Wednesday, October 7, 2009

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Tara Corbett assissted on No. Highlands' first goal and set up a bunch of other chances in a 2-0 win over Indian Hills that improved the Highlanders' record to 8-0.

ALLENDALE -- As the wins pile up and the zero stays firmly entrenched in the loss column, every game is a big game for the Northern Highlands girls soccer team. Whether it is a league match against yet another inspired NBIL opponent or a Bergen County Tournament game like the one they will play on Sunday in the Round of 16, the Highlanders are getting used to the expectation of winning every time out.

“We know that it only gets harder from here. All of our practices are getting better, we are working so much harder and now that we have gotten to know all of the players, we graduated 10 seniors from last year, we know how each play,” said Tara Corbett, Highlands’ senior midfielder. “Honestly, I didn’t think we would be 8-0 at this point only because we have so many new players, but the new girls just stepped in and are doing a great job.”

One of those new girls is sophomore Taylor Pini, who is not a starter, but has been earning varsity playing time by providing energy to the attack when she comes in off the bench.

Indian Hills keeper Danielle Brogan making one of her 10 saves.

She was only in Tuesday’s home game against Indian Hills for two minutes when Corbett made a long throw-in from the left sideline. Alex Hubelbank, whose job it is to crash through the crowd and create a little havoc on restarts, did just that.

Pini jumped on the loose ball that Hubelbank shook free and found herself at the six-yard line with possession in a scramble situation for Indian Hills keeper Danielle Brogan. Pini calmly knocked the ball into the empty net for the first goal of her varsity career and the first goal in the Highlanders’ 2-0 win in Allendale.

“I was just hoping the ball would get by the first person and even if it didn’t I was hoping that I could get to it and score,” said Pini. “I want to prove that I can play up here [on the varsity level] and when I got the ball I didn’t want to miss the chance to put it in the net.”

Restarts were an asset for Highlands, which pushed the attack and forced the Indian Hills defense to either play the ball out or step to it in the open field or and superior numbers. The constant pressure finally paid off in Pini’s goal 13:24 before halftime.

Highlands’ second goal came less from than design than from one well struck cross that turned into much more. Melissa Fischera made a run deep into the right corner less than four minutes after halftime, got near the end line and then twisted in a service that, instead of finding a teammate, started to track toward the goal.

Melissa Fichera twisted in NH's second goal from a tough angle.

The ball kept spinning and forced Brogan to retreat in an attempt to guard the far post, but the cross turned shot found its way into the opposite side netting anyway for the 2-0 lead.

Comfortable in front, Highlands’ defense stood up to Indian Hills, which was forced to push up in an attempt to get back in the game. Sweeper Jessica Abrams led the well coordinated Highlander back line as it allowed just two shots to reach keeper Caroline Broder, who had little trouble in keeping the clean sheet.

“Defensively I think our marking backs played very well today with Kerri Bergin and Katherine Zysk and Jess Abrams played well,” said Highlands head coach Tara Madigan. “I certainly would have liked to have seen a third goal. We had chances to make it a little easier for ourselves, but we’ll settle for two. With the way our defense played, that was enough.”

Michelle Gogalen and Indian Hills will face Old Tappan in the Bergen County Tournament on Sunday.

Indian Hills (4-3-1) got another stellar effort from Brogan in goal as she piled up 10 saves, including two on one sequence with 11:30 to play in the game. Corbett split the last two defenders and stepped foot in the penalty area with possession only to be met by Brogan, who slid out hard to break up the play. The rebound went right to the foot of Lauren Glasheen, who hit one solid, but right at Brogan, who popped up just in time to keep snag the line drive.

It was a representative effort for Indian Hills, which has been hit hard by injuries in the last week. The Braves were without three starters (Brielle Buis, Danielle Andrade and Danielle Buonavita) against Highlands.

That being said, Indian Hills knocked off Fort Lee in the opening round of the Bergen County Tournament and, as the No. 7 seed, will take on No. 10 and league rival Old Tappan in the Round of 16 this Sunday. That game is scheduled for noon at Northern Highlands right before the host Highlanders, the No. 2 seed, take on No. 18 Waldwick.

“We’ve lost four girls [to injury] but that is not an excuse. We still expect to go out there and win with the girls we have and we didn’t do it today,” said Indian Hills head coach Jim Louden. “We made a mistake in the first half, another one in the second half and we didn’t apply enough pressure. But until the last 20 minutes when we were down 2-0, I liked some of the things we were doing out there against a good team and we just have to be more consistent in what we do well.”

Alex Hubelbank is Highlands' target on most restarts.

Madigan will also take more of the same for her team, but she knows that success doesn’t come by accident and that upsets, whether in league play or in tournaments, can be sprung at any time.

“Despite the fact that we have the counties coming up on Sunday, we are really just focusing on the day to day. Today we had a tough league opponent and Thursday we have another one in Old Tappan before we even get to the county game,” said Madigan. “I think that our kids are smart enough to know that the rankings and the seeds don’t mean anything. They are only a number on paper when you go into a game and any day in this sport anything can happen. Obviously we know that sometimes the most talented team or the most athletic team doesn’t always win, so we have to be ready to play.”

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