Wednesday,
November 4, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
|
Ervin Gjeli scored a goal and had an assist for Hasbrouck Heights, the top-seed who got past No. 16 Midland Park, 2-1, in the first round of the North 1, Group 1 state sectional playoffs.. |
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS – For the same reasons that the state tournament is so much fun to play in, it is also what makes it incredibly nerve-wracking. It is win or hand in the uniforms and regardless of what a team did throughout the regular season and how high of a seed that team receives for the states, it can all disappear in a span of 80 minutes.
Hasbrouck Heights is in the midst of the best season in school history and earned the top seed in North 1, Group 1. But as the first half came to a close in their first-round game on Tuesday, the Aviators trailed Midland Park by a goal.
With their backs against the wall and their season on the brink of extinction, the Aviators used sheer hustle to keep their ultimate goal of a section title was still in reach.
Standout midfielder Ervin Gjeli tied the game midway through the second half then fed Nick Bini on the back post for the game-winner with nine minutes to play as top-seeded Hasbrouck Heights survived a major scare with a 3-2 win over No. 16 seed Midland Park in a first-round North 1 Group 1 state tournament game at Hasbrouck Heights High School.
“That’s as tough of a 16 seed as I could imagine playing against,” said Hasbrouck Heights’ head coach Vin Marchese. “This section is so balanced from top to bottom and anybody can beat anybody. We had our work cut out for us in the second half, but we know if we didn’t step up that our season would be over.”
|
Matt Genao scored the goal that got Midland Park back even at 1-1. |
Midland Park was winless in its last five games and only had five wins on the season. But with their slate wiped clean in the state tournament, the Panthers came out firing in the first 10 minutes and immediately put the pressure on the Aviators.
It appeared that Hasbrouck Heights had righted its ship when Gjeli rose above two defenders to head a corner kick from Scott LiVecchi into the upper left-corner for a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers never hung their heads and went right back on the attack. They needed just three minutes to net the tying goal. Brendan Sheridan nearly scored when his header off of a corner kick hit flush off the crossbar before a Heights defender touched it over the end line for another corner kick. The Panthers made good on a second try in the 15th minute as Matt Genao headed home the ensuing corner kick to tie the game at 1.
What was just a substitution to get some fresh legs in the game paid dividends in a matter of seconds for the Panthers. Genao stripped the ball from a defender and sent a short centering pass near the top of the box. Aviator goalie Seth Remo came out to challenge but Will Krag got just enough of his toe on it to poke it past Remo. Lyle Harpster, who had come into the game right before this play occurred, picked a great time to score his first varsity goal by slamming it into the open net with Midland Park taking a surprising 2-1 halftime lead.
It was a crisis moment for Hasbrouck Heights. The halftime intermission gave the Aviators a chance to regroup both physically and mentally.
|
Nick Bini scored the game-winner for Hasbrouck Heights, which will host Boonton in the sectional quarterfinals. |
“We are the number one seed and we had to start playing like it,” said Gjeli. “My thoughts and actions were not as quick as they needed to be in the first half. I wanted to be more aggressive with my first touch and go to goal more often in the second half to put pressure on their defense.”
The Aviators flipped the switch to start the second half and played with a true sense of urgency. Kyle O’Conner’s hustle helped the Aviators tie the game by not giving up on a play. A through ball was about to roll over the end line for a goal kick with a Midland Park defender shielding an attacker to ensure that happened. O’Conner had other ideas and curled his leg around to knock the ball loose into the middle of the box. With the goalie off of his line, Gjeli had a wide-open net and buried a shot for the equalizer, 2-2.
With the Panthers playing tighter in the back to try to force overtime, the Aviators had to play wider and use the entire field to create angles for their attack. On the game-winning goal, Gjeli took the ball near midfield and showed why he is the most dangerous offensive threat in North 1 Group 1. He carried the ball through three defenders inside the top corner of the penalty box, forcing Midland Park goaltender Brian Mulligan (six saves) to come out and challenge. In the 71st minute, Gjeli sent a low-cross towards the far post and slid in front of a defender to boot the ball in for a goal that stood up as the difference for the 3-2 victory over Midland Park (5-11-2).
“I know when (Gjeli) is going towards the goal that I have to get to a post and be ready,” said . “We had to keep being aggressive and we started getting better shots. In the second half we spread out the field and Ervin just gave me a perfect pass on the goal.”
Despite the loss, Midland Park showed it was certainly worthy of a state tournament berth.
“We didn’t park the bus, we played to try and win the game,” said Midland Park head coach Dan Anderson. “We’re a confident bunch and we feel like we can play with anyone. We’re disappointed that we didn’t hold on for the win, but I’m very proud of the effort we had. That’s what I’ll say about this group, I never had to question our effort. We gave it everything we had every game.”
Hasbrouck Heights will once again play at home on Friday in the quarterfinals against ninth-seeded Boonton. With a potential upset scare out of the way, the Aviators hope to use this experience as a positive one moving forward.
“We have to build off of what we did in the second half and do that for a full game in the next game,” added Gjeli. “I honestly didn’t expect this game to be as close as it was and you can’t do that in the state tournament because its win or go home. We can’t take anyone lightly or take anything for granted. As long as we play like a team like we did in the second half today, we’ll be fine.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |