Belle Bennett (16) celebrating the opening goal in Northern Highlands' 2-0 win over Westwood in the Bergen County title game on Sunday in Ramsey.
RAMSEY – Northern Highlands has had, by all accounts, a relatively pressure-free season thus far. The Highlanders have played well in all phases of the game and steamrolled their way through the regular season. Even in suffering their first loss of the season to Kent Place, a Top 10 team in New Jersey, the Highlanders learned their weaknesses and gained a list of improvements they needed to make.
Their program has long been defined by championships and, facing upstart Westwood, the Highlanders faced real pressure for the first time all season.
Belle Bennett scored in the first quarter and Molly Bennett added an insurance goal in the third period as top-seeded Northern Highlands reigns supreme as the best team in Bergen County by winning the Bergen County Tournament with a 2-0 triumph over No. 3 seed Westwood on Sunday afternoon at Ramsey High School.
The Highlanders felt the pressure coming in and knew they had a formidable opponent on their hands, evidenced by a 1-0 Northern Highlands win in their only meeting earlier in the season. Westwood was under attack early and eventually conceded a corner. That has become a specialty for the Highlanders and they cashed in on their first attempt. Sarah Badenhorst drove a hard shot into the circle that Belle Bennett deflected over the goalie’s shoulder and into the cage to give Highlands the lead.
“Sarah took the shot and I was just trying to get my stick on it,” said Belle Bennett. “I was in shock that it basically went right over the goalie and in. We work so hard in practice working on corners so when we get them in game situations we’re ready.”
Jules Proot handling the ball for Westwood, which is now 12-7 on the season heading into the state playoffs.
Having not given up a single goal all season to a Bergen County opponent the lead should have felt comfortable, but Westwood showed plenty of grit and determination throughout the game and had their best chance to net the tying goal late in the first quarter. Off of corner, the ball got knocked around in front with the Cardinals having three cracks from point-blank range. Northern Highlanders keeper Lilly Jerome only made three saves in the game but two of three occurred mere seconds apart. She came off her line to make two sprawling saves with the third attempt trickling wide as the Highlanders escaped that sequence and the first half with the lead, 1-0.
“You have to always be ready and I had to have the mentality that nothing was getting by me,” said Jerome. “I just squared up to their shooters and came out to cut down the angles. This was not just another game. We wanted this title, it’s been a goal of ours from the first day of the season. Our team was so focused today and we communicated well. We’re so tightly bonded that it’s an advantage for us in a big game like this one.”
The Highlanders had a lead at the half but it was a tenuous one. Northern Highlands’ head coach Jordan Paton had to get the message across to her team that their fortunes could change in an instant.
Lily Jerome (88) celebrates the shutout for Highlands, which improved to 17-1-1 on the season.
“The emphasis at halftime was not allowing a shift in momentum,” said Paton. “Westwood is a very strong defensive team, especially up the middle. We wanted to spread them out and use our speed to our advantage. In a championship game like this one we had to settle down and made sure we played our game. We knew whoever got the first goal of the second half would have all the momentum.”
In the third quarter, there was a lot of end-to-end action but neither team was able to put any shots on net. Westwood (12-7) had a golden opportunity when Badenhorst was sent off for five minutes. However, the Highlanders clamped down defensively. Lauren Flatt, Isabella Manno, Carly Simmel, Elizabeth Lobo, and Molly Bennett were all in sync as the Highlanders did not allow a single shot over that span.
Immediately after Badenhorst was able to return to the field of play she sent another hard shot into the circle that was blocked. The ball bounced right to Molly Bennett, who flicked it through traffic in front and in with 2:26 to play in the third quarter as Northern Highlands (17-1-1) took control of the game on its way to a Bergen County title, the Highlanders’ first since 2018.
With a Bergen County title in their back pocket, the Highlanders will turn their attention towards the North 1, Group 3 state tournament. They are the No. 4 seed and will host 13th seeded Robbinsville on Wednesday with a potential showdown looming in the section quarterfinals with Mercer County Tournament champion Lawrence and the state record holder for goals in a single season, Talia Schenck, who has an eye-popping 104 goals on the season.
“We were actually pretty nervous going into the game because none of have ever played in a county final before, but we got through it together,” said Molly Bennett. “This team wanted to win so badly that we felt we could push through anything. Our team chemistry is so strong and we practice so hard that we were prepared for this moment. This championship had showed how much our hard work has paid off.”
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