Monday, October 29, 2007

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

HAWTHORNE – On paper, it seemed as if Hawthorne and Tenafly were as evenly matched as the seeds indicated. Hawthorne came into Monday’s North 1, Group 2 state sectional tournament game as the No. 8 seed and Tenafly as No. 9. They both came in with similar records and a strong desire to keep their respective seasons going. There was only one glaring difference between the two squads. Tenafly put the most dangerous offensive player on the field.

It took Tenafly’s Risa Rabinowitz less than 13 minutes to out her stamp on the game. The senior midfielder scored twice during that span and it proved to be enough as the Tigers kept their season afloat with a 3-1 victory.

“Risa is an outstanding player and she stepped up for us today,” said Tenafly head coach James R. Whitney. “She’s so unselfish and she makes all of her teammates better players. Any time a team makes the state tournament, it’s a new experience. I think Risa scoring a couple of goals quickly definitely gave us a nice cushion to play with.”

Rabinowitz showed off her on-the-ball skills, her deceptive speed, and a blistering shot all on one play less than seven minutes into the game. She took a pass along the sideline, beat a defender along the sideline, and dribbled near the top corner of the box. With Hawthorne sweeper Robyn Neri closing quickly, Rabinowitz unleashed a rocket that got past Bears’ goaltender Kara McNish and snuck inside the near post to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

“I just saw an opening in the near corner and took the shot,” said Rabinowitz, who is being courted by several Ivy League schools. “I was hoping to get the shot low because I saw that (McNish) was tall and athletic. The shot was higher than I wanted to be, I’m just glad it went in.”

Just five and a half minutes later, Rabinowitz knifed her way through the Bears’ defense again and scored. She took a pass on a diagonal run and then split two defenders. McNish came off of her line to challenge, but Rabinowitz touched the ball around her as well and tapped it into an open net, giving Tenafly a two-goal lead.

From that point on, the rest of the half was all Hawthorne. The Bears feverishly tried to get back in the game and did so by getting the ball to the fleet Katie Goitz up top. She created havoc and several scoring chances to boot. The Bears had five corner kicks over the final eight minutes of the half, until finally connecting on the last one. A knuckler off the right foot of Dana Corasiniti glanced off the keeper’s hands and into the net with 4:40 left in the half, cutting the lead to a single goal, 2-1.

Although they were down a goal, the Bears had all the momentum going into the second half. However, the tide quickly swung as Tenafly moved Rabinowitz back to a defensive midfield slot to help slow down Hawthorne. The move worked and the Tigers helped their own cause by netting an insurance goal in the 51st minute.

Rabinowitz carried the ball up the field before sending a through ball to Marisa Silber. Silber beat a defender up the left side, then cut back to get by the last defender. She carried the ball into the box and beat McNish from eight yards out to push the lead back up to two goals.

“Getting that insurance goal really relaxed us,” said Rabinowitz. “We were a little nervous after they scored late in the first half. I think our defense really stepped up. Once we got that goal, we knew that would pick us up even more.”

Hawthorne tried to get back in the game, but the Tigers’ defense stood its ground. The Bears had only one legitimate scoring chance the rest of the way off of a lefty shot from Goitz. Tigers’ goalie Ashley Mendez, who came on to start the second half, made her only save with five minutes to go to thwart any hopes of a comeback.

Tenafly (10-7) held a slim 14-13 edge in shots, while Hawthorne (11-8) held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. McNish had five saves for the Bears and Alyssa Sherry three for the Tigers.

Tenafly will see a familiar foe in Thursday’s North 1, Group 2 quarterfinal; BCSL-American rival River Dell, the defending Group 2 state champions. The Tigers will have to bring forth their ‘A’ game to stay with the Hawks, who outscored them by a combined 10-1 in their two regular-season meetings. But it is a task that the Tigers welcome.

“We know that we go into that game with nothing to lose,” said Silber. “No matter who we play, we have to be there mentally. I think we’re a better team than we were earlier in this season. We know River Dell is a very good team, but we’re going to go there and give it our best shot.”

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