Monday,
October 20, 2014
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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Ramsey's seniors have been to four straight county finals and got their first win on Sunday as the Rams beat six-time defending champion Northern Highlands, 2-1, on Sunday at River Dell High School. |
ORADELL - As successful as a season as Ramsey has had in 2014 and as many wins as they have amassed, there was only one win that the Lady Rams truly wanted. So much so that it consumed the thoughts of this team’s seniors from the end of the last season all the way until they got th the matchup they have been desperately waiting for. Once again they battled Northern Highlands for county supremacy; something the Rams have done in each of the past six seasons only to come away empty.
The Ramsey seniors knew that all of the success thus far did not matter if there was not a Bergen County title to go along with it.
With the score tied at halftime, the Rams had finally had enough. No more playing conservative, no more watching the Highlanders celebrate as the final whistle blew. They no longer could accept being second best. Enough was enough in their eyes, it was finally time to be the ones doing the celebrating.
Mary Pless and Victoria Corriston scored less than two minutes apart early in the second half. Goalie Jana Mones made some big saves down the stretch as second-seeded Ramsey held off a late rally to end the long hex and claim its first outright Bergen County title with a 2-1 triumph over top-seeded Northern Highlands on Sunday at River Dell High School.
“Ever since we lost to them last year in the county final, getting back here and beating Northern Highlands in the final was the motivation for our entire season,” said Mones. “We’ve worked so hard to be county champs. To hear that final whistle was an amazing feeling knowing that all of our hard work paid off.”
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Northern Highlands' Jordan Paton scored her North Jersey-leading 26th goal of the season. |
The first half was filled with end-to-end action with Ramsey eventually taking control of the game in the midfield with senior Lia DiPiazza leading the way. DiPiazza was all over the field, winning loose balls, making plays, and in turn not allowing the Highlanders to get any rhythm offensively.
But as the first half wound down, the Highlanders made a serious bid for the lead. They earned four corners over the final three minutes, including two in the final seconds. Senior standout Jordan Paton nearly scored with under a minute to play but McKenzie Bishop cleared her shot off the goal line as the Rams escaped the late flurry and the game was still scoreless heading into the second half.
“That was an opportunity for us to set the tone for the entire second half but Ramsey hung tough and we couldn’t cash in,” said Northern Highlands’ head coach Rich Smith. “We always want to play our best in the first five minutes and the last five minutes of a half. It turned out it was them to ended up setting the tone with those two quick goals to start the second half and we had to fight an uphill battle from there. I thought we fought hard and showed alot of heart, but it was a big hole to climb out of.”
Ramsey regained control and needed just a tick under five minutes in to take the lead. Jess Bell carried the ball out wide and sent a cross in front of the net. Pless was there to knock it in and give the Rams a 1-0 lead. Just 1:58 later off a scramble in front, Victoria Corriston got her stick on the loose ball and knocked it home to make it a two-goal lead.
“The play happened quickly. I just saw the ball in front of me and reacted to it,” said Corriston, a four-year starter. “We were really pumped up but there was still alot of time left and we hads to keep playing hard.”
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Mary Pless' goal gave Ramsey a
1-0 lead. |
From that point on, the Highlanders played with a sense of urgency and made it clear that they were not going to give up their title so easily. Sophomore Fiona Walley had a great individual effort to knife through the defense and draw Mones off of her line. She got a shot off towards the net and Paton was there to slam it into the open net for her North Jersey-leading 26th goal of the season, which cut the lead to 2-1 with 18:42 to play.
Over an eight-minute stretch late in the game, Northern Highlands dominated play and earned numerous corners. The best of those coming with just over ten minutes to play where Mones had to charge out and make a sliding save off of a hard shot by Paton. The suspense went right down to the end with Northern Highlands earning both a short corner and a long corner in the final 52 seconds. The short corner was cleared out without a shot and Alice Kim deflected a centering pass as the final seconds ticked off and Ramsey went crazy in a celebration that was long overdue.
“It was a constant clock watch at the end,” said DiPiazza. “I can’t tell you how slow time seemed to be going over the final few minutes. We just had to keep our composure and focus on the play in front of us. It was crazy there at the end, but I’m so happy and I wouldn’t want it to end any other way.”
Mones did a solid job in net for Ramsey (15-1-1) with 10 saves. DiPiazza, Bell, and Kassidy Shetler all played well in the midfield for the Rams. Victoria Marino had 11 saves for Northern Highlands (15-1), which will now turn its attention to defending their North 1 Group 3 section title, where they will be the top seed for the second straight year.
After avenging its only loss of the season and six years of frustration against their archrival in one fell swoop, Ramsey’s season is technically over but it is complete. The one goal the Rams wanted more than any other has finally been checked off.
“We had to believe that we were the better team and get in that mindset that this was our game to win,” said Ramsey head coach Becky Fantry. “It puts all of your time, your effort, your sweat, your tears from past years all into perspective. When you win a game like this and you can be county champs, it is all worth it and I couldn’t possibly be prouder of this team.”
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