Friday, November 9, 2007

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Amanda Villafranco about to strike the penalty kick that gave Pascack Hills the first sectional title in the history of its girls soccer program.

ORADELL – When looking around the walls of the gymnasium in Pascack Hills High School, there is no recognition of the girls soccer program. Every other sport has its own place somewhere with panels on banners commemorating league, county or state titles, but for girls soccer? Nothing, no banner at all and it certainly did not look like there was a need to order one when Pascack Hills entered the North 1, Group 2 state sectional tournament as the No. 11 seed, the next to lowest seed in the draw.

For this team, just making the state tournament was an accomplishment, and beyond that not too much else was expected. But then the upsets started to happen.

First it was a Mahwah, a Bergen County semifinalist that had beaten Pascack Hills earlier in the year. Then it was Kinnelon, the defending Group 1 state champion, then NBIL rival Pascack Valley and all of a sudden, the Cowgirls were in the first-ever section final in the program’s history.

Courtney Snyder's goal withing the first five minutes of the game gave River Dell an early lead to work with.

To earn one, all Pascack Hills’ ‘Cardiac Kids’ had to do was go to River Dell and beat the defending Group 2 state champion on its own home field in the most important game of the season. No matter how many times they have been counted out on paper, the Cowgirls are still alive and kicking, literally.

Despite being outplayed for most of the match, the Cowgirls were able to play even-up on the scoreboard through regulation and the two overtime periods to force penalty kicks. They connected on their final three attempts with the last goal provided by the right foot of junior Amanda Villafranco.

Villafranco’s PK touched off a wild celebration as 11th seeded Pascack Hills pulled its fourth consecutive upset and won its first-ever section title in girls’ soccer with a 2-1 (4-2 in PKs) win over the top-seeded Hawks.

“I can’t put this into words, this is amazing,” said Pascack Hills’ Monica Zurich. “We were nervous, but everyone stepped up. We (won in penalty kicks) once before and we knew we could do it again. To come from the (number 11) seed to win the section is crazy.”

River Dell looked to put the Cowgirls’ upset bid away early behind a blast from Bergen County’s leading scorer, Courtney Snyder. The Monmouth-bound Snyder pounced on a rolling loose ball outside the top of the box and ripped a hard-knuckleball into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead just over five minutes into the match.

Jen SantAnna headed home a goal just a minute before halftime to get Pascack Hills back even at 1.

The Hawks controlled play in the midfield for the first 30 minutes behind all-county playmakers Trish Berkanish and Chrissy Klepper, but the Cowgirls were unfazed and put together their best stretch of possession over the final 10 minutes of the first half. They hit a crossbar and had a goal disallowed before putting one in with just over a minute left before the break.

Jen SantAnna moved up from sweeper on a corner kick and was unmarked in the box. Olivia Habicht’s corner kick landed near the penalty spot and SantAnna headed it past Hawks’ keeper Emily Mino to tie the game and give Pascack Hills some momentum heading into the second half.

That momentum did not last long however, as the Hawks dominated just about every minute after halftime. They put constant pressure on the Cowgirls’ defense and had three legitimate scoring chances in the final 10 minutes of regulation, including two in a 10-second span.

Ariane Ackerman beat a defender in the box and cracked a shot past Pascack Hills goalie Meredith Schlussel, but it hit off the crossbar and rolled towards the corner flag. Sherri LaJoie tracked down the loose ball and gave a centering pass to Berkanish. The junior took a touch then ripped a shot towards the right post. This time, it would not get past Schlussel, who made a diving save.

Julie Trapini is part of a senior class that brought River Dell its first-ever girls soccer state title last season.

After the teams combined for just one shot in the first overtime, they both had a scoring chance in the second. Snyder snuck in behind the defense off a nice through-ball by Berkanish, but her shot went high. With just 10 seconds remaining, Olivia Habicht’s free kick from 30 yards out skimmed the top of the crossbar. After 100 minutes of hard-fought play without deciding a winner, the teams would go to penalty kicks.

The shootout was tied at two goals apiece through three shooters when Monica Zurich stepped up and buried a shot to put Pascack Hills up one. After a River Dell miss, Villafranco was visibly nervous and excited as she stepped up to take fifth, and potentially final, shot. She did not let her nerves get to her and she ripped a shot slightly to Mino’s left and just under the crossbar for the game-winner as the Pascack Hills’ team rushed the field to mob her.

“Walking out to take the kick is the most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done,” said Villafranco. “On the kick, I just went for my usual spot. I just knew that I couldn’t miss it. When it went in, I just knew that we won the first state title in Pascack Hills’ soccer history.”

River Dell held a 17-6 advantage in shots and a 6-4 edge in corner kicks. Mino had two saves for the Hawks, while Schlussel had five for Pascack Hills. The loss was a bitter end for a decorated senior class at River Dell, which brought home the school’s first state title in girls’ soccer last fall.

Meredith Schlussel made five saves for Pascack Hills, which will play Rutherford in the Group 2 state semifinals.

“You have to tip your hat off to Pascack Hills, they stopped us from scoring in the second half and won on penalty kicks,” said River Dell head coach Steve Grenz. “You never expect it to be your last game. Until that last buzzer or that last tick of the clock, you always feel you have a chance to win. You always expect to win and you plan for it; and when it doesn’t happen, it’s tough.”

Pascack Hills will face another first-time section champion in the Group 2 state semifinals when they face North 2, Group 2 champion Rutherford, which won a wild 5-4 game over Summit on Thursday. That game will be played on Monday at Bridgewater-Raritan High School with a 5:00 start time.

“These kids are just unbelievable, unbelievable,” said Pascack Hills head coach Scott Ernest, who also led the Cowgirls on an upset-laden run to the Group 2 final last year in softball. “We practice penalty kicks every day and we practice for this. We’ve prepared ourselves for this moment and we came through against a great, great team. I just want my girls to enjoy this moment and remember what we accomplished here.”

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