Monday, October 12, 2009

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Megan Lannigan scored Paramus' first and last goals in a 3-0 win over Demarest in the Round of 16 at the Bergen County Tourney.

MAHWAH – There are always interesting story lines in Bergen County Girls Soccer Tournament and one of them played itself out on Sunday in the Round of 16. When Paramus met up with Northern Valley/Demarest at Mahwah High School, it was a matchup between last season's surprise team and this year's feel-good story. Paramus came from the No. 13 seed a year ago to reach the semifinals, while Demarest has come out of nowhere to not only get into the tournament for the first time, but also earn the No. 5 seed in this year's draw.

Despite what the numbers said, however, Paramus head coach Vic DePasquale did not see his team as an underdog.

“I told the girls all week long that I didn’t feel like this game was 5 [seed] against a 12 [seed], it was more like a 4 against a 5 and we were the 4 seed,” said DePasquale. “We got off to a rough start. We had some tough breaks in the beginning of the year and they kept us at 3-3 coming into the tournament and that is why we were seeded 12th. We hadn’t really beaten a good team, but once we started putting things together I knew we would show our true colors.”

Demarest keeper Megan Galadeta pushing a Paramus shot over the bar.

Paramus wore their colored uniforms on Sunday, the dark blue shorts and jersey indicative of the lower seed, but the Spartans certainly didn’t play like it was at a disadvantage. Less than 13 minutes in, Sarah Cortes made a deep run up the right side, cut in on the end line and then played a low cross to Megan Lannigan, who hammered home the game’s first goal at the far post.

Paramus (7-3-1) never let up in a 3-0 victory, its fourth in its last five games to go with a tie, and moved into the quarterfinals where it will take on No. 4 Mahwah next Sunday. Paramus upset Mahwah in last season’s Round of 16 to set up their tournament and it is the Thunderbirds that stand between the Spartans and a second straight trip to the semifinals.

“I think we are going to go far just like last year. We have this winning streak going now and we are not stopping. We want to win,” said Lannigan. “I think everybody on our team wants to keep winning in this tournament, especially for our seniors.”

Paramus was the more aggressive side and nearly upped its lead two minutes after it scored the first goal. Jenny Zymet tested the right side and got in to an angle where she could launch a shot at the far post only to see Demarest keeper Megan Gadaleta make a dive to her right to snuff the opportunity.

Kristina Meier was a force in the midfield for Paramus, which is 4-0-1 in its last five games.

Demarest nearly tied the game in the 17th minute when a scramble in front of the net left Danna Wasserman with the ball on her foot 22 yards from goal and the keeper off her line. Wasserman lofted a shot on target, but Paramus’ Ashley Roessler took it down with her chest to keep the Norsewomen off the board.

A scrum on the other end of the field later minutes later ended with an opposite result. Paramus got numbers into the box and strong work by Lannigan and Lauren Fiorino kept the ball free long enough for Sarah Cortes to knock it into an open net for the 2-0 lead that Paramus took into halftime.

Paramus added the cherry midway through the second half when a hard cross by Kristina Meier ricocheted off a defender and right to Lannigan who pounded home her second goal of the game with just over 20 minutes left to play.

“We had some really tough games and our record didn’t show how good we are, so we wanted to come into the county tournament and show how good of a team we are,” said Meier, who was a force in the middle of the field, directing the attack and winning extra possessions. “We wanted to play to feet. We knew we had the skill to get by them and we wanted to win every 50/50 ball. We did that.”

Danna Wasserman almost put Demarest on the board but her shot was cleared out by a defender.

Demarest had its last chance to break up the shutout in the 66th minute when Lauren Malagian raced up the left side and served a ball toward the far post from where Julian Cresci took a swing, but her volley was taken confidently by Paramus keeper Alex Garey.

Although the loss put an end to Demarest’s county tournament run, it did not put a damper on what is already the best season in the history of the program. Demarest’s 1-0 win over Lyndhurst in the opening round was the Norsewomen’s first-ever county tournament win. Coming off a 3-13 season last year, Demarest now sits at 7-4 and in line for the program’s first-ever state tournament bid.

Needless to say, head coach Brandon Silva is proud of his troops, the loss to Paramus notwithstanding.

“We were 3-13 last year and we have never had more than six wins in the history of the school. A lot has happened very fast,” said Silva. “To even make the county tournament was amazing, to get a No. 5 seed in the county tournament was unbelievable and to be here in the second round…it’s almost like surreal. The kids are starting to hate to lose and they believe in themselves. This game is a bit of a downer, but we’ll get right back at it.”

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