Sunday, November 1, 2009

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Stephanie Scholz helped set up then scored the second goal of IHA's 2-0 win over Mahwah in the semfinals of the Bergen County Tournament on Saturday at River Dell.

ORADELL – Stopping the Immaculate Heart girls means stopping all of the Blue Eagles. For sure there are standout players all over the field for the two-time defending Bergen County champion, but there is not one that an opponent can point to and say, “Stop her and we stop them.” The Eagles have too many options to choose from and used them all to keep the pressure on Mahwah all the way through a 2-0 IHA victory in the semifinals of the Bergen County Tournament on Saturday at River Dell High School.

Just over eight minutes into the game and with the advantage of having the wind at its back, IHA made its first successful connection when CJ Graetzer sent in corner kick that was headed home in traffic by Erin McGovern. IHA had most of the quality early chances, but Mahwah had a few of its own and putting the first one home allowed the Blue Eagles to settle in.

“I was impressed by Mahwah. I thought in the first 10-15 minutes they did a lot of nice things and presented problems for us,” said IHA head coach Steve Silver. “It’s a cliché that it is always important to score the first goal, but today I thought it was even more important than usual because of the wind advantage. When you get a lead you hope that they start to doubt themselves a little.”

Mahwah keeper Emily Secor had a busy day against IHA's attack.

While its first goal might have been its most important, it was IHA’s second goal that showed off just how talented the Eagles are and how well they play together as a team.

In the 25th minute, Stephanie Scholz was in possession of the ball moving toward the sideline with a defender applying pressure from behind. Instead of moving the ball blindly or trying to knock it off her pursuer to win a throw-in, Scholz decided to slow the pace. She locked the defender in place while looking for options.

The option presented itself in the form of Ashley Clark, who over-lapped from midfield and Scholz’s delicate drop pass sent her up the side into the right corner. Clark then shook her defender, won the end line and forced Mahwah to give up a corner kick and the impressive sequence continued when the ball was put back in play.

McGovern was the first to the corner kick and she flicked it back to Zoey Tallis, who was positioned at the top corner of the penalty area. Tallis took one touch then looped in a re-serve to the middle of the box. Scholz won the battle in the air and headed it over Mahwah keeper Emily Secor to give IHA the 2-0 lead it took into halftime and held the rest of the way.

Zoey Tallis about to chip in the serve that led to IHA's second goal.

“They did a great job of putting us on our heels and making us chase more than settling [the ball] and playing to feet like we normally do,” said Mahwah head coach Michael Wright. “They scored off of two corner kicks like they do very well. They are a good team and they certainly dominated possession and played their style.”

IHA nearly made it a three-goal lead shortly after halftime when McGovern played one up to Tara Schwitter, who was shoulder-to-shoulder with a defender on a dead run. Schwitter took the ball down with her chest and her next touch was a chip that covered about 30 yards before clanging off the crossbar and out.

But the last 35 minutes were a give-and-take as Mahwah started to return the pressure and move the ball through their talented midfield trio of juniors Nicole Lee and Jordan Davis and senior Brittany Albrecht. The Thunderbirds’ best chance to break up the shutout came in the 58th minute when Albrecht took on a defender and forced a foul barely outside the penalty area about 15 yards from goal on the left, but the restart bounced off IHA’s two-player wall and was cleared aside.

“I thought we did settle in but we still didn’t play to feet and possession like we are capable of doing, partly because we were down to goals. We didn’t step up the way we should have and that is more frustrating than having the other team go out and put five goals on you,” said Wright, whose team goes from county tournament semifinal underdog to Group 2 state sectional tournament contender. “Everything is a building block and everything is a learning process for the girls and for us as coaches. Although you don’t want to be out of the county tournament it certainly narrows your focus a little more. We’ve got the league title and a state title to play for.”

Gabby Cuevas (left) and IHA are looking for a third straight county title, while Nicole Lee (right) and Mahwah can now focus on winnning league and state titles.

On the other hand, IHA is a week away from playing for its third straight county tournament title and its fourth in the last five years. The top-seeded Blue Eagles came in as the favorite; they have played like it to this point and have done as well handling the pressure of keeping their county tournament dominance in tact as they have been in handling their opponents.

“We have a little bit weight on our shoulders, but we accept that,” said McGovern, IHA’s talented junior center-mid who is just back from a quad injury that did not seem to slow her down on Saturday. “It’s hard to defend the title, but that is what our goal is every year and we look forward to the challenge.”

The lone remaining challenge is Northern Highlands, the No. 2 seed that tied IHA (18-2) in the 2005 final to force a co-championship.

“It’s going to be a tough one, but I have confidence that our team will be fine. We will be working hard all week and we’ll try to take it to them,” said Clark, IHA’s senior midfielder. “We want to win our third straight.”

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