November
10, 2003
March 21,
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Meredith Parrilla (left) won this ball in the air and the Bergen County championship with a goal in the 28th minute on Sunday afternoon. |
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FRANKLIN LAKES --Ramapo sophomore Meredith Parrilla had three choices as she approached the pass sent in from the right side by Jaclyn Rosada with 12:30 left to play in regulation of the scoreless Bergen County final on Sunday afternoon.
So here is a quiz. Did Parrilla:
A: Run hard onto the ball and push it forward past the last defender and toward the goal, but also toward where Indian Hills' All-State keeper Allison Vespa could get her hands on it?
B: Let the ball ride where it might have found the foot of Sarah Meier, who was making a run toward the far post?
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| Brittney Steinbruch and Ramapo had the better of possession for most of the game. |
C: Take the ball on her left foot and crank one back toward the opposite post and live with the consequences of a county championship possibly resting on the outcome?
For the answer, it's best to go to the source.
"Jackie (Rosado) made an amazing run and I saw the sweeper commit. I saw Vespa come out and I thought, do I take it myself or do I leave it for Sarah?," said Parrilla. "I put it on my left foot and I never do that, but I let it run by me, I turned my hips and that's what I practice, that's my thing and I buried it."
Parrilla did bury it, clean into the upper right, and Ramapo had a 1-0 win, the 12th girls soccer county championship in its history and a clean sweep of Bergen County. The Green Raiders won all three levels -- freshman, junior varsity and varsity -- on the boys' side as well as the junior varsity and varsity girls titles.
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| Kathleen Marcucilli came closest to an Indian Hills goal but her cross bounced off the post late in the first half. |
Although Ramapo (18-1-2) had the better of possession through most of the first half and for long stretches of the second, there were not many dangerous chances either way through 75 minutes.
Ramapo won two straight corners in the 25th minute, but both were cleared out and Meier had a look at the end of a run up the right side, but her shot with 7 minutes to go before halftime bounded harmlessly over the end line.
Indian Hills (16-3-2) had the first real 'almost' of the match when Kathleen Marcucilli sent in cross that found its way though traffic and off the far post on the third bounce just two minutes before the half.
"When you get to this time of the season, the opportunities to become less and less frequent," said Ramapo head coach Paul Heenehan. "And it is the team that is focused on those opportunities that gets the advantage."
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| Senior Allison Vespa (right) played her usual steady game in the Indian Hills net. |
And when the opportunity arose, Parrilla made no mistake and allowed the Raiders to end their season with a win three days after being eliminated from the state tournament by Northern Highlands.
"It stinks that we lost in the states but what a way to end the season," said Christine Smith, the Ramapo striker who did well pressing the attack early and then coming back to bolster the defense after her team grabbed the lead. "This game was it for us, so we knew we couldn't hold anything back and all of us just wanted to do anything we could to get this win."
Ramapo got a solid game from sweeper Diana Hopper and Karly Kleinert, whose long throws were an offensive weapon, and also from Brittney Steinbruch up front, Jenny Galgano and Kelly Vigna in the midfield and Casey Schappert, who joined the attack on more than a few occasions. Meier was also effective in the midfield and then up front when asked to move up midway through the second half. Sara Rose made three saves in goal.
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| Karly Klerinert helped Ramapo pitch the shutout and earn the girls soccer program its 12th Bergen County title. |
It was a team effort, as Parrilla pointed out.
"Someone just said, 'Meredith Parrilla, the hero of the game.' That's nice, but it's not true. We needed everyone to get that win," said Parrilla, who went through three jerseys courtesy of a bloody nose that, when it gushed for a second time, forced her to the sidelines for the final 6:24 of the game. "I played (terribly) against Ramsey last week (in the semifinals) and if it wasn't for my teammates picking me up and getting us here, I would have never had a chance to take that shot."
Indian Hills pressured the net effectively in the final 10 minutes, but could not net the equalizer. Laura Lynch, Christina Sallemi and Serena Ham all created chances in the waning moments but none materialized into quality shots on goal.
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| Tanya Elshahawi and Indian Hills are still alive in the North 1, Group 2 state sectional playoffs. |
The loss was disappointing for Indian Hills, but not the end of the road by any means for the defending Group 2 co-state champions. The Braves will play Ramsey on Tuesday in the North 1, Group 2 state sectional semifinals.
"The way we are, we take one game at a time. This game is over and we'll move on to the next one," said Indian Hills head coach Jim Louden. "We strive to be a champion but we didn't get it done today. We'll turn it around, we'll be focused and ready to go. We have another goal to achieve, to win the states."
For more pictures from this event or to purchase a Collector's Print, visit the NJS.com School Store!
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