Monday, November 9, 2009

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Geo Esposito (right) scored off a throw-in in the 34th minute to give Don Bosco Prep the lead for good in a 3-0 win over Bergen Catholic in the final of the Bergen County Tournament.

ORADELL -- When Bergen Catholic knocked off Don Bosco Prep in two overtimes in a regular season thriller a few weeks ago, both coaches made reference to the fact that that game was only Round 1 of what would probably be a three-round fight to the finish. If all goes as expected in the Non-Public North A state sectional tournament, the two teams will go at it in the section final later this week. And if they both get there, they will be tied on the scorecards courtesy of the outcome of Sunday's Bergen County Tournament final in front of upwards of 1,700 fans at River Dell High School.

Don Bosco Prep’s Geo Esposito scored a goal on a long throw-in, the very tool that Bergen Catholic has used to such devastating effect in the tournament and this season, to take the lead in the first half and the Ironmen defended BC’s restarts all afternoon on the way to a 3-0 win and the county championship, the first under second year head coach Mark Maka.

“There is nothing better than having all of the guys on this team be a part of it of all of them sharing in this, said Maka, whose team fell to Ramapo in last year’s county final. “Last year we struggled a little bit with the team aspect a little bit, but it is not the case with this group. They are all sharing in this and it is great to see from a coach’s perspective.”

Connor Alexander had one of BC's best scoring chances, a flick that flew just high of the crossbar in the 47th minute.

Bosco took the lead for with 6:33 to play in a fast-paced first half when it won a throw-in along the left sideline. Ben Puccio hurled the ball toward the near post where Ryan Walsh was able to flick it on to the back post where Esposito was making a run. Esposito took the ball on the first bounce and banged it home.

“They got the lead, ironically, from one of those long throws that they say isn’t really soccer,” said Bergen Catholic head coach Mark Edge, whose team’s ability to score from the sidelines has generated plenty of conversation over the past few weeks. “It shows that if anyone has [a long throw] they are going to use it and they got up on us.”

While Bosco never took its foot off the gas when it went in front, it did have to make some concessions to Bergen’s ability on restarts, specifically Brian Pash’s long throws. The first was inserting junior Sandy Leavy into the starting goalkeeper’s spot and letting him use his 6-foot-4-inch frame to get off his line and into the fray in front of the net.

Still trailing by a goal midway through the second half, Bergen earned three restarts in a span of three minutes, two throws and a corner kick, and a three were played out in various ways by Leavy, whose right fist was his best defense.

Sandy Leavy was force in net for Don Bosco Prep.

“We practiced it for hours and we just knew what was coming. We had to make sure we [gave up no goals] on set pieces because we knew that was there best thing and we wanted to make sure we stopped it today,” said Leavy. “I am a pretty big guy and whenever I saw a ball I could go get I just wanted to go get it and stop them from scoring.”

Bosco also employed the tactic of placing its striker, George Velasquez, on the sideline in an attempt to alter the trajectory of Pash’s throws, but not long after employing that strategy, it was no longer needed. A foul called against Bergen Catholic just outside the box gave Bosco a free kick from 25 yards out just to the left of the center of the field.

McNamara bent the ball around the right side of the wall and inside the post for a 2-0 Bosco lead with 13:27 left in regulation. Four minutes after that, Bosco put the cherry on top of the win as Velasquez took possession in the midfield and sent Puccio on a run up the right side. Puccio got the corner before sending in a cross to Dylan Renna, who tapped it in with his first touch to close the scoring.

Randy Pearce and BC will try to regroup for its Non-Public North A state sectional semifinal match against Seton Hall Prep.

“The first time we played them (a 5-4 Bergen Catholic win in double overtime) we got up 2-nill and our guys kind of fell back and tried to protect that lead, but that is hard against Bergen. They have guys that are dangerous, guys like Marcelo [Escudero] who can do some things,” said Maka. “The idea for us was just to keep playing and do what we do well and what is working. We figured that if we were playing in this [offensive] end of the field then they wouldn’t have a chance for the throw, or at least not as many of them.”

The loss was Bergen Catholic’s first of the season and the Crusaders will have one day to get it out of its system before hosting Seton Hall Prep on Tuesday in the Non-Public North A sectional semifinals. BC is the No. 1 seed.

“There is a certain maturity that we are going to need now to pull ourselves back up. This was a tough one for us to take,” said Edge. “We’ll find out who they are on the field tomorrow and Tuesday, if they have the moxie, if you will, to dig deep and bring themselves back and get another shot at [Bosco] and hopefully that is what we have.”

Bosco, the No. 3 state tournament seed, will also have a home game in the section semifinals as it will host No. 10 Pope John, a 1-0 upset winner over No. 2 Pingry. The key now for the Ironmen is to not to get caught in a trap as it aims for what could be Round 3 against Bergen Catholic in the section final.

“We keep talking about how its about process and just going through the work, because if you start focusing too much on Bergen/Bosco, and I do it myself sometimes, I was up at 6 o’clock this morning thinking about it, you can lose your focus,” said Maka. “We have to play Tuesday, we are not looking past Pope John, and we’ll hope to have a good showing. The county championship is nice, but after we leave this field it is all about Tuesday.”

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