that a double digit seed will be in the semifinals. Englewood is the No. 15 seed and will take on No. 10 Paramus Catholic, a 1-0 winner over No. 7 Wallington, in the quarterfinals. The other quarterfinal will match No. 4 Bergen Catholic against fifth seeded Ramsey. Both had comfortable wins on Sunday as BC was a 5-0 winner over Waldwick and Ramsey got by Glen Rock, 3-1.

And one more quick note: River Dell, which dropped a heartbreaker, 1-0 against Paramus in the Round of 16, knocked off Englewood, 3-0, in league play on Monday.

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