Wednesday,
October 14, 2015
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
|
Amanda Tripodi assisted on Old Tappan's first two goals in a 4-0 win at Pascack Valley that gave the Golden Knights the inside track to a league title. |
HILLSDALE – It was an opportunity that landed with a resounding thud. Heading into last Tuesday’s regular season match against defending Bergen County champion Immaculate Heart Academy, the Northern Valley/Old Tappan girls soccer team was playing well and doing so with confidence. It was a chance to see just how much really separated the Golden Knights from a perennial state power.
After staying close for a half, Old Tappan saw IHA net four in the second half and Emily Crevani, the senior striker and last season’s leading goal-scorer go down with an ankle injury that may keep her off the pitch for the rest of the season. Things very well could have gone sideways right then and there.
But it hasn’t.
Showing its depth and employing a less direct attack, Old Tappan has posted two impressive wins in the last three days. On Sunday it was a 1-0 win over Ramsey that put the Golden Knights into the quarterfinals of the Bergen County Tournament. Then, on Tuesday afternoon, Old Tappan scored just over three minutes in against Pascack Valley and kept the hammer down on the way to a 4-0 victory that gave it sole possession of first place in the race for a division title with four games left to play.
“All the players on this team, we believe in each other,” said Kelsey McLaughlin, a senior and a three-year starter. “If someone goes down we feel like we can all pick up the slack by coming together as a team. We feel like we can get the same result that we would if we had everyone healthy. It’s harder and it takes more work, but we are willing to do it and we are still confident.”
Crevani is most dangerous when she uses her speed and low center of gravity to barrel right down the middle of the field with the ball on her foot. In her absence, the Knights are using the full width of the pitch, which led directly to their first goal. Junior Amanda Tripodi took on a defender on the left, maintained her near post run and then smacked a shot right off that same post. The rebound fell to sophomore Jordan Decresente, who buried it with 3:03 burned from the original 80 minutes.
|
Kelly Petro had one of Pascack Valley's best scoring chances. |
“To the credit of the kids, they are really playing well. It’s a great group so it is really nice to see. In spite of Emily’s injury, we are playing great,” said Old Tappan head coach Tom Quinn. “We have been playing great in the midfield and we did not get a lot of shots today, but most of them went in. It is a little bizarre when that happens, but we will take it.”
But before Old Tappan could build a lead that could be considered comfortable, Pascack Valley had a couple of genuine chances to get back even, both of them on headers off set pieces. Jada Usal made her best save of the game, diving left to the back post to keep the first one out, and the second off the noggin of Kelly Petro also ended up in the keeper’s gloves.
Usal, a junior who has seen quality but sporadic minutes for most of the season, is now the Knights’ No. 1 keeper for as long as senior Maia Levenshus is out. Levenshus is nursing a wrist injury picked up the county tournament win against Ramsey. Usal made four saves against Pascack Valley.
“It is definitely a change and the whole defense has kind of had to adjust because Maia and I each have our own strengths and weaknesses,” said Udal. “But the defense on this team is so good and they work so well together that they make it easier for whoever is in goal.”
That defense includes sophomore sweeper Caroline O’Sullivan, who was again steady in the back. Just about all of Pascack Valley’s best chances came on restarts and very little through the flow of play.
“We have a really good team connection. We play defense as a team and we kind of know what touches each other are going to take and that helps a lot,” said O’Sullivan. “We want to stop the other team’s attack and get the ball going forward as fast as we can.”
Old Tappan was dangerous going forward all game long and opportunistic as well. When a flubbed clearance fell to Tripodi between the arcs, she took a couple of dribbles and got off another rip on goal. PV keeper Gina Criscuolo made the save on the screamer, but freshman Taylor Newman followed it in for the 2-0 lead Old Tappan took into the half.
|
Kelly Walsh used her left foot to Old Tappan's third goal from 20 yards out. |
Kelly Walsh used her left foot from 20 yards out to make it 3-0 just over two minutes into the second half and Jazzin Clark, the senior midfielder who will play next season at Division 1 Charleston Southern, put the cherry on top. Clark punched one into the upper shelf from about 30 yards away to cap the scoring with 7:39 left on the clock.
The win moves Old Tappan to 8-2-2 on the season and, more importantly at this point of the season, to 5-0-1 in league play. The tie came against Pascack Valley the first time around, but with the loss the Indians fall to 4-1-1 in the league, a game back with four games to play. PV will need some help if it hopes to catch the Golden Knights, who, despite the injuries, still have everything to play for.
They will get another crack at IHA on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Bergen County Tournament on Sunday.
“When the game starts nobody has the advantage. The game starts out 0-0. They are such a talented team and we know it is a challenge, but the first time we played them it was 1-0 at the half,” said McLaughlin. “We had a chance and that is what we are hoping for this weekend, too. We just want to stay close and give ourselves a chance to win.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |