The Ridgewood Bracket
No. 1 Ridgewood (12-0) vs. No. 16 Dwight-Englewood (3-6), Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
Ridgewood sophomore Hannah Cermack is quickly developing not only a reputation as one of North Jersey’s best players, but also a knack for scoring clutch, timely and game-winning goals. On Saturday, in a contest featuring arguably the two best teams in New Jersey between the Maroons and undefeated Moorestown, Cermack capped a four-goal, one-assist performance with the game-winner with 27 seconds left in overtime. She finished with Ridgewood’s final three goals, including both OT goals and a game-tying score with 1:41 left in regulation, as the Maroons snapped Moorestown’s 88-game winning streak. For Cermack, the go-ahead goal came just weeks after delivering the game-winner against Summit (finished with a hat trick) late in regulation. The sophomores starred again against Moorestown, with Alex Absey striking for four goals in Ridgewood’s and Claire Smesko adding two scores, as the Ridgewood Class of 2017 scored 10 of the Maroons’ 11 goals. It was a major statement win from Ridgewood — whose offense still centers heavily around senior Jordan Ford (46 G, 29 A) — and featured a pair of goals while the Maroons were a man-down early in the contest as they raced out to a 6-2 halftime lead. As 10-time defending champions, the Maroons are the team to beat in the this year’s tournament again. Dwight-Englewood, coming off its best win of the year on Monday — a 20-8 victory over Demarest — is led by Stellar Mayer (34 points), Regan Contrucci (33 points) and Katie Park (29 points).
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No. 8 Pascack Valley (6-4) vs. No. 9 Paramus (11-0), Friday, 4:30 p.m.
Like any 8/9 matchup, this one has the potential to be one of the best games of the tournament. Paramus enters as one of three remaining unbeaten teams in North Jersey (along with Ridgewood and Northern Highlands) and is led by a pair of juniors in Julia Koenemund (53 goals, 14 assists) and Nicole DiPasquale (40 goals, 5 assists). The Spartans have quality wins this year over Waldwick, River Dell and Pascack Hills this season — all three of which have come by one goal — so the Spartans have been finding ways to win. Trailing by four last week against Pascack Hills in the second half, it was Koenemund and DiPasqaule who scored Paramus’ final five goals, willing the Spartans to a tough road victory. Pascack Valley, meanwhile, was awarded the 8-seed largely because of the tough schedule it has played. The Indians have fallen to Lakeland, Roxbury, Saddle River Day and Mahwah this season, but are 4-1 in their last five games (lone loss to Mahwah). Senior Lydia Christiano (25 goals, 14 assists), junior Natalie Bade (28 goal, 4 assists) and junior Ana Beyer (21 goals, 3 assists) give the Indians a trio of capable scorers in front of goalie Julia Vicchio (87 saves on the year).
The Immaculate Heart Bracket
No. 2 Immaculate Heart (8-4) vs. No. 15 Bergen Tech (5-5), Thursday, 4:00 p.m.
How ’bout that 10-5 win over Chatham from Immaculate Heart last Friday? Huge, huge win for the Blue Eagles — especially after back-to-back losses against Mountain Lakes and Oak Knoll in the two games leading up to Chatham (a team Ridgewood beat, 9-7, on April 17). The most impressive part of that win, aside from breaking a 3-all tie at halftime with a 7-2 run to end it — was the fact it received two goals apiece from five different players: Josie Zinn, Sam Marmo, Hailey Bossolina, Christine Weber and Catherine DeKorte. The Blue Eagles’ defense, anchored by Tara Cassidy (5 ground balls) and Jen Mistretta (2 GB), limited Chatham to just eight shots on goal. The usual suspects were at it again on Monday, with IHA keeping the momentum going with a 14-11 overtime win over Mendham. Zinn struck for six goals, Weber scored four, Marmo added two and Bossolina provided three assists, as the Blue Eagles outscored Mendham, 4-1, in extra time. Zinn is IHA’s leading points scorer with 26 goals and 20 assists on the year, while Marmo leads the team in goals, with 28. IHA will host Bergen Tech in the first-round — a team with a trio of capable scorers in Sydney Scherer, Kristen O’Neill and Julia Serrao. Scherer, with 59 points (47 G, 12 A), is averaging 5.9 points per game.
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No. 7 Glen Rock (9-2) vs. No. 10 River Dell (8-2), Friday, 4:15 p.m.
Call it The Rematch, with River Dell traveling to Glen Rock with redemption on its mind after a 14-11 overtime loss to the Panthers on April 15. The Golden Hawks, led by Gabrielle Davidson (34 goals, 12 assists), are 8-2, but are a few plays away from being 10-0 (OT loss vs. ‘Rock; 11-10 loss to Paramus). Kirsten Wozniak (21 G, 12 A), Gabrielle Toohey (15 G, 15 A) and Aimee Manzelli (21 G, 4 A — 4 G vs. Glen Rock in first meeting) have all emerged as offensive playmakers to pair with Davidson — and Army-bound senior goalie Kayla Rowley (5.63 goals against average, 59.1 save percentage) is one of the best in the county, and did all she could in the first meeting against Glen Rock (18 saves). Glen Rock isn’t short on offensive firepower, either, as McGara DeWan continues putting together a terrific senior campaign with 58 goals and 21 assists. She is North Jersey’s fifth-leading scorer with 79 points and recently surpassed the career 200-point mark despite missing most of her junior season with a torn ACL. Junior Killeen McDonald, who scored four goals and added two assists in Rock’s first meeting against River Dell, has supplied 18 goals and 13 assists on the year and senior Caitlin Callahan is right behind with 15 goals and 15 assists. The Panthers are young, with a slew of freshmen and sophomores in the lineup (like Mary Kate Horton, Jordan Russo, Alyssa Lorenz, Madeline Dill and both goalies Michelle Hillock and Elizabeth Burgoyne), but they’ve rattled off nine wins in their first 11 games, with losses only to IHA and Highlands. The rematch should be every bit as entertaining as the first contest.
For Part II of the Bergen County Tournament, click here
North Jersey Points Leaders through April 27 games, click here