Passion on an athletic field often doesn’t go unnoticed, unrewarded, or underappreciated. For Pascack Valley, that passion was on full display Monday night against Old Tappan, and while it fueled the Indians to want to win and play hard, it also led to some tense moments.

PV, in its first away game of the season, walked out of Northern Valley Old Tappan on Monday night and improved to 2-0 on the season, thanks to win against their division rival  Golden Knights, 1-0.

This match followed a blowout victory on Thursday, when PV took down Teaneck 10-1. Playing teams such as the Highwaymen gives the Indians more chances to show off their offensive firepower, as the starting forwards scored very often before a full team substitution was employed when the score became 6-0.

However, this type of efficient goal scoring was not the case against Old Tappan, as both the Indians and the Golden Knights played sluggishly when they were on offense. Both sides produced their fair share of mistakes and missed opportunities, especially in the scoreless first half. Valley dominated the shots on goal total as it favored them 6-2, but neither team had a great opportunity to score in the first 40 minutes.

PV’s lone goal came with just under three minutes left in the game off the right foot of Ryan Miller. The senior midfielder had gone to the ground a minute before his strike, but he fought through the fall. As he got up, Miller found his way to a spot near the left sideline, the ball found its way to him, and he used a burst of speed to get location of his game-winner.

There was only one thing going through Miller’s mind as the ball came his way late in the game:

“We have to win the game.”

He did just that.

Miller’s goal not only helped win the game for the Indians, but it also closed the book on a weekend of war words between the teams and the student bodies of the schools.

Prior to Monday’s game, there were plenty of social media posts on both sides, from students and players alike, intended to downplay how good their opposition was.

This series of exchanges had an affect on the game, as displayed by the battle between fan sections and by the somewhat aggressive play on the field. With ten minutes left in the game, junior defender Matt Harris got tied up with a Golden Knight, causing a shoving fight to break out between teams.

“When another town insults your players, fans, and school it gets you pumped up,” said senior defender Jacob Ricco. “You could see that by how hard we played to the last minute and by the little scuffle that did take place that the game got chippy for a reason.”

Despite a lack of offense, both defenses rarely allowed their opponents to break through for open shots. Pascack Valley had a plan going in to hold strong on the defensive side, as they were taking on an athletic Golden Knights team that tends to send the ball in to their quick forwards.

“We were certainly challenged, but when it came time the guys answered the bell,” said head coach Roy Nygren.

Seniors Ricco and Emilio Quevedo, along with juniors Harris, Justin Schaumberger, and TJ Mastowski, only allowed five shots on goal during the game, and barely any of these shots were difficult save for junior goalkeeper Josh Ulin.

“We knew what we had to do. We knew to sit and let them come to us,” said Ricco.

Ulin’s sole highlight during his five-save night was a diving block of a close OT free kick with 15 minutes left in the second half.

Nygren was more than pleased with the defensive play and believed that this game provided even more experience for this squad of veterans.

“This was a county or state tournament type of game and atmosphere. We had a few misses, but the key is the defense and I think ours has the identity of a championship team,” he said.