Saturday, November 12, 2011

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Mikey Taranto ended Ramapo's 2-1 win over No. Highlands in the North 1, Group 3 state sectional final with a bullet into the upper shelf halfway through the first overtime.

FRANKLIN LAKES – Had the shot taken place on some random Tuesday morning during the preseason, all who saw it would have talked about it as nearly perfect. After all, its not easy to run full speed for 20 yards, time it perfectly so that the last touch before the rip is the one that gets past a defender while still leaving an angle, and then using the left foot to drill a bending ball into the upper 90 from 25 yards away. But being that that very shot was executed just under five minutes into the first overtime of a scoreless game between two fierce rivals with a state sectional championship on the line, it made it that much more impressive.

Mikey Taranto, the Ramapo junior who was moved back into the midfield two games ago after playing up top for most of the season, reverted to his scorer's roots when he took a pass from James Bounavita and started across the field. Taranto took two dribbles and then crushed it into the upper shelf to give Ramapo a 1-0 win over Northern Highlands and the North 1, Group 3 state sectional title for the first time since 2008.

“James Bounavita passed it across, I beat one man and I had the look. I just hit it and fell over and when I looked up it was in the back of the net,” said Taranto. “Instantly I just got up, the fans were on the field and it was just amazing.”

Highlands keeper Alan Tischbein saving a penalty kick in the final minute of the first half.

Brandon Alvarado was the one who played the ball up to Bounavita on the game-winning sequence and he had a great view as he trailed the play.

“I had the ball, I played it to Bones [Bounavita] and I saw that Mikey was on[sides],” said Alvarado. “Once I saw him take that first touch I knew it was either going to be a really nice shot or a really long shot over the goal. Obviously I was leaning more for the good shot and I saw the fire in his eyes. I knew he was going to get it done.”

That Taranto's goal came through the flow of play was almost as shocking as the quality of the shot itself. This was the fourth matchup of the season between Ramapo and Highlands and there were no secrets left. Both know that the others strength is scoring goals on restarts and most of the good scoring chances through the first 80 minutes came off throw-ins and free kicks. So when Taranto ended it with an exclamation point, Highlands head coach Sean Devore could do little but give credit, which he did with class.

“What can you say about that hit? Brilliant. It was a brilliant hit. He put it in the upper 90 from 25-30 yards out on his left foot. It was just sick. Nobody in the world saves that,” said Devore, whose team finished the season with a 14-5-1 record, 14-1-1 when the games against Ramapo are removed. “I wish them well, they are a good side.”

Sophomore James Bounavita assisted on Ramapo's overtime goal.

While no one in the world might have been able to save Taranto's shot, Highlands keeper Alan Tischbein did pull off a pretty neat trick late in the first half that would have been the celebrated sequence had the Highlanders been able to pull out a win. With just 46 seconds remaining in the first half, Sean Etheridge was bumped from behind inside the 18 and Ramapo was granted a penalty kick.

The Green Raiders don't have a specified shooter in such situations; he who gets to the spot first takes the PK, and it was Bounavita that stepped up. There was no issue to be taken with Bounavita's choice or the quality of his shot, but Tischbein guessed right, sliding to hit right to smother the shot at the post. The final 46 seconds ran off the clock and Highlands ran off the field still locked in a tie game.

“We talked a little about halftime about not letting them grab the momentum after the stopped penalty kick,” said Ramapo head coach Evan Baumgarten. “The keeper did a great job and made a great save on that penalty and it could have been a been a big momentum change.”

The other thing that was changing was the direction of the wind, which went against Ramapo in the first half, but then kind of switched to an east-west direction and was neutral in the second half. That made it almost a stalemate as each team took their chances trying to force the opposing keepers into mistakes with long throw-ins, free kicks and battles in the air around the six yard line.

PJ Aplanalp and the Northern Highlands seniors went out with a 14-5-1 record.

Northern Highlands had a quality chance with just over 12 minutes to go in regulation when a foul set up Santiago Raigoza with a direct kick from about 40 yards out that was flicked by Tim Collis, but just missed wide to the right.

Former Northern Highlands goalkeeper Jake Miller, a 2010 graduate, once said that playing goalie in the state tournament consisted of “hours of boredom, and minutes of terror.” Ramapo keeper Will Sheil could relate as he tried to keep Highlands off the board and give his team time to score.

“I would agree with that completely because our team is so good and we always have the ball up the field. I am usually sitting back there but it takes just one second to make a huge mistake and end everything,” said Sheil, who made nine saves to keep a clean sheet. “I rely so much on my defense and they all played really well today and we had to because we know Highlands is dangerous. That is why [this] win feels so good. It's the best feeling I have ever had in my life.”

Ramapo almost avoided overtime all together when, with just over 11 minutes to play in regulation, Taranto's throw-in from the left side was touched first by the head of Joe Doughan. The ball hit off a Highlands defender or two and was sitting there as Tischbein slid forward and Ian Foryessy, Ramapo's sophomore fullback, joined the fray. Foryessy got the bottom of his boot on the ball and got enough of it to push it toward the empty net, but Highlands' John Maschio somehow found away to clear it off the line while he himself fell backwards into the net.

Ramapo keeper Will Sheil made 9 saves to keep the clean sheet.

That brought on overtime and Taranto's goal, which came at the end of Ramapo's first sustained possession of the extra session. It also brought an end to Highlands season, which was a solid follow up to last year when the Highlanders won their first ever Bergen County title before getting hit hard by graduation.

“I am just proud of my boys. I don't think anybody lost more talent then Highlands did last year and to come back and get this far, to play a nationally ranked team to overtime in a section final, it was tough,” said Devore. “Ramapo just had the better year than we did this year, so I wish them well.”

Moving on to the Group 3 state semifinals means that Ramapo will get to play a big game against an unfamiliar opponent for a change. Ramapo (19-1) played Highlands in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals and in the state sectional final in addition to their two regular season matches and played Old Tappan in the county final and the North 1, Group 3 semifinals. Of its 20 games, Ramapo faced Highlands and Old Tappan a combined seven times.

But next up is Scotch Plains, the North 2, Group 3 champion that beat Chatham, 2-0, on Friday in the state semifinals to be played on Tuesday at Ridge High School in a 7:30 p.m. start. That game will be a rematch of a classic state semifinal played in 2003 and won by Ramapo in a shootout.

“I am a senior and I want to keep this going as long as I can,” said Alvarado, one of Ramapo's two senior starters. “High school soccer is too fun to give up.”

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