Sunday,
November 1, 2009
By
Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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| Catherine
Zysk scored on a penalty kick with just over 12 minutes to
play in regulation to give Northern Highlands a 2-1 win over
Ramapo in the Bergen County semifinals. |
ORADELL – The
Northern Highlands and Ramapo girls soccer programs have gone
head to head so many times that there ceased to be secrets long
ago. The two teams have locked horns in the NBL twice every regular
season, they battled it out in county tournament play numerous
times and also always seem to gravitate toward each other in the
North 1, Group 3 state sectional playoffs. The latest edition
of the rivalry took place on Saturday morning and the difference
this time around came after Kristine Battle launched a corner
kick toward the opposite post with the game tied in the 68th minute.
The ball took a course
not to far from the goal line and as it arced over the keeper,
it was even curling toward the far post. Whether or not it would
have found itself inside the side netting or rolling toward the
corner at the end of its route became a moot point when a defender
used her hand to make sure the ball’s course was altered.
“I am terrified
every time I take a corner in a game like this because, of course,
we need all of the opportunities we can get,” said Battle.
“When it was curving in I was just hoping that someone could
get a head on it. Some of my teammates said it was going in and
that is why she chose to hit it out, but I couldn’t tell
if would have gone in.”
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| Sarah
Halejian scored on a free kick to give Ramapo the first lead
of the game. |
There
was less of a doubt about Catherine Zysk’s penalty kick
that immediately followed the handball. Zysk knocked the ball
into the left side with 12:07 left in regulation and that made
the difference in Northern Highlands’ 2-1 win over its rival
in the semifinals of the Bergen County Tournament.
“It [the corner
kick] looked like it was going to go in the goal and the girl
put a hand on it, I saw it and I knew we were going to get a penalty
kick,” said Zysk, a junior. “When I stepped up to
the penalty area I knew I had to go with confidence and I just
put it away. It feels great. We are still undefeated and we are
going to the county final.”
That
the game came down to one play late in the second half was no
surprise. The teams are evenly matched, have been for the past
decade or so. Ramapo, which knocked Highlands out of the county
tournament in the semifinals last season, had taken a 1-0 lead
in the 10th minute when Sarah Halejian converted a free kick,
but the advantage lasted for only about six minutes when Melissa
Fichera assisted on a Tara Corbett goal that got Highlands even.
The
sides then took turns putting dangerous combinations together
in search of the game-winner. Ramapo had the last quality chance
of the first half when Amanda Baumgarten took possession of a
throw-in on the right side, beat a defender and then sent in Katherine
Papera on a diagonal. Papera moved into space and took a shot
at the low left before Highlands keeper Caroline Broder got down
to keep the game even heading into the intermission.
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| Highlands'
Kristine Battle hit the corner kick that led to the handball
and the decisive goal. |
Highlands
had the first good chance of the second half when Valerie Sydnor
got off a rip from the right side that made for a tough save for
Ramapo keeper Emma Giegerich. Giegerich was up to it, but the
rebound bounced to Eilis McGovern, who knocked it right back on
net. Giegerich scrambled back just in time to snag the liner in
the 45th minute.
“It was a battle
and I think both sides played well. It was like 15 minutes good
for Ramapo, 15 minutes good for Highlands and it went back-and-forth
as usual,” said Northern Highlands head coach Tara Madigan.
“We watched the tape last night of the last time we played
them [which ended in a tie] and we gave up way to many fouls and
giving up fouls to Ramapo is almost like giving up a goal, so
we came into today with it in mind to limit those opportunities
that we gave them last time.”
It was the first loss
for Ramapo (15-3-1) since opening the season with three straight
losses, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort.
“It’s like
I have been telling people leading up to this week, we knew we
were playing a great team. They don’t have a goose egg in
the loss column for no reason and I am very proud of the way my
kids played, extremely proud,” said Ramapo head coach Paul
Heenehan. “We had a plan of attack, it worked and a lucky
break here or there and the outcome could have been different.
We easily had enough opportunities on net to win that game and
that is all you can ask.”
But it was Highlands
that came away with the victory and move to within one win of
its first county title since 2005 when it shared the title with
IHA, which will be its opponent again next weekend in the championship
game.
“This
is a great feeling, especially coming back here after we
lost to Ramapo last year in the semifinals. Coming
out here today and having a win is definitely an accomplishment.
These kids deserve it. They’ve had a heckuva year and they
deserve it,” said Madigan, before making a startling admission
for a coach whose demeanor during games usually ranges from angry
to really angry. “I am very happy.”
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