Monday,
October 17, 2016
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
|
Sebastian Varela scored a goal and set up another on for Ramapo, the top-seed, which improved to 11-0 on the season with a 4-0 win over No. 8 Ramsey in the Bergen County Tourney quarterfinals. |
RAMSEY – Comparing one Ramapo boys soccer team to another in the unbroken chain of success that the program has had in the past 30 years is impossible. Now in the middle of head coach Evan Baumgarten’s 31st season, the Green Raiders have won nine Bergen County titles, 11 state sectional championships and six outright state titles and there is no way that Baumgarten himself is ever going to be drawn into conversation even under intense media arm-twisting.
Here is the most recent exchange on the subject:
NorthJerseySports.com reporter: Ev, what is the best team you have ever coached?
Baumgarten: Uh…I never compare.
NorthJerseySports.com reporter: But if you had to, what is the best team?
Baumgarten: Uh…I never compare.
So while this current version of Green Raiders still has work to do to be included in a conversation that will really never even take place, it certainly stands out in terms of the dominant way that it has stormed to an 11-0 start to this season. Ramapo has yet to trail in a game, it has outscored its 11 opponents by a combined score of 44-2 and against the seven opponents good enough to qualify for the Bergen County Tournament, the stat sheet is 23 goals for, 0 goals against.
On Sunday in the county quarterfinals, top-seeded Ramapo scored just 1:30 into the game to blow up Ramsey’s strategy in just the second minute on the way to a 4-0 victory on Ramsey’s own home field that was masquerading as county tournament neutral site.
|
Ramsey goalkeeper Braden Miller had a busy day in net. |
Ramapo has speed, strength, depth, organization and the technical ability to put it all together. There are no ball-hoggers and not every goal is celebrated as if it came at the end of the World Cup finals. A couple of high fives and then then it is back to the center circle to get after the next one.
“I think this year the team is very united. It is certainly one of the most united teams that I have ever been on. We have no egos, we are a family and we are willing to work for each other,” said Sebastian Varela, the junior centermid who is in his third season as a varsity starter. “It’s a great atmosphere to be a part of. We are all friends, we are all willing to work hard and we all love the game of soccer.”
Ramsey, the No. 8 seed, came out intent on playing what was the most viable strategy of employing Christian Tesoriero as the lone striker and keeping just about everybody else behind the ball. The longer the Rams could keep the game scoreless, the more the chance of frustrating a Ramapo team that wants to move the ball with precision. Maybe the Rams might even be able to catch Ramapo on a counter targeting Tesoriero, a capable attacker.
Problem was that Ramsey gave up a free kick in a dangerous area early on and Ramapo, sensing an opportunity, packed the offensive box and then got after a loose ball after it was played in. Keenan Malke came out the back side with possession and hammered it home for the 1-0 lead.
Ramsey had one quality chance to get even in the 26th minute off a set piece of its own. Declan Rybacki drove a low line that might or might not have been on frame, but Ramapo keeper Conor Young took no chances. He sprawled low and to his right to punched it to make sure it finished wide.
|
Keenan Malke scored the first goal for Ramapo, which will play NV/Old Tappan in the semifinals. |
Ramapo certainly had most of the possession in the first half, but Ramsey was just two minutes away from getting out of it with just the one-goal deficit. That changed when Varela took on two defenders and was taken down while trying to split them 25 yards from goal and to the left. Again the restart was jostled around in the scrum and squirted free and Ben Landel got just enough on his first touch to roll it over the goal line before it could be cleared out.
Ramapo got a flying header from Eddie Kraebel after Andrew Furman’s long throw was played on in the 48th minute and Varela closed the scoring off an assist from Landel on a counter attack in the 75th minute.
Next up, in the county tournament at least, is No. 4 Northern Valley/Old Tappan, a team the Raiders beat 4-0 earlier this season, in the semifinals. However dominant they have been so far, Ramapo is taking nothing for granted moving forward.
“We have to stay focused for every game,” said Billy Collins, the Raiders’ central defender. “This is my senior year and it would be nice to cap off my career by being successful in the county tournament and being as good as we can with no regrets.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |