Saturday, November 3, 2007

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Tenafly keeper Ben Pearl kept a clean sheet as the Tigers knocked off River Dell, 2-0, in Friday's North 1, Group 2 state sectional quarterfinal.

TENAFLY -- Having beaten River Dell twice during the BCSL-American Division regular season schedule, the Tenafly boys soccer team did not need any extra boost heading into the third match between the teams on Friday in the quarterfinals of the North 1, Group 2 state sectional tournament. But five minutes in, the Tigers were handed a gift, they graciously accepted it and they never trailed on the way to a 2-0 win and a spot in Tuesday’s sectional semifinal.

River Dell came out running and put some early pressure on the Tenafly backline, but when the ball went the other way in the fifth minute, James McCarthy’s work in the corner paid off. The Tenafly junior controlled the ball with two defenders close before splitting them and finding a lane to send in a cross.

McCarthy kept the ball low, it deflected of a defender’s foot and went backwards into the net for an own goal that put the Tigers ahead for good with 75 minutes of physical soccer left to play.

Scott Wiggins (top) played well in net for River Dell, which finished its season with a 10-6-2 record.

“A win is a win. At this point it is all about playing tomorrow,” said Tenafly head coach Bill Jaeger, whose second seeded team will host No. 3 Kinnelon in the semifinals on Tuesday. “They had the own goal against them and that put them behind, but I think they got the play back toward the end of the first half. The ball was up in the air, we couldn’t get the ball on the ground, and they pressured us. There was no point where we could relax even after we gained the lead.”

Most of the first half was played between the 18s and River Dell’s best chance came from near midfield in the 40th minute. That was when Steve Melber lined up a restart and sent a long ball into the box and into a pile. A Tenafly midfielder gained possession and may have gotten away with a handball in the penalty area before clearing the ball out.

It was still 1-0 eight minutes into the second half when the Hawks’ PJ Belthoff made a bull rush up the middle, ran through a defender and got to within 18 yards before hitting a shot that curled around the outside of the left post.

Tenafly generated plenty of second half chances of its own with Mark Prussin getting off a rip that River Dell keeper Scott Wiggins took in the midsection in the 55th minute and both teams but together quality combinations in one entertaining sequence with just under 10 minutes to play.

James McCarthy's cross turned into the game's first goal and he drew the foul that set up the PK and Tenafly's insurance goal.

It started when a River Dell serve landed right in the middle of the penalty area with Tenafly keeper Ben Pearl sliding hard. Peal and Belthoff both got a foot to the ball at the same time, and Pearl also took a set of cleats to the knee.

He stayed down as play went the other way on a quickly organized counter attack that went through Nitsan Peled in the midfield. Peled carried into the final third and sent a cross to the opposite post that was just out of the reach of Prussin.

Pearl, a senior, stayed in the game after paying the price for a difficult save in a playoff situation.

“It’s always fun to play a rival like River Dell in any kind of game; league, county or state tournament. You always have to go out hard because it is played with passion,” said Pearl. “These last games are memorable because it's our last year of high school and we are all going to be going off to do our own thing, but we had a talk yesterday and we were talking about how we are all going to go out, throw our bodies at the ball and not give up until the final whistle blows.”

With River Dell inching up minute by minute in search of the equalizer, Tenafly started to test the waters for the insurance goal. McCarthy had a rip that went just high, Prussin hit a dart right at Wiggins then started the decisive play with just over five minutes left.

Junior forward Ryan McVeigh will be back next season for River Dell.

Prussin blew up a clearing attempt near the left sideline at midfield. The ball spit forward and Peled volleyed it to himself before taking off toward goal. Prussin joined the rush up the left side to force the defense to make a choice and Peled opted for McCarthy making a run up the right. McCarthy, running full speed, got off a shot that rolled just wide of the far post, and landed on the seat of his pants. He also drew a call for a foul that resulted in the penalty kick that Prussin buried for the final 2-0 margin.

“I had the ball, I pushed by [the defender] and the ref, I think, got a good look at it because he was right there,” said McCarthy, a junior who transferred in from Demarest before the start of the school year and has been a weapon for the Tigers all season. “I think it was a foul. He kind of dragged me down as I was shooting it and altered where the ball went.”

River Dell head coach Kevin Sabella might have had a different take on the play, but he wasn’t about to use it, or the own goal, as an excuse for the loss that ended a successful season a 10-6-2.

“The first goal in the first five minutes was an own goal off a cross and I thought the rest of the game I think they might have possessed the ball a little bit more, but we did create chances off their possession,” said Sabella. “We came up with some turnovers, but all season it’s been bugging us, just finishing in the final 20 yards and it did again today. But I thought we played hard to the end, I really did, and I am not disappointed at all.”

For as familiar an opponent as River Dell was, Tenafly will now switch to the opposite end of the spectrum in the semifinals against a Kinnelon team that has left Jaeger scrambling for a scouting report.

“I wish I knew something about them/ I’ll try to call some people and see if anybody around here has seen them. Kinnelon has lost to Morris Catholic and Pingry, two top teams, and not much else, so I know they are a pretty good team,” said Jaeger. “But we are a very strong team right now, we have a home game and hopefully we will be up for the task.”

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