Sunday,
October 25, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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With a 2-1 win over Clifton on Sunday, Wayne Hills became the first program to win three straight Passaic County titles since Wayne Valley ended a four-year run in 1999. |
CLIFTON – It is a spot that was all too familiar for Wayne Hills’ Meghan Griffin. Locked in a Passaic County final showdown with rival Clifton with her team needing someone to step up and find the back of the net, the Patriots looked to find their star striker. After being marked tightly throughout the second half, Griffin finally was able to break free and made the most of her one scoring chance.
Griffin lofted a perfect strike into the upper left-hand corner with 8:27 to play to score the game-winner in a Passaic County final for the second year in a row as top-seeded Wayne Hills won the Passaic County championship for the third straight time with a 2-1 triumph over No. 2 seed Clifton on Saturday at Clifton Stadium.
“(Griffin) is dangerous in space and was fed a very good ball that set her up beautifully in a great spot to finish,” said Wayne Hills’ head coach Greg Rehberger. “I wanted us to be attacking wide more in the second half and that was where we had most of our success.”
The teams traded scoring chances early before Wayne Hills struck first in the 21st minute. Callen VanderMay got things started with a long ball that was run onto by Griffin. She sent a cross into the box and Johnna Caporuscio was there to knock it in to put the Patriots in front with the 1-0 lead that they took to halftime.
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Clifton's Daniella LoBue gets a lift after tying the game at 1 with 29:07 left in regulation. |
After struggling to mount any offense for the remainder of the first half after Caporuscio’s goal, Clifton survived a flurry in the opening minute of the second half and bounced back by applying constant pressure to the Patriots’ back line. Daniella LoBue nearly tied the game on a long shot only to be denied on a great punch save from Wayne Hills’ keeper Siobhan O’Sullivan. Just 90 seconds later though, LoBue cashed in on a second opportunity to score from the exact same spot. She ripped a left-footed volley from 30 yards out over the leaping O’Sullivan and into the side netting to tie the game at 1 with 29:07 to play.
“It was definitely scary when they tied the game,” said Wayne Hills’ Lynnea Kolpon. “We had to score a second goal to feel secure but they got the tying goal first. We lost to them in the regular season. In this game against them, we had to play the ball wide more and execute better than we did the first time we played them.
The Lady Mustangs fed off the momentum of LoBue’s tying goal to take control of the possession game for most of the second half. Their best chance to take the lead came on a long blast 40 yards out from outside fullback Sharon Garcia that went over the crossbar with less than 10 minutes to play.
Shortly there after, Wayne Hills got the go-ahead goal on a play that is a defining one for their success this season. On a free kick just beyond the midfield stripe along the right side, VanderMay switched fields and chipped a long ball right onto the foot of a wide open Olivia Prusakowski. She dribbled into space and dished it off to Lynnea Kolpon, who then touched the ball into space for Griffin. The senior forward made a nice run to get around the ball and unleashed a perfect strike over the head of Clifton keeper Carly Egyed and into the upper 90 with 8:27 to play that put the Patriots ahead, 2-1.
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Megan Griffin's goal with 8:27 left gave Wayne Hills its third straight one-goal victory over Clifton in Passaic County championship matches. |
“I took a quick look at the goal and saw there was space,” said Griffin. “I just made sure I leaned over the ball, kicked it and hoped for the best.”
Clifton made one last push and earned a direct kick just 25 yards out. But the Mustangs ran out of time and the final whistle blew before the kick could be taken as Wayne Hills celebrated a third straight outright Passaic County title for the first time since Wayne Valley capped a four-year run in 1999. All three of the Patriots’ victories in the county finals came by one goal and all of them were over Clifton.
Griffin’s goal was her 13th of the year for Wayne Hills (14-2). Egyed made six saves for Clifton, which suffered its first loss of the season and fell to 14-1-1.
With a successful defense of their Passaic County crown now in hand, the pressure is off as the Patriots turn their attention towards the state tournament.
“This is a big confidence boost going into states and we’re really confident,” added Griffin. “We’re a big family, we’re all looking for one goal to get further than we’ve gone in the state tournament in previous years.”
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