Wednesday,
October 21, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Melissa Lein knocked in a free ball off a blocked shot for the lone goal in Midland Park's 1-0 win over rival Waldwick. |
MIDLAND PARK – With Park Ridge already having locked up a NJIC-Patriot league title, rivals Midland Park and Waldwick were able to move past that and turn their attention to the upcoming state tournament. With their matchup on Tuesday being the last chance for each to secure valuable power points against a team within their section, the game was just as expected; a physical, defensive battle with one break being the difference in the outcome.
Off of a blocked shot, the ball bounced right in front of Midland Park's Melissa Lein near the top of the box. The junior center midfielder got off a left-footed volley that floated into the upper left-hand corner with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Sweeper Thalia Ghalam and stopper Abbie Westbrock ensured that goal stood up as Midland Park did not allow a shot on goal over the final 26 minutes and earned a split of the season series with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Waldwick at Midland Park High School.
“We knew this was a big game and we're happy to beat them after losing to them a week ago,” said Ghalam. “This win definitely boosts our confidence.
Playing on a grass field with diamond dirt in two of the four corners, neither team got much going offensively throughout the game. Frankie Raffaele had the best scoring chance of the first half for Waldwick after stripping a Midland Park defender of the ball. Her low-liner went just wide of the left post at the midway point of the first half. Minutes later, the Panthers were able to mount an attack and cashed in on their first true scoring opportunity of the match.
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Frankie Raffaele had one of Waldwick's best scoring chances that she set up by dispossessing a Midland Park defender. |
Kendra Cirino's shot from the top left-corner of the penalty box was blocked by a Waldwick defender when the Panthers got a bit of good fortune with the ball bouncing right in front of Lein. With a defender on her back hip, she turned and got off a lefty volley that went just off of the fingertips of leaping Waldwick keeper Amanda Craven and into the upper left-hand corner for a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.
“I was just thinking of getting the ball on net and it was a weird kind of goal, but whatever works,” said Lein. “It just kind of floated over the goalie's head. I was really surprised that it went in, but I'm definitely happy that it did.”
After giving up the goal, the Warriors went on the attack for the remainder of the first half and that carried into the second. They were able to get into the offensive third but were often unable to get off shots. That was thanks in large part to the play of Wostbrock in the middle and of Kasey Oates and Kelly Boland along the wings.
If anything were to slip by, Ghalam was consistently there to clean it up as Midland Park goalie Julie Carey was barely tested in the second half and the Panthers ran out the clock on a big win with state seeding implications.
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Thalia Ghalam anchored a steady defensive effort by Midland Park. |
“If you don't win the ball, you're not going to win the game,” said Waldwick head coach Tommy Schultz. “We tried to make some adjustments at halftime, but they just wanted this game more than we did. I think that maybe we needed this to get to the level that we want to be at. There's still stuff we need to work on, but we'll regroup and get ready for the next one. We'll bounce back, I have no doubt about it.”
Carey needed to make just four saves to earn the shutout for Midland Park (8-3-2). Her counterpart, Craven, finished with six saves for Waldwick (10-4).
After losing three out of the last five games, it appears that Midland Park has weathered the storm of a tough schedule and now looks to get back on a winning streak heading into state tournament play.
“This is a big win and now we have to keep working hard,” added Lein. “Midland Park and Waldwick are really big rivals and we just lost to them, so we had to put everything we had into winning this game. Now we have to look forward to a tough game against Cresskill and we hope to get another win there.”
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