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Ramapo edges No. Highlands in thriller
The dream of a perfect season is still alive after Ramapo escaped Northern Highlands with a thrilling 1-0 overtime win on Tuesday, broadcast exclusively on MSGVarsity.com.
One week after lifting his team to victory in another 1-0 thriller against then-14-2 Wallington in the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals, junior Sean Etheridge played the hero again.
The midfielder scored a golden goal in the first overtime following a huge scrum in front of the Highlanders net to keep the dream alive.
“It was a melee in front of the goal, that’s just what Northern Highlands is,” Etheridge said of the game-winner. “You usually don’t get many chances and the team that capitalizes usually wins.”
Ramapo had defeated Northern Highlands just two days prior to snap a five-game winning streak for the Highlanders, a win which knocked Northern Highlands out of the Bergen County Tournament.
It is a great rivalry that has gone back and forth over the years and this game was no different, amplified by a great home crowd and cameras never hurt either.
“We have a great history with Northen Highlands. The last two years we have come to this field and lost 3-1, so we felt like it was our duty to come out here and win,” Etheridge explained. “The crowd was really intense, MSG Varsity was here and it all made for a great atmosphere.”
The game was clean but definitely spirited, as three yellow cards were handed out and bodies were hitting the ground left and right.
The Raiders had already clinched a spot in the Bergen County Tournament finals with its win over the Highlanders on Sunday, but Ramapo has a perfect season in mind and it was plain to see they wanted this match badly.
“We want to have an undefeated season, we want to win our league, we want to win counties and we want to win states,” Etheridge said definitvely. “This was an important step to accomplishing our goals.”
Ramapo has a great chance to accomplish those goals with only two regular season games remaining and a Bergen County Tournament final slated for October 30 against Old Tappan.
Contact John Quirk at jquirk@cablevision.com. Follow him on Twitter: @QuirkMedia
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