Saturday, November 2, 2013

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Less than three minutes into the second half, senior Gabriel Donato scored the only goal needed to keep an old promise and give Cliffside Park its first-ever Bergen County boys soccer championship with a 1-0 win over Don Bosco.

OAKLAND – As the Cliffside Park boys soccer team walked off the field dejectedly after losing to Northern Highlands in the 2010 Bergen County Tournament semifinals, head coach Jim Fucci was approached by a little-known freshman. What he said and how he said has stuck in the mind of Fucci in the years since.

That freshman was Gabriel Donato and what he did was look directly into the eyes of his coach and tell him not to worry. Donato promised that by his senior year, his class was going to give the coach and his program the county title that has proved so elusive.

Fast forward to Friday night in Oakland when Donato and the senior-laden Red Raiders had one last shot to make good on the three year-old promise. It was not going to come easy, not against a Don Bosco Prep program that has won a county best 11 titles in its decorated history. It was time for Donato to back up his words or forever hold his peace.

And guess what? Donato scored less than three minutes into the second half and goalie Edgar Argueta made several huge saves in a wild final 15 minutes that tipped the balance in the Red Raiders' favor as top-seeded Cliffside Park earned its first ever Bergen County title with a 1-0 triumph over second-seeded Don Bosco Prep at Indian Hill High School.

“It was scary at the end, but we fought hard to hold on,” said Donato. “First time we’ve ever won counties and it feels amazing to do it in front of our fans. We wanted this for Coach Fucci more than anything else. All the commitment and the passion he’s given to us every single day, this is the best way to pay it back to him.”

Consider the debt paid back in full and with interest.

Mark Helgersen and Don Bosco Prep created opportunities, but just couldn't put one away.

“We have had some great teams here and yet we’ve never done this until tonight,” said Fucci. “When Gabe (Donato) made that promise to me after we lost to Highlands three years ago, I know he took it to heart and so did I. We beat a very good side today and we played great defensively under intense pressure.”

Cliffside Park had the better of the possession in the first half, but it was Don Bosco that had the only scoring chances. The best of those came 15 minutes in when Mark Sisco snuck in behind the Red Raiders’ back line on a counter attack for a breakaway. Argueta was aggressive all game and especially so in that instance as he charged off of his line to make the save.

Heading into halftime, the Red Raiders had mixed feelings. While they were confident that if they kept the pressure on, eventually their offense would start clicking, but the reality was that they did not have a single shot on goal in the opening half. That all changed early in the second as Cliffside Park came out with a renewed sense of urgency and quickly found the back of the net.

After two-touching the ball up the field, Jose Pena chipped a through ball for Donato and he put a shot past Don Bosco keeper Moritz Eisold from 10 yards out just 2:55 into the second half as Cliffside Park grabbed a 1-0 lead.

“I was behind the play and waiting to make a run and then Jose called my name, so I made a run,” said Donato. “I saw I was going to get to the ball first and I pushed a shot past the keeper. We knew they were going to push some players forward after that and we had to play tough.”

Edwin Argueta made some huge saves for Cliffside Park and kept the clean sheet necessary to make school history.

The Ironmen were trailing and doing very little offensively until the final 15 minutes when they bombarded the Red Raiders’ penalty area and did everything they could to net the equalizer. One sequence summed it all up as they had two long throw-ins and three corner kicks in succession, getting the ball on the frame on four of opportunities before Argueta rose above the defense to pick off the final corner.

“I just focused and tried to keep the ball out of the net,” said Argueta. “I had to be the most aggressive player and stay calm.”

Don Bosco had two quality chances in the final four minutes, both coming in the air off of long balls served into the box. Argueta saved a header by Sisco and Andrew Spitadol’s header in the final minute curved just over the crossbar as the Cliffside faithful poured onto the field in celebration.

“Cliffside is a great side. They are well-prepared and they earned the victory. We fought them every step of the way, though,” said Don Bosco head coach Vince Sileo. “We had a bunch of opportunities to put one in, but either their keeper made great saves or we just missed on a few headers. I felt like we played very well. We made one mistake and they capitalized, which is what great teams do.”

This win was not only huge for the Cliffside Park seniors, but for the coaches, and the fans who have supported the team from day one. It is one that Fucci, Donato, and the rest of the Red Raiders will never forget.

“In the history of our high school no boys team in any sport has ever won a county title. To say this is a big deal to our town is an understatement,” said Fucci, himself a Cliffside Park High School graduate. “This team wants to be the best to come through Cliffside Park High School and with this win we are now in that conversation. Hopefully we can add to it in the next few weeks.”

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