Friday, November 4, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Rebecca Skovira scored the last of her three goals with 4:19 left in the second overtime to give Park Ridge at 3-2 upset win over 2nd-seeded Emerson in the North 1, Group 1 quarterfinals.

EMERSON – Running through every ball is what every soccer coach on every level of soccer preaches on a daily basis. It is a message that Park Ridge senior takes Rebecca Skovira takes to heart. No matter what the score, no matter how important the game is, Skovira tries to get to every ball and make a play. Potentially playing her last game in a Park Ridge uniform and facing archrival Emerson in the state sectional quarterfinals, Skovira was going to leave it all on the field; and she showed that her coach’s words throughout her years as a soccer player did not go unheeded.

All three of Skovira’s goals were a result of sheer hustle. The last of which came with 4:19 left in the second overtime to lift seventh-seeded Park Ridge to a wild 3-2 upset over second-seeded Emerson in a North 1, Group 1 quarterfinal match on Thursday at Villano Field in Emerson.

Between the weekend storm and having a first-round bye, Emerson came in well rested and clearly was the fresher team early on. The Cavos got several scoring chances off of long throw-ins from Ashley Johnston until one finally connected. Marissa Cerniglia’s scissor-volley bent just over the fingertips of Park Ridge goalie Kristina Bravo and underneath the crossbar in the 21st minute for a 1-0 lead.

Marissa Cerniglia’s scissor-volley gave Emerson a 1-0 lead.

The Lady Owls were reeling before they caught a lucky break three minutes later. A long ball was misplayed in the back and Skovira never gave up on the play. She ran onto the ball and then slipped a shot inside the right post to knot the score at 1.
The game plodded along from there with both teams having limited scoring opportunities until Park Ridge grabbed the lead.

Off of a corner kick, Amanda Confreda collected the ball 15 yards out and hit a shot off the crossbar. Emerson sweeper Jaclyn Boselli went to blast the ball of the Cavos’ end of the field, but Skovira was again there to challenge. The clearing attempt miraculously hit off of her collarbone in the middle of the box and deflected back into the upper left-hand corner of the net with seven minutes to play in regulation to make it 2-1 Park Ridge.

“I just wanted to get a piece of it and keep it in the zone,” said Skovira. “I got hit pretty hard and before I knew it, the ball was in the net. I guess I was just in the right place at the right time, but there was still some time left.”

The Cavos went on the attack in the next few minutes to keep their season alive as long as possible. They eventually netted the equalizer on a hustle play of their own.

Kristina Bravo made six saves for Park Ridge, which will play the winner of Saddle Brook vs. Midland Park in the sectional semifinals.

On a three-way collision between Emerson’s Juliana Lacey, Park Ridge sweeper Haley Azevedo and Bravo, Lacey was able to get just enough of her foot on the ball to pop it loose near the top of the box. Boselli, who normally would not be anywhere offensive third of the field except in a desperation situation, was right there to knock the ball into an open net with 1:36 to play in regulation to tie the game at 2 and send it to overtime.

After scoring the tying goal late and with the home crowd behind it, it seemed like Emerson would carry that momentum over into the extra session. However, the Lady Owls stood their ground and only allowed one shot combined in the two overtime periods.

The game appeared destined for penalty kicks until Skovira used her size to her advantage on yet another hustle play that led to the game-winning goal. Two Emerson defenders, Emerson goalie Lea Georgatos, and Skovira all converged on a long ball from Carly Bergmann at the same time. The 5-foot-11 Skovira was able to knock both defenders off the play as the ball squirted loose just inside the top of the box. Skovira pounced on the loose ball and chipped into the open net in the 97th minute to put the finishing touches on her second consecutive hat trick and give Park Ridge its biggest win in recent memory.

“It felt amazing to win like that and especially to do it against Emerson,” added Skovira. “We have so much respect for them and I know pretty much all of the girls on their team. Every time we play Emerson, it’s going to be a battle because it’s such a rivalry. We had to run through every ball and give it everything we had to pull out a win.”

Lea Georgatos made four saves for Emerson, which finished its season with a 13-4-3 record.

Skovira’s hat trick was her second straight in state tournament play for Park Ridge (10-8-2). She also found the back of the net three times in a 7-0, first-round win over 10th seeded Cedar Grove. The Owls, who got six saves from Bravo, also got solid play from Bergmann and Nash Birch. Georgatos made four saves for Emerson, whose season came to an end with a 13-4-3 record.

Park Ridge will go on the road again to face the winner of sixth-seeded Midland Park and Saddle Brook, the No. 3 seed, in the North 1, Group 1 semifinal round. The quarterfinal between Midland Park and Saddle Brook will be played on Friday at 2 P.M. The winner of that game will be home again to Park Ridge in the semifinals on Monday also at 2:00 P.M. With both Emerson and top-seeded Pompton Lakes being upset in the quarterfinals, the bracket is now wide open.

Park Ridge head coach Dave Schneider knows that winning a game like this shows that his team is capable of great things to come.

“We had to make big plays at big times and we were ready for anything thrown our way,” said Schneider. “I think we were disappointed when they tied the game to send it to overtime, but we came back and fought even harder. I could have gone into a long speech before overtime, but it was the state tournament and it was Emerson, nothing had to be said. Our kids knew what they had to do, they went out and they did it.”

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