Wednesday,
September 24, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Sara Milenkovska scored twice for Elmwood Park, which won its second game of the season, 3-2, over Garfield. |
ELMWOOD PARK – Building a successful girls' soccer program on the varsity level without a long-standing feeder program in town is a difficult task. In recent years, both Elmwood Park and Garfield have struggled to find success on the varsity pitch without a pipeline to a youth system. But with solid coaching staffs, committed to putting the hard work to make the connection, both programs are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
On Tuesday, the two teams clashed with a chance to notch a much-needed 'W'. It was a tight game throughout before Elmwood Park finally broke through late in the second half.
Sara Milenkovska scored on a long free kick with 14 minutes to go and Elmwood Park hung on for its second win of the season, 3-2, over Garfield at Elmwood Park High School.
“I think we got a little negative in the first half when we weren't scoring, but we put it together in the second half,” said Elmwood Park assistant coach Michelle Ercolano, filling in for head coach Samantha Rodriguez. “It's our first year with enough players for a JV team, so we feel like we're building something here. Every day we're growing. A win is a win and we'll try to carry this game over into the next one.”
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Juliesy Gomez and Garfield have made strides to being a competitive side this season. |
Elmwood Park had the edge in possession throughout the first half, but it was the Boilermakers who got on the scoreboard first. Lauren Acevedo squeezed a ball through traffic and onto the foot of streaking midfielder Linette Ramirez for a breakaway. Her low shot just got past Elmwood Park keeper Kathy Hanna and went into the back of the net for a 1-0 Garfield lead in the 26th minute.
The Crusaders kept moving forward and did not take long to net the equalizer. In the 32nd minute, Belen Gamarra sent in a long shot that went off of the Garfield goalie's fingertips and rolled in to knot the game at 1, which was also the score at halftime.
Garfield (1-3) shocked the Crusaders by coming inches away from scoring just seconds after the second-half kickoff. Off of a cross from Alexandra Sharra, Danica Torres' header hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced along the goal line before being cleared away by Elmwood Park's Diana Sambevski.
That seemed to light a fire under the Crusaders, who got back to controlling possession and creating scoring chances before finally cashing in one in the 66th minute. Milenkovska lined up a 35-yard free kick that took a hard skip off the grass and got through the goalie's hands and in for a 2-1 lead.
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Belen Gamarra was a force in the midfield for Elmwood Park, which improved to 2-5 on the season. |
“I was looking at the left side when I saw the goalie pinching to the right and I went for it,” said Milenkovska. “I placed a hard shot to the left corner and was fortunate that it went through the goalie's hands. We were a little frustrated today offensively. A goal is a goal and we'll take it how we can get it.”
Minutes later, Savannah Zock's long free kick resulted in an own goal to make it 3-1. Garfield made a late push and cut the lead to 3-2 on a goal from Natalia Kisel with just over two minutes to play, but the Boilermakers never regained possession and the Crusaders ran out the clock for the victory.
“I thought we played hard the whole game but we have to work on being consistent and executing in certain situations,” said Garfield head coach Lynette Reilly. “We were a little late to react to certain situations that hurt us. But we were much more competitive than we've been the past few years. Even though we didn't get the win, this is a positive step for us.”
Both Gamarra and Milenkovska had solid efforts in the midfield for Elmwood Park (2-5). The Crusaders' next three games are against tough opponents (Glen Rock, Hawthorne, and Rutherford), who have a combined 8-1-1 record so far. Seeing how they stack up against top competition will be a good measuring stick moving forward for how far this program has come.
“We have some big games coming up and we're excited to see how we do,” added Milenkovska. “I think we're starting to play together as a team. It feels great to win after some tough losses. I hope we can put it together more often and have this feeling again in more games during the season.”
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