October
30, 2006
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| Freshman Terry Ely the game-winner for Pascack Valley, which knocked off defending champion Northern Highlands, 3-1, to reach the Bergen County Tournament finals for the first time in school history. | |
FRANKLIN LAKES – In many circumstances, the first goal of the game, especially in a pressure packed contest like a Bergen County Tournament semifinal, can be decisive. It was last weekend when Northern Highlands scored early against top-seeded IHA in the quarterfinals and then rode the momentum to a stunning upset.
Or the first goal can be just another bump in road, another obstacle to side step on the way to a dominant performance and a spot in the tournament final, like it was for Pascack Valley on Sunday afternoon.
The Indians gave up the game’s first goal just two minutes in, and then used the remaining 78 minutes to take apart the Highlanders, who, despite being the defending co-champions, were making a run deep into the tournament as an underdog and the No. 8 seed.
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| Ashley Lopes (11) gave Northern Highlands an early lead with a goal in the second minute. |
A penalty kick converted by Pam Vangelas got Pascack Valley even with 7:26 to play in the first half and the Indians controlled play after the intermission, scored twice and reached the Bergen County final for the first time in school history with a 3-1 win.
“My kids don’t let down for a second. One goal gets them gets them very [angry] and that is what happened,” said Nicole Oshalsky, who is in her first season as the PV head coach. “We knew that this was going to be the toughest game we’ve had in the last few weeks and we came out and played the best that they could. After that goal, they just turned it on.”
But when Highlands, which came in on an eight-game winning streak and had survived a host of off-the-field distractions and injuries just to make the tournament, scored in the first two minutes, it looked like the Highlanders were on their way to another upset.
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| PV's Alli Lombardi was taken down in the box and it led to the equalizing penalty kick. |
Ashley Lopes was sent into the area and had her initial shot saved by PV keeper Traci Corra. But the rebound came right back to Lopes, and she deposited the ball in the net to give Highlands, which has one of the area’s top defenses, the early lead.
But instead of pressing for the equalizer, Pascack Valley bided its time and used its ability to move the ball along the ground to create chances. With the wind blowing across the field and making anything in the air an adventure, PV used the carpet to win territory and advance forward.
Dani Raske and Maggie Ely put PV’s combination passing on display and it led to the game-winning goal 10 minutes into the second half. Using the right side of the field, Raske played the ball up to Ely 30 yards from goal along the sideline. Ely played it back to Raske, and the two worked another give-and-go in the same sequence to set up the attack.
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| Elizabeth Faust had a chance to tie the game on Highlands' last shot of the game, but her hit went just wide. |
Raske then played the ball along the ground to frehsman Terry Ely, who was moving across the 18 yard line. She took a dribble to create space then hooked a left-footer in the opposite side for the 2-1 PV lead.
The PV defense, led by sophomore sweeper Stefani Elefther, did a solid job of not giving up restarts that could have been dangerous as Northern Highlands is lethal on set pieces and the Indians used their ability to move the ball on offense as their best defense.
Pascack Valley, in its first ever trip to the semifinals, sealed the win in the 72nd minute when Vangelas won the endline, then sent the ball to the second post where Heidi Rogers was waiting to knock it home.
“We started off slow, but then we started to move the ball better and that led to the penalty kick. Once we scored to tie it, I think that gave us a lot of confidence and we played well in the second half,” said Raske, one of just three seniors on the PV roster and an important piece to the Indians run to the Group 2 state title last year. “We are excited to be in the county final and it should be a great game. If we play the way we did today, we should be all right.”
FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
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