Tuesday, November 8, 2011

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Dwight-Englewood celebrating its 3-2 win over MKA and its first ever trip to the Non-Public B North state sectional final.

ENGLEWOOD – Rachel Cole had scored 49 goals this season, including two in the first half of Monday's Non-Public North B state sectional final, and her running mate, Jessica Lee, had assisted on many of them. But the pair of seniors who are heading to Division 1 programs next season needed to find a way to net one more to get Dwight-Englewood into a section final for the first time in school history.

That one goal proved elusive through a combination of bad luck and good play from Montclair-Kimberely goalkeeper Emma Layton. Three times in a span of three minutes and twice on the same sequence, Dwight-Englewood shots were turned away by the crossbar and on two other occasions Layton robbed each of the Bulldogs' standouts in bang-bang, 1-v-1 situations.

The frustration finally ended with 8:13 left in regulation and you could see it coming a mile way, or at least from midfield where Lee ran onto a ball and ping-ponged off of two defenders while managing to maintain possession. She picked up her head and picked up Cole, who was timing a run into the offensive third. When Lee lofted the ball with her right foot, Cole was shoulder to shoulder with her defender. When the ball took its first high bounce, Coal was two steps in front and with a direct route to the goal.

MKA keeper Emma Layton made a ton of big saves to keep her team in the game.

Cole drew Layton, who had no choice but to try to cut the angle, then drifted right and shot into the empty net for the only goal of the second half and the one Dwight-Englewood, the No. 5 seed, needed to claim a 3-2 win and a spot in Thursday's section final against No. 3 Oak Knoll, a 2-0 winner over Morris Catholic in Monday's other semifinal.

“Jess gave me like 20 great balls throughout the game and I just hadn't been able to do it. That last one was just perfect. It was mostly her, I just ran on to it and went in on the goalie and shot,” said Cole, the state's leading goal scorer by a wide margin. “It's amazing. Girls soccer at Dwight-Englewood? We don't get this many fans for a game and the people on the bench were just cheering us on. They don't care if they are playing, they just want to be a part of this and it is an amazing feeling.”

Montclair-Kimberely, the No. 9 seed that broke the bracket wide open when it knocked off top-seeded Villa Walsh in the quarterfinals, looked to keep its string of upsets growing when it took two first half leads. Claudia Sheer opened the scoring by hitting a lofted shot into the bright sun that was shining right into the eyes of Dwight-Englewood keeper Austen Tosone. It hit the back of the net inside the first five minutes of the game and gave the Cougars the first of their two one-goal advantages that were subsequently wiped out by Cole.

In the 17th minute, Cole went to what has become her patented move. She took possession on the left side and rode the 18 across the field. With the defense moving in rhythm that way, Cole cut the ball back inside the first post to get the Bulldogs back even at 1.

Rachel Cole, the state's leading goal scorer, added Nos. 47, 48 and 49, including the game-winner for Dwight-Englewood.

Ten minutes later, MKA (14-8-2) went back in front by taking advantage of a mistake in the back. After a Dwight-Englewood defender whiffed on a clearance attempt, Tess Meyer pounced on the loose ball and promptly dinged the post with her shot from just inside the area. Meyer followed the path of the rebound, caught up to it and then dropped a pass to Caroline Till, who shot back across the goal and into the upper left for a 2-1 MKA lead in the 27th minute.

“We got down, but with Rachel and Jessica we know we are going to get opportunities to put things away,” said Eddie Ballas, who is in his fifth season as Dwight-Englewood's head coach. “When [Rachel] gets the ball she makes things out of nothing. She goes in the corners and somehow she twists and gets a shot in.”

That is what happened almost to a T when Cole ran under another long ball played in by Lee. Man marked all game and with another defender always ready to come in behind, Cole had to be creative and she was on the equalizer. Lee's service took one high bounce about 10 paces inside the right sideline and Cole somehow volleyed the ball over the defender that was in close contact. Cole's shot twisted into the roof from a ridiculous angle to tie the score at 2 where it remained through the rest of the first half and deep into the second.

The particularly frustrating stretch for Dwight-Englewood came in a three minute span midway through the second half. It started in the 54th minute when Lee, who will play at Princeton next season, drilled a free kick from 35 yards out that just about dented the framework when it struck the crossbar flush. Vanessa Pike had followed the ball in and, with the MKA defense caught watching and Layton out of position after chasing the original shot, Pike had a chance at a header against an empty net only to see her shot, too, bounce off the crossbar.

Dwight's Jessica Lee had two assists, including sending in the long ball that led to the game-winner.

Less than two minutes later, Cole hit the crossbar with an opportunity rip that she let go from 30 yards away two minutes after that, Cole breezed by a defender on the right side, cut on the diagonal and then hit a bullet from in close only to see Layton lay out and make a now-or-never save. With 15 minutes left in regulation, Layton stoned Lee, who chased a loose ball and caught up to it at the six before her shot was deflected by the MKA keeper.

It wasn't until the 81st minute that Lee and Cole, who will play next season at Rutgers, could connect for the game-winner, but it was worth the wait.

“I didn't see anybody open on the flanks, so I knew that Rachel was up top and that is what we have worked on all season, to send the ball to Rachel, feed her every time,” said Lee, who assisted on the second two goals of Cole's hat trick. “She is a goal-scorer. She is a machine, so we knew that she was going to put it in the back of the net.”

MKA pushed up late in an attempt to square the match for a third time, but despite some anxious moments, Tosone and the Bulldogs defense held their ground and they are off to the section final for the first time in school history.

Times have certainly changed since Ballas took over as head coach five years ago.

“When I came here we had eight on nine players five years ago, but slowly we have built it up and the kids started believing, they work hard and this is what happens,” said Ballas. “Everything changed around and it is a great atmosphere around here right now. Everyone in the school is happy and this is what it is all about. I have 13 seniors and the most important thing is that they are going out on top and they are going to have excellent memories. This is what it is all about, you know?”

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