Saturday,
November 14, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
|
Mendham celebrated after the first of its two goals in the opening 15 minutes gave it the lead for good in a 2-1 win over Old Tappan in the Group 3 state semifinals. |
BASKING RIDGE – Less than 15 minutes into the Group 3 semifinal match against West Morris Mendham it looked the long, fun journey through the state tournament was about to come to an abrupt and unfortunate end for Northern Valley/Old Tappan. Having allowed two goals on Mendham's first two shots, the question being whispered along the Mendham sideline was one that was legitimate at that point in time. Was Old Tappan’s run from the No. 12 seed to section title anything more than a fluke?
While the end result was not what the Golden Knights were looking for, they showed over the final 65 minutes that they were anything but a fluke.
After falling behind by two, Old Tappan scored a frantic goal with no time remaining in the first half to cut its deficit in half. The Golden Knights pressed for the entire second half to try and net the equalizer but never found it as their miraculous run through the state tournament came to an end with a 2-1 loss in the Group 3 semifinals on Tuesday night at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge.
“We have 20 seniors and they didn't want our season to end,” said Mendham head coach Russ Ruffay. “Old Tappan was able to take us out of our game by doing something we didn't see really during the season. They played up, back, and then forward again. Most high school teams don't have the patience to play that way for an entire game. Neither team stopped working for the full 80 minutes and it was a well-played game on both sides.”
|
Jake Fiore made 7 saves for Old Tappan, which finished the season at 14-8-2. |
Mendham ripped its way through the North 2, Group 3 state sectional tournament, winning its four games by an 18-1 margin. It looked like this one would be no different for the Minutemen as they were all over the Golden Knights early. Speedster Julian Montilus scored on a breakaway to give them an early lead and 6-foot-7 Troy Browse doubled it in the 14th minute by knocking home a centering pass from Christian Pedercini, who made a nice play to win the end line.
The Golden Knights could have put quit right there, but they had come too far to see the best state tournament run in school history end in extended garbage time. Instead, they showed the fight that got them to this point.
With time winding down and the official clock being kept in the press box, the final seconds were being counted down as Andrew Squillace quickly set the ball up and went back to take a 40-yard free kick. He knuckled a hard shot towards the net and just as the count went down to one, Louis Long cut in front of a defender and flicked a shot past the Mendham goalie as time expired to give the Golden Knights a much needed break. They went into halftime trailing just 2-1 at halftime.
“That is the kind of team Old Tappan is, a scrappy team that plays to the final whistle,” added Ruffay. “We tried to tell our kids that, but that was when they truly understood that we could never give up on a ball because we knew they weren't going to. It was a real gut check moment for us.”
|
Andrew Squillace and the 12 other Old Tappan seniors go out as the first class to ever win a state sectional championship. |
Old Tappan had several chances, including a pair from Lucas Casamento and Conor Kelly just outside the top of the box midway through the second half. Both shots were cracked hard but they were both right at Zach Bible, the Mendham keeper.
The Golden Knights pushed numbers forward and had the better of play throughout the second half. Mendham's defense pinched in and hung tough as they often blocked shots in front before clearing them out of harm's way.
Bible finished with nine saves for Mendham (17-5-1). Jake Fiore finished with seven saves for Northern Valley/Old Tappan (14-8-2)
As the final buzzer sounded, the disappointment in the faces of the Golden Knights was obvious, but the way they played and the postseason run they went on are what head coach Mark Torrie will always be proud of.
“We got the goal at halftime and we had our chances in the second half,” said Torrie. “Once we settled down, we were better on the ball and we were pretty strong. We just got ourselves too big of a hole to get out of. I'm proud of the boys and the way we came back. I couldn't be happier about how we grew during the season. We just wish had a better result tonight.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |