Tuesday, October 9, 2007

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Kelly Wiederhold scored in the 17th minute to give Ramapo the lead for good on the way to a 2-0 win over Northern Highlands.

ALLENDALE – Northern Highlands senior striker Danielle Schulmann just might be most explosive offensive player in all of New Jersey and if not she is certainly among the top couple. A defense must be ready for her to run full speed for the full 80 minutes if necessary. She will use her superior balance and overall soccer skill to score at least a goal somewhere along the way and even if she is held scoreless, her presence on the field opens up space for her teammates.

But what caused Ramapo head coach Paul Heenehan to be concerned heading into Monday’s matchup at Northern Highlands was how his team would react when it found out that Schulmann, out with a foot injury for the better part of the last two weeks, would be relegated to the bench.

“One of the things you always worry about is when an opponent loses a player the caliber of Danielle [Schulmann] is that your team will let down and take it a little easier than they might have if they knew she was going to be in the game,” said Heenehan. “What I am most proud of today is that we came and played our game against what is still a very good team, obviously the second seeded team in the County [Tournament].”

No. Highlands' keeper Catherine Broder finished with nine saves.

Ramapo’s game was that of offensive possession and defensive pressure. The Green Raiders, played with the wind at their back for the first 40 minutes, locked the ball in the offensive third for long stretches and went ahead for good in the 17th minute. Ramapo added a second half goal and gave up only three shots on its own net for a 2-0 win that keeps the Raiders unbeaten at 7-0-3 on the season.

The go-ahead goal came off a corner kick. Avery Jackson hit it to the top of the penalty area where Allison Maresca won the battle in the air and knocked the ball forward. Kelly Wiederhold jumped on the loose ball and placed it into the upper right on her first touch.

“Allie won the ball on a header and it bounced right toward me,” said Wiederhold.“I just wanted to make sure I got the shot on net and it went in.”

Ramapo goalie Caroline Shiel did not get many touches through the first 28 minutes and did not face a shot on goal until Leah Taylor swung a cross to the 18 yard line where Anne DiBella hit a hard shot toward the far corner with her right foot. The ball was likely heading wide of its mark, but Shiel took no chances, diving high and to her left to make sure the ball stayed out.

JoJo Pisani gave Ramapo a two-goal cushion with a header in the 46th minute.

A header that went over the bar four minutes later was Highlands only other real chance in the first half as Ramapo maintained its 1-0 lead into the intermission.

“I don’t think our team played well today. Ramapo came out strong, they came out to win, they beat us to every ball and they deserved to win. They were the much better team today,” said Highlands head coach Tara Madigan, who declined to use Schulmann’s absence as an excuse for her team’s lack of offense. “She’s a phenomenal player, she’s an offensive threat and without her it affects us, but there’s people on the team that are capable of scoring and unfortunately they did not get the job done today.”

Ramapo made a serious bid to extend its lead less than three minutes into the second half when JoJo Pisani hit a hard shot from in close that turned into the best of the nine saves made by Highlands keeper Catherine Broder.

But Pisani was not to be denied three minutes later. Amy Van Dyk took on a defender with a strong run up the right side and got off a cross to the middle of the area where Pisani won position and flicked a header inside the second post to close the scoring in the 46th minute.

Anne DiBella had Northern Highlands' best scoring chance of the first half.

Ramapo has one more game at Demarest on Thursday before the county tournament gets going on Sunday where the Green Raiders, seeded fourth, await the winner of the play-in game between 13th seeded Holy Angels and No. 20 Midland Park in the Round of 16.

“We’ve worked very hard in practice the last four or five practices on certain aspects of the game and actually executed it in this game against a very good team,” said Heenehan. “If we are doing that now and we continue to move forward, then the sky is the limit.”

Highlands (7-1-2) is seeded second in the Bergen Tournament will and take on the winner of the play-in game between No. 15 Hasbrouck Heights and No. 18 Teaneck in the Round of 16 on Sunday. The status of Schulmann is yet to be determined as whatever ails her foot has yet to be officially diagnosed.

With the first loss of the season now in the books, is Highlands’ season at a crossroads?

“Hopefully it is a learning experience, but it can go one way or the other,” said Madigan. “It really depends on how these players handle it.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.