Sunday, October 25, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Robert Palmarrozza is all smiles after his goal early in the first overtime gave Wayne Valley a 1-0 win over Passaic Valley and its third county title in the last four years.

WAYNE – Robert Palmarrozza’s job of anchoring the Wayne Valley defense is neither a glamorous job nor an easy one. His defensive play has been essential to Wayne Valley having a fine season to date, but he felt, as did his teammates, that their season would be defined by whether they won a Passaic County title or not. It looked as if they might have to share that crown after being deadlocked with a stingy Passaic Valley squad looking for its first county title in nearly two decades. Through 80 minutes of regulation, both defenses held their ground in a scoreless duel.

But with one overlapping run early in the first overtime, Palmerrozza found himself alone at the back post hoping a pass would come his way for a rare scoring opportunity. Despite having just one goal so far this season, Palmarrozza did not hesitate in a big spot when the ball came his way.

The senior sweeper headed Dan Bellet’s cross into the back of the net 1:46 into the first overtime period to give fourth-seeded Wayne Valley its third Passaic County title in four years with a 1-0 victory over sixth-seeded Passaic Valley at Wayne Valley High School.

“I don’t get to score much, so this is a crazy feeling to have, scoring in such a big game,” said Palmarrozza. “When the ball went into the net, I couldn’t believe it happened. The good thing for me is that it happened so fast that I didn’t have time to think, I just reacted. When my teammates started rushing the field, I knew the goal counted and it was over.”

Despite already having played one another in the regular season (a 3-2 Wayne Valley overtime win after trailing 2-0 at the half), the first half seemed like more of a feeling-out process with neither team able to mount much of an attack. The best chance for either side came just minutes in when Wayne Valley’s Anthony Nucci was taken down near the top of the box, but no foul was called. The Indians had another chance late in the half on a long volley by John Kelly. Passaic Valley goaltender Mike Libucha made a fantastic leaping save to punch the ball over the crossbar and keep the game scoreless heading into the second half.

Rafael Marques and Passaic Valley fell one goal short of their first county title since 1991.

Wayne Valley began to take control of the possession game in the second half behind midfielder Jason Rosenberg, but that also left the Indians susceptible to Passaic Valley’s counterattack with speedsters Ryan Dunphy and Giancarlo Reda up front.

Both teams were able to execute their style of play well in the second half, but neither could crack the scoreboard. Libucha made several clutch saves and the Hornets were not able to get off shots from in close, in large part to the steady play of Palmarrozza in the back.

As they headed towards overtime, both teams had to take more chances. It was simply a matter of who would create that opportunity first and what that team did with it when that chance came.

Less than two minutes into the first overtime, Rosenberg ran onto a long through ball up the middle of the field for a breakaway. Libucha came off of his line to Rosenberg to touch the ball around to his right. Libucha (who had eight saves in the game) retreated into position and the angle was too tough to shoot from, so Rosenberg laid the ball off to Bellet at the top corner of the box. Before the defense was able to react, Bellet delivered a perfect cross over the Hornets’ defense to the far post for the tallest player on the field.

“When you get into overtime, you just think about scoring anyway you can,” said Rosenberg, also a standout on the basketball court for Wayne Valley. “I knew I couldn’t get a shot off and saw Dan Bellet open and laid it off to him. Before I knew what happened, the ball was in the net. (Palmerrozza) had a huge smile on his face and I knew we did it. Of the three county titles we won in my four years here, this one takes the cake.”

Palmarrozza was unmarked and headed the ball past Libucha and into the net for the only goal of the match and the biggest goal Palmerrozza has ever scored in his life.
“It’s a great feeling to win a game like this,” said Wayne Valley head coach Dan Kilday. “Passaic Valley is a great team that is really dangerous on the counterattack. (Palmerrozza) has been an unsung hero for us all year and I’m glad he was the one who got the game-winner.”

Jason Rosenberg was in the middle of Wayne Valley's winning combination.

The loss was a bitter one to swallow for Passaic Valley (8-7-1). The loss denied the Hornets their first county title since 1991 when they shared the crown with Wayne Hills.

“No doubt about it, it hurts right now,” said Passaic Valley head coach Mike Couden. “I thought both teams battled and both teams played well. It was going to come down to one mistake, one breakdown on either side that was going to be the difference. All the credit to Wayne Valley though, that was a beautiful goal and we have to tip our cap. It’s tough to think ahead right now. But we’ll regroup and I think we’ll be a tough out in the state tournament just like we were last year.”

Chris Riviello (four saves) had his third shutout in the last four games for Wayne Valley (15-2-1). More importantly, the Indians have won their third Passaic County championship in the last four years. That moves them into a second-place with Passaic Valley for the most titles in Passaic County Tournament history with four. The win also was their eighth in a row.

While there are still regular-season games remaining and a potential long run in the state tournament, everything from this point in the season on is merely a bonus. The Indians have already achieved their main priority.

“We come into every season with playing our best and winning a county title as our goals,” added Palmarrozza. “It’s like a dream that this is happening right now, it hasn’t set in yet that we won it. It was a great game for all of us, and for me it was the perfect ending.”

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