Wednesday,
November 11, 2015
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
|
Peter Livanis scored with just over 17 minutes left in regulation to give Old Tappan a 1-0 win over No. Highlands and a trip to the section final for the first time in the history of the program. |
ALLENDALE – In the state tournament, when a loss means the end of the season, the tendency is to be cautious. Two steps back in the interest of safety is sometimes seen as better than one step forward in search of a goal. Northern Valley/Old Tappan played with no such sense of trepidation on Tuesday in the semifinals of the North 1, Group 3 state sectional tournament. As has been the case all season, Old Tappan put its three strikers up top, ceded some of the midfield in the process and went all out after a spot in a section final for the first time in program history.
The Golden Knights absorbed a ton of pressure in the first half as Northern Highlands direct approach generated a host of scoring chances. But with the crossbar helping out once and junior goalkeeper Jake Fiore stopping everything else, Old Tappan came out of halftime in a still scoreless draw and just waiting for the opportunity to get forward with numbers and to do it quickly.
In the 63rd minute, Lucas Casamento took a pass from Jason Ackerman in the offensive third and set off on a run that changed everything. Casamento got in deep on the right side, got a defender turned around and then slid a rolling cross toward Peter Livanis, whose path took him directly across the face of goal from back post to front with a defender in hot pursuit.
Livanis got there and poked the ball home from inside the 6-yard box. That goal stood up and the 1-0 win extends Old Tappan’s charmed playoff run as the No. 12 seed into Friday’s state sectional final where it will have the home field advantage against No. 15 Indian Hills, which upset No. 2 Ramapo, the Bergen County champion, in penalty kicks in the other semifinal.
|
Sophomore Andrew Ma had two of Highlands' best scoring chances, a rip from 30 yards that hit the crossbar and a header kept out by a brilliant save. |
“Lucas Casamento is so quick with his feet and I saw that he was beating his guy down the line, so I just wanted to give him a target to pass to and we made the most of it,” said Livanis, a junior striker. “I saw the goalie go toward Lucas, he took another touch and slid it right to me.”
Old Tappan’s style comes with the risk of being overrun in the midfield. There is space to be taken between the bottom of the center circle and the top of the arc and Highlands filled it often, especially in the first half. After Old Tappan came up with the game’s first dangerous chance, a second time rip by Kevin Bae that was parried over the bar by Highlands keeper Jase Barrack, the Highlanders really started to test the NV/OT goal.
Twenty-six minutes in, a ball skipped on the wet turf and over an Old Tappan defender. Matthew Vaccari pounced on the loose ball and moved it ahead to Lucas McGahren, who took the time to put it on his favored left foot before hitting a low skidder that took all of Fiore’s effort to push around the frame. Four minutes later, Andrew Ma stepped over a loose ball and his shot, on a diagonal and on a line, from 30 yards out careened into the crossbar.
There were other first half chances both ways. A free kick by Bae in the 32nd minute, a diving header attempt by Highlands’ Nicholas Friedland off a precise service by Aristoteli Meneve in the 35th and a half-chance by Old Tappan’s Andrew Squillace in the 36th all just missed. Closer still was Friedland’s effort in the 38th that forced Fiore into action once again. Friedland settled a ball in traffic and his second touch was headed straight for the lower left hand corner before Fiore dove to steer it wide.
|
Junior Jake Fiore made 10 saves for Old Tappan, which will play Indian Hills in the section final. |
“I was trying to stay as calm as possible and work with my defense. We didn’t want to let any free runs in behind and we did a pretty good job of that,” said Fiore, a junior who finished with 10 saves. “The communication was good and that was important because [Highlands] keeps coming at you.”
Fiore’s best save on a day full of tough ones, might have been the one he made 12 minutes into the second half when Meneve sent in a head-high corner kick. There was no one between Ma and the ball and the Highlands sophomore did just what he was supposed to with a free header. Ma flicked it on with pace and low, but Fiore got down to his knees just in time to keep the game scoreless. Eleven minutes later, Casamento got free on the run up the right side where he won the endline before sending in the game-winning assist. By doing so, Casamento, a talented point guard on the hardwood, delayed his transition from soccer to hoops by at least three more days.
“I had space when I turned and I just tried to get [the defender] off balance. I faked inside and he bought it, but I lost the ball. He got an unlucky with a bounce off his heel and when the ball came back out to me his back was turned,” said Casamento. “I looked across and saw Pete [Livanis]. I played it to him one touch and it was a great finish.”
The great finish part depends on what side of the 50 an individual was sitting on. For Highlands, it meant the end to 16-4 season. The Highlanders reached the semifinals of both the state sectional and Bergen County Tournaments and were a good bounce or two away from moving on.
|
Old Tappan senior Lucas Casamento made the run that led to the game-winning goal. |
“It wasn’t like we didn’t have opportunities we just didn’t take advantage of them, but I am proud of the guys. I thought we controlled a lot of the play, we played some good soccer and had our chances. You have to credit their keeper and their team because they hung on and won,” said Steve Every, who just finished his first season as Highlands’ head coach. “One counter attack was the difference. They did their job and we are going home.”
Old Tappan knows all about bitter endings. Last season the Knights were in overtime in the section semifinals before giving up a penalty kick and losing, 2-1, in overtime to Wayne Hills. Now the Knights are as far into the state tournament as they have ever been and with the bracket fully busted, they will have a chance to win a section title for the first time ever on their own home field.
“I think the boys were disappointed after the way it ended against Wayne Hills last year right at this stage and they wanted to go one further. We have never been past the semifinals,” said Old Tappan head coach Mark Torrie. “Special credit to all the boys. Our keeper [Fiore] had to play well and he did and everybody else just kept going until we got a goal. Our motto has always been bend but don’t break. We bent a fair bit, but we didn’t break, so I am happy.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |