October
26, 2003
March 21,
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| Clifton's Jen Carrara (right) helping to keep the game scoreless in a battle against Wayne Hills Nicole Locantore. | |
HAWTHORNE - All year Wayne Hills and Clifton have been eagerly awaiting a possible meeting in the Passaic County final and yesterday they finally got to go toe-to-toe. Despite Clifton's all-state midfielder Nicole Krzysik not being in the lineup for a U-19 national team commitment, both teams had their share of offensive stars capable of breaking a game open at any time.
But it was the defenses that dominated throughout regulation and into overtime. Each team had dreams of scoring early and holding on for a county title, but instead there were no winners or losers.
Wayne
Hills (12-4-2) had its chances to put one in the back of the net late in the
second half and in the second overtime period, but a stingy Clifton (14-0-1)
defense and the strong play of keeper Jen Carrara held off the charge and
the teams had to live with being named co-champions after 100 minutes of soccer
that ended in a
0-0 tie.
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| Alli Donofrio provided many of Wayne Hills' top scoring chances. |
"This is great, yet bittersweet at the same time," said Wayne Hills head coach Michael Shale. "We had a full team effort and they played well also. We could have been intimidated with Clifton being one of the best teams in the state, but we kept the pressure on them all day. Everyone on both teams stepped up and it was a fun game to watch. It would have been nice to get some closure on the game, but we're still county champs and that can't be taken away from us."
Alli Donofrio and Mariel Pepe have been a nightmare for opposing defenses and Wayne Hills' one-two punch up front provided more than a few dangerous situations for Clifton's well-organized defense. Donofrio and Pepe combined for three legitimate scoring chances in the opening half, but none found the back of the net.
Two of
them came in the game's first 10 minutes as an 18-yard shot by Donofrio was
saved by Carrara and Pepe, the sophomore striker, used speed to get loose
on a breakaway. Pepe, who celebrated a birthday on Saturday, was not able
to give herself the ultimate present, however, as her shot was pushed wide.
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| Jillian Fueshko (right) and the Clifton defense played their usual steady game. |
"I think we did great against the wind in the first half," said Clifton head coach Stan Lembryk. "We knew they were going to get their chances because they put so much pressure up front, but our defense held their ground and played tremendous throughout."
The Lady 'Stangs started strong in the second half behind the play of midfielders Kristin Mikolajczyk and Kayla Devlin. They won several balls on the ground, put the ball to the flags with consistency, and created a pair of scoring opportunities. Mikolajczyk's came nine minutes into the second half, but her shot curved just over the crossbar.
Fourteen
minutes later, Devlin won a ball at midfield and, on a counterattack, put
a through ball to dangerous striker Nicole Tahan on the left wing. Tahan dribbled
in alone and was about to rip a shot from just inside the 18, but the hustle
of Patriot fullback Danielle D'Amario saved the day. The senior defender,
who was outstanding from start to finish, came back to block the shot and
clear it out of harm's way.
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| Wayne Hills's Caitlyn Kiernan came up with saves when called upon. |
That seemed to be a turning point in the game as the Mustangs seemed out of gas, while Wayne Hills had plenty left in its tank.
Pepe hustled down a loose ball along the goal line and crossed it to Donofrio, who was alone in the box. The senior, who holds the school's all-time record for goals in a career, could not get enough pace behind the volley and Carrara made a diving save with 12 minutes to go in regulation.
"I always have to be ready, because I know how dangerous their forwards are," said Carrara. "In this game, I had to be a bit more aggressive and the defense really stepped it up. We have been playing together for a very long time and the trust factor between us is well established. We just had to keep pressing when we could and keep flying forward."
In the 75th, Pepe won another loose ball in the corner and crossed it to a streaking Donofrio. With Carrara coming out to challenge, Donofrio's shot from 12 yards out went over the crossbar and the tie remained intact.
"I am
definitely going to have nightmares about this game," said Donofrio, who has
scored with 24 goals in 18 games this season. "I wish we would have won it
in regulation and I had a couple of chances to do it. You know against Clifton
you are not going to get too many. If you don't capitalize, it can come back
to haunt you. We want to make a lot of noise in the states, and if we do,
I have to finish those opportunities."
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Wayne Hills' Kristen Divers (5) and Clifton's Renata Koziol battling for one of the game's many 50-50 balls. |
Clifton mustered up one more chance when Jillian Fueshko came out of the back on a corner kick, but her header went well over the bar and the two teams headed towards overtime.
The match had a feel of a heavyweight title fight with both teams throwing haymakers for the first 80 minutes and then taking a 10-minute breather. Neither team put a shot on net during the first 10-minutes OT and with no penalty kick round to decide things in the event of a tie, the second overtime provided plenty of excitement.
Donofrio was given very little room to operate after her late flurry in the second half, so she decided to create her own. Her nifty dribbling skills in traffic created just enough room at the top of the box to get off a shot. Carrara was up to the task and saved her 20-yard blast 1:30 into the second overtime.
Clifton had the final scoring chance in the 94th minute when Wayne Hills keeper Caitlin Kiernan had to come off of her line to stop a potential point-blank opportunity for Allison Koehler. The ball got knocked around just yards in front of the net, but Patriot midfielder Nicole Locantore, who also played well throughout, booted it out of danger and neither team threatened after that.
The Patriots held a 10-7 edge in shots and a slim 4-2 margin in corner kicks. Carrara and Kiernan each had five saves.
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