Monday,
October 3, 2011
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Frankie Maier scored both goals as River Dell avoided a first round upset with a 2-0 win over Waldwick in the Bergen County Tournament. |
ORADELL - River Dell's Frankie Maier remembers vividly what the feeling was when the final whistle blew. It was one of anger, sadness, and bewilderment all wrapped into one after River Dell was on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in Bergen County Tournament history when it dominated in every way except on the scoreboard in a 1-0 loss to 24th-seeded Lodi in the opening round. The loss still stings but Sunday's first-round Bergen County Tournament game provided an opportunity to take put to use the valuable lesson learned: Score early, set the tone, and do not take your foot off of the gas against a hungry opponent.
Maier blasted a shot in from close range in the 16th minute and then added a goal later in the first half as 11th seeded River Dell exorcised the demons from the Lodi game and moved into the Bergen County Tournament's Round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over Waldwick, the No. 22 seed, at River Dell High School.
"We knew we could have a game like we had against Lodi last year, we had to finish," said Maier, a junior who is already committed to play at Seton Hall. "I think in the Lodi game last year, we just figured that we would eventually score and we never did. We didn't take this game for granted at all. Waldwick is a very aggressive team and we had to be just as aggressive to win this game."
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Ashley Ott had Waldwick's best scoring chance, but her PK hit the crossbar. |
The Hawks got a wake-up call early as Waldwick's Mariana Ruas broke through for a breakaway scoring chance. River Dell goaltender Payton Wagmeister was up to the task as she charged all the way to the top of the box to close down the angle and make the save.
From there, the Hawks took over by possessing the ball and using the whole field, which led to their first goal. After knocking the ball across the back line and switching fields, Kayla McGovern played the ball up the left wing for freshman Noreen Byrne. She collected it before sending a pass into space along the six-yard box. With a defender draped all over her, Maier calmly shielded the ball, spun around and fired a shot into the back of the net 15:37 into the game to put River Dell in front, 1-0. Later in the half, she took a centering pass from Emily McGovern and blasted another shot home from 12 yards out to give River Dell an insurance goal and a 2-0 halftime lead.
"When you have a few defensive breakdowns against a strong team like River Dell, you put yourself in a tough position," said Waldwick head coach Santiago Salme. "We had Emerson, Midland Park, Indian Hills, and now River Dell all back to back. I think we were just beat up and we weren't as crisp as we usually are. But playing teams like this really gets a small Group 1 team like us prepared for the rest of the season and the states. It was a real good test for us, I just wish were a little more healthy and we executed better both defensively and finish the scoring chances we had."
The second half was more evenly played as Waldwick starting stringing passes together and getting scoring opportunities. The Warriors' best chance to get back in the game came when a River Dell handball was ruled to be in the box and a penalty kick was awarded. Sweeper Ashley Ott stepped up to take it and struck the ball well, but it hit the crossbar and was cleared away by Emily Dominguez.
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Freshman Noreen Byrne (right) assisted on River Dell's first goal. |
Maier was a playmaker all over the field for River Dell (4-2-1). Wagmeister made five saves to earn her first shutout of the season. Jessica Colucci recorded a career-high 14 saves for Waldwick, which dropped its fourth straight game with three of them being by one goal to fall to 3-5.
River Dell will have to wait to see who it plays in the Round of 16. The Hawks will get the winner of sixth-seeded Paramus and 27th seeded Tenafly. With the Lodi game from last year now completely in the rear-view mirror, the Hawks can focus on the road ahead.
"We know too well how important it is to get one in the back of the net first and that's a lesson we learned took from last year's county tournament," said River Dell head coach Steve Grenz. "I thought we had stretches where we possessed the ball well and made some things happen. But if we hope to keep moving on the county tournament, we have to do it for a full 80 minutes, not just 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there. We're glad to get this win out of the way after what happened against Lodi last year, but now we have to take more positive steps towards where we want to be as a team."
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