Tuesday, November 8, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Lex Knief netted her seventh hat trick of the season as Ramsey scored all five of its goal in the first half in a 5-0 win over Westwood in the North 1, Group 2 state sectional semifinals.

RAMSEY – Whether it is a heavy favorite filled with individual stars, or a plucky underdog, teams are always looking for that extra motivation to make a run through the state tournament. For the Ramsey girls soccer the motivation has been a year in the making as the Rams are determined to dish out payback in their quest for a dream finish to their season while picking off teams that stopped them in the past.

Lexi Knief recorded her seventh hat trick of the season as second-seeded Ramsey scored three times in the first 19 minutes, all off headers, and scored all of its goals in the first half to cruise into the North 1, Group 2 section final with a 5-0 semifinal win on Monday over sixth-seeded Westwood at Ramsey High School.

Both Ramsey and Westwood came in on high notes. The Rams had avenged a section final loss last year to eventual Group 2 state champ Mahwah (3-2), and Westwood survived penalty kicks against upstart Kittatinny Regional to advance to the section semis. But once the game started, it was one-sided.

Ramsey got on the scoreboard off of its first corner kick of the afternoon. Morgan Coonrad took the corner and it was knocked right back out to her near the flag. She sent it back in and Knief was there at the far post to head it home in the seventh minute to put Ramsey up 1-0.

Kristin Capone and Westwood finished their season with a 12-7-1 record.

“It is always important to score first in a state game,” said Coonrad, whose sister, Hailey, also starred at Ramsey before playing at Lehigh University. “We learned that lesson when we let up an early goal against Westwood last year and ended up losing (1-0). I’m always looking for Lexi on corners and she’s a great target to have because she is usually a head above everyone else.”

In the 14th minute, Knief made a run across the field and chipped a pass towards the top of the box. Addie Jensen ran onto it and flicked a header past Westwood keeper Nicole Gioe to make it a two-goal lead. The Rams all but turned the lights out minutes later when Knief headed home a Coonrad corner at the far post to make it 3-0.

“To score three goals in the first twenty minutes and for all three of them to come in the air is a good sign for us,” said Ramsey head coach George Wright. “I thought we played real well and we punched one in early, which is what we talked before the game as being our number one priority.”

Westwood suffered an unfortunate blow just after allowing the third goal when Gioe suffered a a knee injury. It was open season then for the Rams as Coonrad scored directly on a corner kick and Knief capped her hat trick off a feed from Jeanne Pirro to make it 5-0 at the half.

Morgan Coonrad and Ramsey will get another shot at Glen Rock in the section final on Thursday.

Knief (who got a chance to play sweeper late in the game and was effective despite flubbing a goal kick) now has 39 goals on the season and Coonrad has 25 assists for Ramsey (18-1-2), which held a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks. Nicole Cirilli and Christina Esposito each had one save in the shutout. Westwood was outshot 18-6 and finished the season with a 12-7-1 record.

Ramsey will get a third straight shot at revenge as it returns to the North 1, Group 2 final tomorrow against top-seeded Glen Rock, a 1-0 winner yesterday over Kinnelon. The teams clashed in the quarterfinals of the Bergen County Tournament when Glen Rock winning 1-0 in overtime to give the Rams their only blemish on their ledger this season. With this being the last shot at a section title for Ramsey’s outstanding senior class, including both Knief and Coonrad, they want to finish out their careers as champions. Another measure of revenge seems the most fitting way to get there.

“Revenge is made for this team and that is really what has been driving us lately,” said Knief, a senior who will play softball next year at Penn State University. “We really wanted Mahwah, we got through Westwood, and now it’s Glen Rock [in the section final]. They are a really good team and it’s going to be a tough game. As much fun as we had today, now it’s back down to business and try to get one more ‘W’.”

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