A full recap of today’s Bergen County girls soccer tournament Round of 16 action, with additional reporting from Ridgewood (PC-PR and RW-MAH) by Record correspondent Jim Hague.
Paramus’ Julia Koenemund scored twice in the Spartans’ 6-5 shootout victory over Lyndhurst after the two teams played to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtimes.
No. 8 PARAMUS 0, No. 24 LYNDHURST 0 (at Allendale): Glenn Haug was so exhausted and so relieved to be moving on, he didn’t even remember how the game ended. “Honestly, I’m so drained right now, I’m drawing a blank on the end,” the Paramus girls soccer coach said Sunday night following the eighth-seeded Spartans’ 6-5 shootout win over tournament Cinderella and 24th-seeded Lyndhurst following 100 minutes of scoreless play in the Bergen County tournament round of 16 at Northern Highlands.
Upon further review, it was later determined the Spartans’ trip to the BCT quarterfinals was sealed when Lyndhurst’s must-have penalty kick attempt when trailing by one sailed wide left past Paramus keeper Nicole DiPasquale (six saves in regulation and extra time) to spark the celebration. That followed PK goals from Paramus’ Lorraine Moffit, Julia Koenemund, Shelby Breen and Kaitlyn Scrivanich in a five-round shootout that ended tied at 4 then additional goals from Moffitt and Koenemund which sealed the thrilling and nail-biting victory.
“Oh yeah, they were definitely excited,” Haug said of his team once the marathon tournament classic went final. “But I’m the one getting gray hair after these games.” Paramus will now see national No. 1 Northern Highlands twice this week. The first will come in a regular season league game Tuesday, the second will be in the BCT quarterfinals Sunday at Indian Hills.
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Ridgewood freshman goalie Britt Cunningham helped lead the Maroons to the biggest upset of the round of 16, making nine saves in Ridgewood’s shootout win over Mahwah.
No. 12 RIDGEWOOD 1, No. 5 MAHWAH 1 (Ridgewood wins, 3-1, on PKs) (at Ridgewood): The Maroons pulled off the biggest upset of the round of 16 behind the play of a pair of freshmen: goalie Britt Cunningham and midfielder/forward Allie Landino. Cunningham made nine saves, including two key ones in the second overtime period.
“I’ve been in these situations before,” said Cunningham, mentioning club soccer experience. “I just handle the pressure. I zone out the crowds and block out everyone to get it done.”
And Landino scored the Maroons’ lone goal in regulation in the 67th minute off an assist from Val Diaz and added one in the penalty kick portion. Landino was the third and final scorer for Ridgewood in the shootout, following successful strikes from Mari Fernandez and Annie Shaw.
“I was so open that I had to make it,” said Landino, who scored her third varsity goal. “I just knew that I had to do my best. I was so excited when I scored that I was shaking.” Mahwah’s Sarah Jordan tied the game in regulation on a goal with just under seven minutes remaining.
Full game story of this game can be found in Monday’s Record.
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Paramus Catholic’s Melyna Portal capped a BCT marathon with her penalty kick shootout goal to give the Paladins a 4-2 shootout win over Park Ridge on Sunday.
No. 4 PARAMUS CATHOLIC 0, No. 13 PARK RIDGE 0 (Paramus Catholic wins, 4-2, on PKs) (at Ridgewood): After the two teams played to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtimes, the Paladins won it in a shootout after four straight goals from Juliana Mascelli, Ever Collette, Gemma Perez and Melyna Portal. Portal’s PK goal sealed the deal, ending Group 1 Park Ridge’s valiant bid for the upset.
“It’s a really big role,” said Portal, a senior captain. “We practice PKs all the time, so I was ready. I go last because of tradition and superstition. I just had a feeling I was going to make it, but I was shaking so much that I wanted to cry.”
The Owls entered — and officially remain — undefeated at 10-0-2 after Sunday, which counts as a tie in the standings. Paramus Catholic goalie Reyna Villar made six saves in regulation and extra time and made one diving stop to her right during the shootout.
“I think this showed how strong we were mentally,” Paramus Catholic coach Bill McPartland said. “A game like this builds up mental strength. Park Ridge is a fantastic team, an undefeated team. I knew their kids work hard. If you work hard, then good things will come. This is how you do it.”
Additional coverage of this game can be found in Monday’s Record.
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Old Tappan sophomore Cleo Pontone shown here scoring the Golden Knights’ lone goal in their 1-0 upset of Ramsey in Sunday’s BCT Round of 16.
