Monday, October 22, 2007

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Freshman Sarah Halejian (left) celebrating her game-winning goal with less than 11 minutes left as Ramapo knocked off defending champion Pascack Valley, 2-1, in the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals.

OAKLAND -- If there is a downside to having a long history of talented players in one of the state's most dominating girls soccer programs, it is that eventually the four-years of eligibility come to an end and those players have to be replaced when they move onto the next level. For Ramapo, that meant replacing forward Brittney Steinbruch, who is now the top scoring freshman in all of Division 1 women's college soccer, and Samantha Depken, who was one of the state's top goalies last season and had the scholarship to prove it.

And while junior keeper Caroline Shiel and freshman forward Sarah Halejian were not exactly expected to replace the two graduated stars that they replaced, but rather to just find where they fit in the team concept inside a program that strives to win championships year in-year out.

But Sunday, both players did a pretty good impression of the ones who have moved on. Shiel made a brilliant save early in the second half when the game was still scoreless to deny a sure goal, and Halejian converted a spur-of-the-moment opportunity to knock home the game winning tally.

This pileup led to the game's first goal scored by Pascack Valley's Lindsey Hickey (15).

Halejian’s goal off a drop pass from Allie Maresca with 10:38 remaining in the second half was the difference in Ramapo’s 2-1 win over fifth-seeded Pascack Valley, the defending county champion.

“Allie had the ball in the box and I saw her lay it back to me. I just took a touch and saw the keeper leaning toward the near post so I just tried to slot it toward the near post,” said Halejian, who has more than held her own on the varsity level in soccer, supposedly her second best sport behind basketball. ”Everyone has an equal role, we all contribute and we play like a team. That is how we won today.”

But it did not necessarily look like the Green Raiders were a shoe-in for the semifinals as Pascack Valley closed the first half strong. The Indians had a five-minute late in the first half in which they won two corner kicks, put two shots on goal and had another, a rip by sophomore Lindsey Hickey, carried just over the bar.

And just 3:10 into the second half, Melissa McKeary locked a defender on her back, turned to her left to create space and there was nothing wrong with the path she chose. McKeary hit a screamer back to the post right post that was right on target.

This is Caroline Shiel's sick save, although the photographer was out of position.

That was when Shiel made as nice a save as is possible in high school girls soccer. She laid out left and pulled the ball down in mid air to preserve the scoreless tie, at least for the next eight minutes.

“The girl [McKeary] got a good pass from the outside and hit a good shot,” said Shiel. “I just dove in the air and got it.”

But PV did manage the game’s first goal and it came in the 54th minute on a physical play. Shiel, Ramapo sophomore Avery Jackson and PV’s Hickey all converged near the top of the penalty area in pursuit of a ball played in from the right side. There was a collision, and there was also Hickey’s right foot, which hit the ball first and knocked it into the open net and the Indians went up 1-0.

“The only time you panic when you go down 1-0 is you watch the next four or five minutes and you see how your team responds,” said Ramapo head coach Paul Heenehan. “I looked at my kids as we started to play and I said, ‘OK, we are all right.”

Junior Kelly Bassett assisted on the Pascack Valley goal.

In fact Heenehan needed even less than four minutes to see the result of his team added intensity. Just two minutes after falling behind, Jackson played the ball up to Amy Van Dyk and she hit the ball on the diagonal toward JoJo Pisani, who was a step or two inside the penalty area. Pisani kept the ball moving on its course, but added a lot more pace to it, one-touching the ball inside the far post to tie the game.

Ramapo had the next two chances, the first was an Anna Drehwing shot that flew the crossbar and the second was Halejian’s game-winner that sends the fourth-seeded Green Raiders into the Bergen County semifinals where they will play the top seed and also unbeaten IHA.

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