Kira Petrov scored Westwood's second goal as the Cardinals won their first Bergen County tournament game since 2020 with a 3-0 opening round victory over Paramus Catholic on Sunday.

PARAMUS – Playing in the Bergen County Tournament can be a tricky to navigate through for a young team. With just four seniors and a plethora of freshmen and sophomores on the field at all times, Westwood was looking for a signature county tournament win. However, facing a tough Paramus Catholic side the Cardinals could not find any room to get off a quality shot in the Paladins’ box. Desperately needing a spark, they found it on a picture-perfect blast from distance.

Freshman defender Lilianna Cassai picked the perfect time to score her first varsity goal. In just her second start, her 40-yard blast curled into the upper left-hand corner in the 33rd minute to give the Cardinals a halftime lead. That momentum carried over into a dominant second-half performance as 17th seeded Westwood won a game in the Bergen County Tournament for the first time since 2020 with a 3-0 win over No. 16 seed Paramus Catholic on Sunday afternoon at Paramus Catholic High School.

“It’s great to get offensive production from our younger players,” said Westwood head coach Steve Grenz. “A freshman scoring her first goal and then our other two goals coming from sophomores. This team has a long way to go but we’re making positive strides in all phases of the game.”

The game was a physical one from the opening whistle. Both teams knocked the ball around in the middle of the field, but neither could get looks at the net in the offensive third of the field. The game seemed destined to go to halftime scoreless until Cassai’ changed with one powerful swing of her right leg. Off a corner kick, an attempted clear slowly rolled right to her feet. She sized it up and first-timed a bomb from 40 yards out then bent over the outstretched hands of Paramus Catholic goalie Amelia Brueggemeier (10 saves) and just inside the left post to make it 1-0.

Amelia Brueggemeier made 10 saves for Paramus Catholic.

“That goal before halftime was huge,” said do-everything junior midfielder Ashlyn Geipel. “We talked at halftime and made the adjustments we needed to make; winning every loose ball, outworking the other team, and playing to feet. This is a close team and we’re working well together. Playing in games like this will only help us become a stronger team for the rest of the season.”

It was still a one-goal lead when Paramus Catholic (9-4) had its best chance to tie the game in the 52nd minute. Emily Falcone’s free kick skipped through traffic in front but could not skip past Westwood’s Meaghan Morrison. The sophomore keeper saw it the whole way and smothered the shot with a diving save.

From that point on it was all Westwood. They found success playing wide and playing to feet, which directly resulted in both second half goals. Kira Petrov provided quality minutes off the bench. Off a cross from Alexis Grigoriou, the sophomore cut in front of a defender and redirected a shot inside the far post to make it 2-0. Cameron Roche and Isa Lorio then worked a well-executed give-and-go with Roche netting her 7th goal of the season late to put the game away.

Morrison finished with five saves to earn her fourth shutout of the season for Westwood (7-2-2). The reward for the Cardinals’ first Bergen County Tournament win in four years? A date with top-seeded and the county’s only undefeated team, Ramsey. The Rams rolled to a 6-0 win in a match earlier this season. But with the stakes much higher this time around and the Cardinals playing with more confidence, they are hoping for a better showing.

“Ramsey is the top seed in the county tournament for a reason, they’re a team very capable of winning both county and state titles this season,” said Westwood head coach Steve Grenz. “We have to play a flawless game against them to be in it. We have nothing to lose, and we’ll be up for the challenge.”

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