October
13, 2004
LYNDHURST - Over the past year, the Lyndhurst and Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge girls soccer teams have been mirror images of one another. Last year, they both had outstanding seasons and earned the top seed in their respective state sectional tournaments, only to lose one-goal heartbreakers in the semifinals to prematurely end their seasons.
Fast forward to this year and it has been more of the same as both have started off with long winning streaks and both were unbeaten before facing off on Tuesday afternoon. Even through 90 exciting minutes of regulation and one overtime, the two teams were deadlocked. But one player has been the difference maker for the Lady Aviators all year and she showed that she was not only a talented player, but a clutch one as well.
Junior striker Dana DePalma took a Taylor Condal bicycle kick out of the air and one-timed it into the lower left-hand corner in the 94th minute for her third goal of the game and the game-winner as the Aviators outlasted Lyndhurst in a wild 4-3 double-overtime triumph.
"This is a game that we really had to earn and it will only make us better in the long run," said Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge head coach Ollie Pimm. "We felt we were in control in the first half, but they came out much more physical in the second half and seemed to win every 50/50 ball. They never gave up and gave us everything we could handle and then some."
Lyndhurst had the wind in its face in the first half and, along with a stern Aviator defense led by Alysha DeNichilo and Samantha Lanzo, it was a factor in the Bears not getting off a single shot on net in the first half.
The Aviators knocked on the door often before finally entering the scoring column in the 35th minute when DePalma put a feed from Ashley Zuccato into the back of the net for a 1-0 halftime lead.
The Lady Bears regrouped and were more aggressive after the break. Nicole Guirland took ball up the right side of a field and crossed a pass through the box where Nicole Gianetti ran onto it at the far post and blasted it home to knot the score just 64 seconds into the second half.
Hasbrouck Heights once again took control of the midfield over the next 15 minutes and it resulted in a seemingly comfortable lead. DePalma had a shot blocked in the box and the ball bounced right to Zuccato, who floated a shot over Lyndhurst goalkeeper Megan Baroody and into the upper left-hand corner for a 2-1 lead.
Ten minutes later, DePalma, Baroody, and Lyndhurst defender Lindsey Minniti all converged on a ball near the corner of the box. The ball squirted loose and DePalma collected it near the goal line. She took two dribbles, saw an opening and squeezed a shot from a tough angle just inside the far post to give the Lady Aviators a two-goal lead, 3-1, with just over 15 minutes to go.
But Guirland was agaon got Lyndhurst back in the game. She won a 50/50 ball and hit a bending shot over Yvette Robinson and into the side netting to cut the lead to 3-2. Time was running out on the Lady Bears and, in the same sequence, Guirland and Gianetti both made plays to block clearing attempts in Aviators' end of the field. The ball got knocked around the box like a pinball and landed right on the foot of Lyndhurst midfielder Christina Crocco. She barely got a toe on her 10-yard shot, but she got enough of it to cue-ball it just inside the left post with four minutes to go to knot the score at 3.
The second-half excitement came all the way down to the final whistle. Guirland broke in alone with 90 seconds to go, but her shot went just over the crossbar. DePalma darted away from the defense and created a breakaway chance, but the whistle to end regulation blew as she was headed towards the opposing net and the game went to overtime.
"The biggest positive we took from this game was that we didn't quit," said Lyndhurst head coach Lori DeLuca. "I think we were feeling our way through the first half and they came ready to play. In the second half, we started to win the 50/50 balls and that turned the tide in our favor. I give our kids credit; they have been under a lot of stress. They came out and played their hearts out and showed what they are made of to come back. But they (Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge) are a great team and you can't give them too many opportunities to score."
Both teams got off two shots in the first overtime, but neither were able to break through until the sharp play in the second overtime ended it.
On the game-winner, a loose ball got knocked in the air and with a defender on her back freshman forward Taylor Condal made a play wise beyond her years. She flicked a bicycle kick into the box and DePalma came on a diagonal run and ran right onto it. Before it hit the ground, she struck the ball past Baroody and into the lower left-hand corner to complete the hat trick and win it for the Aviators.
"It feels great to score the game-winning goal in such a big game," said DePalma. "The momentum was changing back and forth from the second half on. They were very physical and it made us have to work harder to make something happen. I just saw the ball go up in the air and I had to get it. I was kind of great to see it go in and this is a good win. If we want to do well in the counties and in states, we will have to play better."
Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge (11-0) got another great performance from DePalma with her three-goal effort and they will put their string of victories on the line Thursday in the first round of the Bergen County Tournament. As the No. 10 seed, the Aviators will play at home against Lodi, the No. 23 seed. The winner of that game will move on to play seventh-seeded Ramsey over the weekend.
Lyndhurst suffered its first loss of the season (8-1), but not without a solid showing from frontline tandem of Guirland and Gianetti. They combined for two goals, two assists, and seven of the team's 11 shots. Baroody finished with seven saves in the loss.
The Lady Bears opted not to play in the county tournament and focus on the league and the North 2 Group 1 state tournament, were they are in position to receive the top seed.
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