Monday,
October 14, 2013
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Lia DiPiazza scored the game's lone goal in the second overtime to lift Ramsey to a 1-0 win over Westwood and into the Bergen County final. |
RAMSEY – Just as the rest of her teammates were, Ramsey’s Lia DiPiazza was spent both mentally and physically. After battling Westwood through 60 scoreless minutes of regulation and an overtime period in which Ramsey was dominated, the Rams were spent and searching for answers. After a brief respite on the sideline to catch her breath, DiPiazza came back on the field in the second overtime determined not to let the team’s fate go to penalty strokes. With a rare scoring opportunity in front of her, DiPiazza seized the moment.
Any pain or exhaustion DiPiazza and her teammates felt quickly turned into jubilation as the sophomore scored with 6:50 remaining in the second overtime to lift second-seeded Ramsey to a 1-0 triumph over No. 3 seed Westwood in Sunday’s Bergen County Tournament semifinal at Ramsey High School.
“This is a great win and we fought really hard to get it,” said Ramsey head coach Becky Fantry. “We were definitely a little tired going into both overtime periods. I had to make a few adjustments and get some fresh legs out there. Lia is always dangerous on corners and she came through for us in a huge way.”
Ramsey had twice as many shots as the Cardinals in the first half, but it was Westwood that had the best scoring chance. A shot off a corner by Paris Birkner was cleared off the line and cleared away by Jess Bell.
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Alexa Constantine had one of Westwood's best scoring chances. |
Westwood got it going in the second half and had the better of play. With just over a minute to go in regulation, the Cardinals had a chance to score the game-winner. There was a scramble in front off of a corner, but the Rams were able to clear the zone and the teams headed toward overtime.
The style of play changes dramatically in overtime where teams go from playing 11-on-11 to playing 7-on-7, which creates a wide-open playing field with breakaways and scoring opportunities all over the place.
It was virtually all Westwood in the first extra session with a pair of quality scoring chances 45 seconds apart. Alexa Constantine had a shot from in close that trickled just wide. DiPiazza then tracked down Julia Cherruault on a breakaway and forced her shot wide as well. It appeared after the first overtime that Ramsey would be lucky just to get to penalty strokes.
“We definitely felt like we were getting the better of play and thought we would finally score in the second overtime,” said Westwood head coach Jaclyn Magliato, who has her team off to a 9-3 start which is the Cardinals’ best start in over a decade. “I thought we hustled the entire game and did all the little things that makes us a great team. We played with heart, passion, and confidence, we just couldn’t finish. You only get so many opportunities to score and you have to take advantage of them. It’s heartbreaking to lose this way two years in a row. We’ll get there though and this will just make us more hungry.”
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Ramsey's defense held up for the full 60-plus minutes. |
DiPiazza came on in the second minute of double overtime as a sub and wasted little time in making the biggest of impacts. Westwood failed to clear a corner and Rams’ forward Kathleen Scanlon sent the ball back in the middle of the circle to a wide-open DiPiazza. Cardinals’ keeper Renee Goie closed out, but it was too late as DiPiazza slipped a shot through the five-hole and into the back of the cage as the Rams poured onto the field in celebration.
“The ball came right to me and I couldn’t believe I was open,” said DiPiazza. “I saw the goalie coming out and a defender to my right, I had to get off a shot before they got to me. It was aiming for a corner, but got a little lucky with the ball getting between her pads.”
Ramsey will face a familiar foe in rival Northern Highlands, the top-seed and five-time defending Bergen County champion in next week’s county final. The game, which is a rematch of the county final in each of the past three years, will be played at Westwood High School next Sunday at noon.
“We’re so excited to get another chance to play Northern Highlands,” added DiPiazza. “This is probably the best game I’ve ever played in. To score the winning goal that got us to the county final is just crazy. We wanted this win so bad and it feels great to get it the way we did.”
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