Monday,
October 27, 2014
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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Josh Lupi celebrates after netting the game-winning goal in overtime as Ramapo advanced to the Bergen County final with a 3-2 win over Don Bosco Prep on Sunday afternoon. |
RIDGEWOOD – Ramapo senior Josh Lupi has always had to fight for his opportunities. Growing up in competitive youth clubs before working his way through all three levels of the Ramapo boys soccer program, every minute of playing time has been hard earned.
“[Lupi] has been with us since he was very young and he was always one of the smaller guys. When he was U-11 people said he should be a B team player, but we saw his ability. He has very good feet and we kept him up with us,” said Ramapo head coach Evan Baumgarten. “He's good at getting balls in tight spaces and staying composed.”
Lupi was in a tight space and he was certainly composed when he took a pass from Ryan Campbell just over four minutes into the first overtime of the Bergen County Tournament semifinals on Sunday. Lupi, who got some extended minutes because of an injury to Keeyan Hagshenas, did not back down from the moment. Instead he made it his own little piece of history inside the proud tradition of Green Raiders boys soccer as he spun and ripped a shot inside the right post to give Ramapo a 3-2 win over second-seeded Don Bosco Prep in the semifinals of the Bergen County Tournament.
“I just tried to do what anybody else on this team would have done; try to score,” said Lupi. “Charlie [Ortiz] made a pass to R[yan] C[ampbell] and RC tried to take a shot, but the ball came right to me. I took a touch and normally I would not have taken a shot, but I just hit it because the opportunity was there and I knew my team really needed a goal.”
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Mike Helgesen keeping his balance on the way to giving Don Bosco Prep a 1-0 lead. |
While he had scored just one other goal this season in a regular season game against Hackensack, Lupi had what looked like a well rehearsed celebration as he ran over and gave the corner flag a flying karate kick. Sixth-seeded Ramapo secured its second straight upset and its place in Friday night's county final against top-seeded and unbeaten Northern Highlands, a 3-0 winner over Bergen Catholic. The two league rivals have met twice this season with Highlands winning both.
But before it could earn a third shot at the Highlanders, Ramapo had to overcome to one-goal deficits against Bosco, which dominated the first 20 minutes of play. Deciding to cede the first 30 yards of the field at the outset, Ramapo allowed Bosco to bang the ball around in the back at its leisure. The Ironmen used the time to set up two chances in a 49 second span that did everything but go in the net.
Off a long throw-in, Martin Boyle hit a hammer from in close that hit the inside of the crossbar and went straight down without crossing the goal line and Ramapo keeper Armand Biagini had to parry another close range attempt over the bar less than a minute later.
Whether it was nerves or just that Bosco was on the front foot early, it took Ramapo a while to settle in. The Green Raiders started to connect passes and threaten on the wings midway through the first half, but that did not stop them from falling behind, Mike Helgesen, Bosco's talented and strong striker, split two defenders near the midfield stripe, kept his balance after being clipped from behind and charged in 1-v-1 before slotting the ball inside the right post to give the Ironmen a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute.
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Ramapo's Dylan Rocchio (17) in the middle of the scrum that led to the equalizing goal late in regulation. |
That was the score at the break, but it changed early in the second half. The play of freshman Sebastian Varella as a hold-up midfielder allowed Ramapo to get forward with number. Varella was consistently able to keep possession with his back to goal, which allowed his wingers to run off of him and Dylan Rochhio, the Raiders attacking center mid, to get to more forward areas. Rocchio was in the box when a scramble took place in front of the Bosco goal and he knocked in the loose ball to tie the game just three minutes into the second half.
That goal spurred the Green Raiders on, so it was against the run of play that Don Bosco took the lead back when Helgesen banged one in from the back post to make it 2-1 with 11:20 left in regulation.
Hard work and a piece of good luck got Ramapo back even with just under six minutes to go. Lupi made a diving effort to get on the end of cross in traffic, but could only manage to get a heel on it before the ball rolled out over the touchline. But the referee deemed it a Ramapo throw, which set up a long one by Kevin Winiarski, who hurled one to the penalty spot. Rocchio was in the middle of the pile-up and got a head and maybe another body part on the ball to redirect it inside the far post for the equalizer.
Rocchio and Matt Collins were were in on just about every restart opportunity and the second Ramapo goal was almost like a cumulative reward for persistence rather than one quick stroke of brilliance.
“This was a top level team we were up against and I knew that I had to step it up for our team to succeed today. I just did the best I could to bring it up a notch,” said Rocchio, a junior. “If we go down a goal I just try to help keep my team mentally in the game and both times [we fell behind] today I think we did a good job of not panicking and we just kept playing our game.”
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Freshman Sebastian Varella's hold-up play enabled Ramapo to get forward with speed and space. |
Rocchio got Ramapo even late in regulation and Lupi sent the Green Raiders, who lost to Bosco in a penalty kick shootout in last season's semifinal round, into this year's final early in the first overtime. On the other side, the result was a tough one to take.
“This was definitely not the way we expected this tournament to end for us this year. I give Evan [Baumgarten] and his boys credit. They did their homework and their boys executed well. We took out foot off the accelerator a little bit and we got punished for it,” said Bosco head coach Vince Sileo. “I will tell my kids to keep their heads up high. We are still in first place in our division, we are ranked No. 1 in the state non-public and we still have a lot to play for and we'll try to get it done.”
Ramapo will try to get done something it has not been able to do so far this season when it gets its third shot at Highlands on Friday night in the county final at Indian Hills High School. Both regular season matchups have gone the Highlanders way in 2-0 and 1-0 results.
“As a coach I have been to a bunch of these [county] final games and we will make sure the kids know the fun of being a part of it,” said Baumgarten. “But we have to play Paramus on Tuesday first and right now we are only looking forward to that.”
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