No. 10 NV/OLD TAPPAN 1, No. 7 RAMSEY 0 (at Ramsey): Old Tappan sophomore Cleo Pontone, normally a defender but playing midfield for just the second time this season, delivered her first varsity goal of her career — coming off the bench — in the 26th minute and the Golden Knights made it hold up in the upset win over the Rams. Pontone cleaned up a deflected shot on goal from teammate Kelly Walsh near the left post for all the offense NV/OT would need on Sunday.
“I honestly think Cleo is a midfielder, but she’s playing defense for us just because of the way our team has been,” NV/Old Tappan coach Tom Quinn said. “I’m glad I put her up there today. She’s going to be a big part of this team for the next few years. She’s one of those kids you want on your team. You know she’ll help you out down the road.”
The Knights’ defense made some plays to preserve the shutout, most notably sweeper Caroline O’Sullivan’s goal-saving foot stop and clear on a potential Ramsey game-tying goal with 28 minutes left and defender Ashley Sullivan and goalie Maia Levenshus combined save at the goal line in the first half on a Meredith Edwards shot on goal from 25 yards out — one minute before Pontone put NV/OT ahead.
The Golden Knights will meet No. 2 IHA in the BCT quarters Sunday.
Full story on this game coming in Monday’s Record.
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River Dell’s Julie McGovern scored the game-winner with five seconds left in overtime to propel the Golden Hawks past Pascack Valley.
No. 6 RIVER DELL 2, No. 11 PASCACK VALLEY 1 (OT) (at Hillsdale): River Dell’s Julie McGovern intercepted an attempted Pascack Valley clear out of the box from 25 yards out, took one dribble and ripped the game-winner over the head of the Indians goalie — with the keeper getting a hand on it, though not enough to keep it from crossing the goal line — with five seconds left in the first overtime to propel the Golden Hawks into the county quarterfinals.
River Dell’s Caitlyn Devine gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the second half before Pascack Valley’s Cassidy Mazzone tied it to force OT. RD’s Allison Sorkenn made 11 saves in the win.
River Dell is 7-1 since star forward Rachel Sorkenn went down with a season-ending injury (broken fibula) in the fourth game of the season and 9-1-1 overall.
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Northern Highlands’ Claire Jamieson (left), Morgan Busacca (center) and Casey Richards (right) all contributed in Highlands’ 4-0 win over Holy Angels.
No. 1 NORTHERN HIGHLANDS 4, No. 16 HOLY ANGELS 0 (at Allendale): Outside back and Fordham-bound senior Morgan Busacca scored twice and Amanda Pook and Amy Harris both added one as the top-seeded Highlanders improved to 11-0 with their 17th straight win, dating back to last season.
Casey Richards provided two assists for Highlands, which scored twice in each half and will meet No. 8 Paramus in Sunday’s quarterfinals. The two teams met earlier this season with Northern Highlands prevailing, 4-0.
Kayla Klatt needed to make just one save for Northern Highlands’ ninth shutout of the year on Sunday and Claire Jamieson and Claudia Dipasupil both added assists in Sunday’s victory.
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IHA’s Sophia Gulati scored twice in the Blue Eagles’ 3-2 win over Fair Lawn on Sunday.
No. 2 IMMACULATE HEART 3, No. 15 FAIR LAWN 2 (at Ramsey): IHA’s Sophia Gulati’s second goal of the game with 15:08 left put the Blue Eagles up, 3-0, but the relentless Cutters didn’t go down without a fight.
Kira Meerholz scored with seven minutes left and Lisa Kestelboym ripped a laser 40-yard free kick that found the back of the net with 3:34 left to make things interesting down the stretch, though the Cutters couldn’t get any quality looks over the final three minutes.
IHA’s Hayley Baer scored on a breakaway midway through the first half to put IHA up, 1-0. The Blue Eagles will meet No. 10 NV/Old Tappan in Sunday’s quarterfinals.
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Ramapo picked up its eighth straight win — and eighth straight shutout — with its 4-0 win over Pascack Hills on Sunday.
No. 3 RAMAPO 4, No. 14 PASCACK HILLS 0 (at Hillsdale): Ramapo’s Nikki Butler scored twice and Taylor Pani and Bianca Capozzi both added one as the Green Raiders picked up their eighth straight win and eighth consecutive shutout since a 2-2 start.
Olivia Kraebel provided two assists and goalie Lizzy Stellakis needed to make just two saves in the win.
Ramapo will meet No. 6 River Dell in Sunday’s quarterfinals.
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Sunday’s Bergen County Girls Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal Matchups
at Indian Hills
(1) Northern Highlands vs. (8) Paramus, 11 a.m.
(3) Ramapo vs. (6) River Dell, 1 p.m.
(2) Immaculate Heart vs. (10) NV/Old Tappan, 3:30 p.m.
(4) Paramus Catholic vs. (12) Ridgewood, 5:30 p.m.