Saturday,
October 24, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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David Perez was one of two Secaucus players to finish with hat tricks as the Patriots rebounded from an upset loss with a convincing 9-1 win at Ridgefield. |
RIDGEFIELD – No team in North Jersey has been on as twisting a roller coaster ride in the past week as Secaucus’ boys soccer team. After pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the year by not only beating defending Group 1 state champ Harrison, but doing it by a healthy 4-1 margin, the Patriots turned right around and got upset themselves by Leonia.
With the state tournament approaching, the Patriots need to find that consistent excellence that could lead to a deep playoff run. Their first chance to head in that direction came on Friday on the road at Ridgefield.
Brian O’Connell scored with less than a minute to play in the first half and that opened the floodgates. David Perez kept it going by scoring in the first minute of the second half. Secaucus scored five times in the first 12 minutes of the second half with both Perez and O’Connell notching hat tricks as the Patriots rolled to a 9-1 win over Ridgefield.
“We were on top of the world after beating Harrison and came right back down after losing to Leonia,” said Secaucus’ senior captain Joe Ferrara. “You can’t come out against anyone flat and we learned our lesson from it. We have to treat every opponent like we did against Harrison.”
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Ridgefield's Steven Han making a run through the midfield. |
Secaucus caught a break right out of the gate when a misguided back pass ended up in the back of the net. Ten minutes later, Edwin Argudo slipped a pass between two defenders for a breakaway attempt that Perez buried to make it 2-0.
Ridgefield (2-13-1) showed some fight late in the half, earning several dangerous corners and direct kicks before putting one away. Michael Goldman used some heads-up thinking by taking a quick kick after being taken down just outside of the box and put it in the side netting to cut the Royals’ deficit to 2-1.
The Patriots got the momentum back right before the half with O’Connell using his speed to outrace the Royals’ defense to a long ball and slipping it past the Ridgefield keeper with 42 seconds remaining as Secaucus grabbed a 3-1 halftime lead.
In the second half, it was all Secaucus, which took control early and wasted no time in tacking on a few more goals. Perez lined a hard left-footed shot from a tough angle off the far post and in. O’Connell and Perez scored within the next four minutes before Rob Walshe got into the act with a goal of his own. O’Connell capped his first career hat trick and a five-goal spurt in 12 minutes with a header to make it 8-1.
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Brian O'Connell had scored three times for Secaucus, which improved to 12-6. |
“We always have to keep our foot on the gas,” said Perez. “I think we came in a little cocky after beating Harrison and got humbled against Leonia. You can’t get too high off of a win or too low after a loss. We have to play our game and then worry about the next one. We wanted to come in today and keep constant pressure on their defense and we did that pretty well.”
Anwar Alkhabaz also scored for Secaucus (12-6). Sabino Petruzzeli had five saves and William Postel had two for the Patriots.
After last year’s upset-laden run to the North 2, Group 1 final (where they played tough before losing to Harrison), the Patriots hope to find some consistency in the coming week before the state tournament begins.
“Coach (Chris) Garcia has been preaching consistency from day one and we’re finally starting to get there,’ added Ferrara. “Keep possession and keep attacking, that’s where we’re at our best. When we play our best, we’re really confident and we feel like nobody can beat us. But we have to play with the intensity every game and play every game like it’s our last.”
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