Jillian Gomez made 16 saves for Saddle River Day, which took control of the NJIC-Patriot Division with a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday at Waldwick.
WALDWICK –Saddle River Day came into this season with clear goals in mind, first and foremost was to win an outright league title and in the NJIC-Patriot Division that means going through perennial champion Waldwick. When the Rebels traveled to play Waldwick last year, the result was the wrong side of 6-0 thumping.
A year of seasoning has not only made the Rebels a more confident team but a mentally tougher one as well and that was put to the test on Thursday as Waldwick rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit to tie the game and force overtime. If the Rebels were ever to take the next step as a team and as a program, this was the time.
Emma Lopez and Natalia Lombardi have become one of Bergen County’s top scoring tandems. In the first overtime period, Lombardi laid off a ball for Lopez, who drilled a 25-yard shot into the upper left-hand corner for the game-winner as Saddle River Day moved into sole possession of first place in the division with a thrilling 3-2 triumph at Waldwick High School.
“This was a very interesting game that had a lot of ups and downs,” said Saddle River Day head coach PJ Petrow. “I thought for long stretches of the game Waldwick had the better of play, but we held it together and took advantage when we had our opportunities. This was a huge win that showed what kind of character this team has.”
The Rebels have been Bergen County’s most prolific attack early in the season with 25 goals in their first four games (all wins) of the season. That trend continued as they struck twice in the first ten minutes of the match. Lopez collected a throw-in and sent a ball up the left flank. Lombardi ran onto it and then turned the corner on the defender and slotted a shot home to open the scoring. Just over two minutes later, she sent a long clear that landed right on the foot of the streaking Lopez. She split two defenders for a breakaway chance before putting a liner into the lower right-hand corner for a 2-0 lead just 9:19 in.
Waldwick senior Abby Incorvaia scored her ninth goal of the season.
While the start was a shocking one for the Warriors, they quickly settled in and took control of possession and created quality scoring chances. Only the brilliance of Saddle River Day keeper Jillian Gomez kept them at bay. She made one diving save after another to keep it a two-goal going into the second half.
The intermission did little to stop the Waldwick wave of attack. Less than five minutes in, Abby Incorvaia finally broke free from a defense designed to slow her down. The Syracuse University-bound senior ripped a shot through traffic from the top of the box that found the back of the net to trim the lead to 2-1. In the 64th minute, a harmless ball rolled out to Nakano and she struck a perfect shot from 40 yards out that curved just over Gomez’s outstretched hands and dipped under the crossbar to tie the game at 2.
“When they scored to tie the game, Waldwick had all the momentum, but we kept believing in each other,” said Gomez. “We weren’t nervous and we felt that we’d find a way to win. Waldwick is a team we’ve been neck and neck with since I’ve been here. You know you have to be strong mentally and stay focused when playing a team like them. When they tied the game we had to pick each other up and get back to what we were doing early in the game.”
In a game filled with end-to-end action and scoring chances, each had a chance to win in the final 3 minutes of regulation. Incorvaia had a shot that Gomez made a diving save on. Coming back the other way, Lopez broke free on the left side for a breakaway, but her shot was stopped by Waldwick goalie Carleigh Nocito and the teams headed to overtime.
Natalia Lombardi scored a goal and assisted on the other two for Saddle River Day.
With a defender on her back Lombardi calmly dropped a ball off to Lopez, who blasted a shot into the upper 90 for the game-winner. Lopez has now scored ten goals in her last four games for Saddle River Day (5-0). Lombardi has been a model of consistency with at least a goal and an assist in all five games this season. Gomez’s 16 saves were a career-high and the defense led by Alyssa Tretola and Olivia DiDomizio came up clutch late in the second half and in overtime.
Incorvaia’s goal was her 9th of the season and the 96th of her career for Waldwick (3-2-1).
With Saddle River Day now in sole possession of first place in the NJIC-Patriot Division, the goal is to finish the job and secure a league title along with making waves with a strong showing in the Bergen County Tournament after a poor showing in a first-round loss to Mahwah (4-0) in last year’s BCT.
“Our goals at the beginning of the season were to win the league outright and win two games in the county tournament,” said Petrow. “We have talent and we have depth, two things you need if you’re going to make a run in the counties. This was a huge win for us today, but we can’t be satisfied with this result. We have to turn around and play a much-improved Cresskill team on Monday. I’m hoping this win gives us more momentum as we head into the heart of our schedule with the counties right around the corner.”
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