Ori Oelsner scored five goals for Tenafly, which advanced to the North 1, Group 3 state sectional semifinals with a 6-1 win over Morris Hills on Friday.

TENAFLY – A Bergen County Tournament semifinalist with a 16-1 record and the No. 3 seed in the North 1, Group 3 state sectional quarterfinals playing on its own home field, surely Tenafly had to be the overwhelming favorite when it hosted 11th-seeded Morris Hills, which came into the game with seven losses.

Or...Maybe not.

"We were not the favorite. In an article [on NJ.com it] had Morris Hills winning this game," said Tenafly head coach Mike Carrasquilla. "Maybe they thought that Morris County is a little tougher than Bergen County and that they were going to come in here and take it to us."

One opinion from one local sportswriter, however, was never going to change the facts on the ground. It was Tenafly that took it two Morris Hills right from the get-go in what turned into a historic night for the home team. Ori Oelsner scored five goals, yup five goals, the first of which came just six minutes into the game.

There is no telling how many more that Oelsner might have scored if he had not come off after his final tally with still 14 minutes left in Tenafly's 6-1 victory at Geisinger Field. The Tigers advance to play second- seeded Randolph, the reigning Morris County champion.

"It was an amazing game. We were doubted at first, but that article on NJ.com really made us more motivated to come out here and play even stronger," said Oelsner. "The coaches told us that the first goal was going to be the most important, so we made it our goal to score first. We did that and it really gave us a lot of momentum to go on and win the game."

Oelsner scored Tenafly's first five goals and the first one came at the end of a through ball played in by junior Diego Aldeco Ortiz. Oelsner separated from the last defender and took a rip that was saved by Morris Hills keeper Jayden Medina Solano, who scored only a temporary victory. The rebound bounced right back on to the right foot of Oelsner, who drove it into the empty net to give Tenafly the lead just 6:06 into the game. Just over six minutes later Oelsner was sent in by Peter Bell De Miguel and he doubled the Tigers' advantage to 2-0 in the 12th minute.

Jayden Molina Solano made four saves for Morris Hills, which finished the season with a 12-8 record.

"The kid [Oelsner] is spectacular, but I try to tell the team and tell Ori, respectfully, that we are not a one-man army. We are a unit, a team that works together," said Carrasquilla. "This was a collective effort. Yes, Ori scored but people got him the ball; the defense made stops. I could name everyone that had a hand in it. Max Romanov, my whole back line – Nikhil Seth, Ethan Schwartz. Davin Shin is the engine in the middle. James Jung, Roan Drabo, Jeffrey Rico, Peter Bell De Miguel, Diego Aldeco Ortiz, Oriel Steinberg, Jason Baer, our goalkeeper who does such a great job back there. Then we have a freshman, Jude Corriel, who does not play like a freshman; he plays like a kid that has been doing it for years at this level. I hope I didn't forget anybody because everybody played a part as they have done all year."

Tenafly did not score again in the first half but still extended its advantage. On one of his many forays into dangerous scoring positions, Oelsner was pulled back by his jersey by a Morris Hills defender. The intentional foul was deemed to have taken place just outside of the box, so it was a straight red and a free kick from a prime spot. The restart hit the wall, but the Scarlet Knights were down 2-0 and a man at halftime.

Tenafly (17-1) had most of the possession, but Morris Hills hung in there through the first 15-plus minutes of the second half and then made things interesting in the 56th minute when Leonardo Belloni converted a penalty kick that he earned himself to get the Knights back to within 2-1 with still 22:45 minutes left.

The energy surge lasted only another couple of minutes. Tenafly got right back onto the front foot and right back to the penalty spot. Morris Hills had done a lot of chasing and had some heavy legs by the time Matthew Siegerman arrived in the box with the ball and a shoulder past the last defender. He was fouled, Oelsner converted the PK and Tenafly restored its two-goal lead with 24:23 to play.

Oriel Sandberg scored the final goal for Tenafly, which will play Randolph in the semifinals on Tuesday..

The game devolved from there as Morris Hills (12-8) saw its season slipping away. Through the chippiness, Oelner scored his fourth goal of the game in the 63rd minute, his fifth right on the 66 minute mark and Oriel Sandberg tallied Tenafly's final goal with 6:00 left and eight seconds later Morris Hills went down to 9 men with a second red card.

Tenafly, whose only loss of the season came in the Bergen County semifinals against eventual champion Ramapo, kept its cool and kept its season alive as it heads to the section semifinals on the road at Randolph on Tuesday.

"We have worked hard and we need a win against Randolph and then we need to win a title for everyone to be happy, to make this a successful season," said Baer, who was credited with 10 saves in the Tenafly net.

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